BLU-43/B and BLU-44/B (Bomb Live Unit) "Dragontooth" were air-dropped cluster-type land mines used by the United States during the Vietnam War. It is chemically activated and has a relatively low explosive content, typically maiming rather than killing.
The Dragontooth was designed during the Vietnam War as part of a number of programs designed to prevent infiltration into South Vietnam. Dragontooth was one of a number of airborne land mines tested, being preferred by the military because they could be used to deny access to large areas to foot traffic. Its area-denial qualities were exemplified in the fact that the explosive content of any individual mine was readily capable of killing the victim, being powerful enough to remove a person's foot, but potentially incapable of even flattening the tire of a truck passing over it. [1]
The use of Dragontooth mines in Vietnam went largely unnoticed,[ by whom? ] likely as a product of its essentially classified usage primarily in Laos as part of Operation Igloo White. Production of the system had ceased by 1970, and it was predicted that existing stocks would be exhausted by the end of 1971. [1]
In stark contrast to the lack of public commentary on the Dragontooth system, the subsequent Soviet equivalent, the PFM-1, spurred a lot of controversy after being used in Afghanistan during the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, being a key element leading to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.[ citation needed ]
The mine itself is made out of plastic, and is hydraulically activated and contact/pressure detonated. The color of the plastic varied and could be olive drab, tan, brown, or camouflaged, and had no painted or molded markings. Each mine contained a small amount of liquid nitromethane/nitroethane explosive and was designed with a shape that would cause it to spiral down to the ground, removing the need for a parachute. A chemical self-neutralization system was used in the mines, rendering the main explosive content inert after a period of time after activation. The two major variants, the BLU–43/B and BLU–44/B, differ only in the process by which they were thus "sterilized." [2] However the reliability of the mechanism was largely unknown, and the detonator and booster charge could still present a hazard.[ citation needed ]
The complete Dragontooth system involved the loading of either the BLU–43/B or BLU–44/B (or its variant BLU–44A/B) into complete cluster munitions. A total of 120 BLU–43/B fit into a single CDU–2/B cluster adapter, forty of which were then loaded into a SUU-13/A cluster dispenser to form the complete CBU-28/A cluster munition. An identical number of BLU–44/B mines loaded into an identical number of CDU–3/B adapters fitted to the SUU–13/A dispenser formed the complete CBU–37/A. [3] The SUU–13/A was a cluster dispenser that remained attached to the aircraft, dispensing cluster adapters of mines as the aircraft flew forward, unlike cluster bombs, which are released from an aircraft and then dispense their submunitions.
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy runways or electric power transmission lines, disperse chemical or biological weapons, or to scatter land mines. Some submunition-based weapons can disperse non-munitions, such as leaflets.
The GATOR mine system is a United States military system of air-dropped anti-tank and anti-personnel mines developed in the 1980s to be compatible with existing cluster dispensers. It is used with two dispenser systems—the Navy 230 kg (500 lb) CBU-78/B and the Air Force 450 kg (1,000 lb) CBU-89/B. Additionally the mines are used with the land- and helicopter-based Volcano mine system.
An explosive booster is a sensitive explosive charge that acts as a bridge between a conventional detonator and a low-sensitivity explosive such as TNT. By itself, the initiating detonator would not deliver sufficient energy to set off the low-sensitivity charge. However, it detonates the primary charge, which then delivers an explosive shockwave that is sufficient to detonate the secondary, main, high-energy charge.
The CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a United States Air Force 1,000-pound (450 kg)-class freefall Cluster Bomb Unit. It was developed and produced by Textron Defense Systems. A CBU-97 used in conjunction with the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser guidance tail kit is converted to a precision-guided weapon, and the combination is designated CBU-105.
The Mk 20 Rockeye II, CBU-99 Rockeye II, and CBU-100 Rockeye II comprise an American cluster bomb family which are employed primarily in an anti-tank mode against armored vehicles.
The CBU-24 is an unguided, aircraft delivered anti-personnel and anti-materiel weapon developed by the United States. Because it is an unguided weapon, the CBU-24 can be carried and dropped by any aircraft capable of carrying standard "dumb" or "iron" bombs.
The AGM-124 Wasp is a missile developed by the United States. The Wasp grew out of the 1975 WAAM program initiated by the US Air Force in order to develop a series of new air-to-ground anti-armour weapons for close-support aircraft. The three-pronged program led to the CBU-92/B ERAM, the CBU-90/B ACM, and the Wasp anti-armour missile. The Wasp is regarded as the most advanced of these weapons.
BLU-3 Pineapple was a cluster bomblet, 360 were deployed from the CBU-2A cluster bomb. It was used extensively in the Vietnam War by American forces. It was named "Pineapple" because of its appearance. On some Arc Light missions, the B-52Ds carried two SUU-24 dispensers in the bomb bay, containing a total of 10,656 bomblets.
PFM-1 is a scatterable high explosive anti-personnel land mine of Soviet and Russian production. It is also known as a Green Parrot or Butterfly Mine. The mines can be deployed from mortars, helicopters and aeroplanes in large numbers; they glide to the ground without exploding and will explode later upon contact.
Gravel mines, also called Button mines, were small American-made air-dropped anti-personnel mines. They were used extensively during the Vietnam War as part of the McNamara Line. They were also used as a rapid-deployment area denial expedient, to provide a barrier during combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations between downed pilots or other endangered units and infantry threats.
Anti-personnel landmines (APLs) are a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which target vehicles. APLs are classified into: blast mines and fragmentation mines; the latter may or may not be a bounding mine.
The CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition (CEM) is a cluster bomb used by the United States Air Force, developed by Aerojet General/Honeywell and introduced in 1986 to replace the earlier cluster bombs used in the Vietnam War. CBU stands for Cluster Bomb Unit. When the CBU-87 is used in conjunction with the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser guidance tail kit, it becomes much more accurate, and is designated CBU-103.
The BLU-108 is an air-delivered submunition, containing four further smart "Skeet" warheads. The system is manufactured by Textron Systems Weapon & Sensor Systems since 1992. The BLU-108 is released from a munitions dispenser, with a parachute being used to slow its descent. It then fires the four rapidly rotating skeets, which use multi-mode optical sensors to identify a variety of targets ranging from tanks and missile launchers to railway locomotives and landed aircraft. When the skeet passes over what it considers a high priority target, it fires a 0.9 kg explosively formed penetrator providing armor-piercing and incendiary effects, as well as a fragmentation ring meant to damage any soft targets, primarily enemy persons, in the immediate vicinity of the target.
The CBU-55 was a cluster bomb fuel–air explosive that was developed during the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force, and was used only infrequently in that conflict. Unlike most incendiaries, which contained napalm or phosphorus, the 750-pound (340 kg) CBU-55 was fueled primarily by propane. Described as "the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal," the device was one of the more powerful conventional weapons designed for warfare.
Operation Shed Light was a crash development project in aerial warfare, initiated in 1966 by the United States Air Force to increase the ability to accurately strike at night or in adverse weather. During the 1960s the United States military worked hard to interdict the movement of men and materiel along the Ho Chi Minh trail. The North Vietnamese were experts in the use of weather and darkness to conceal their movement, and understanding the superiority of American air power put their skills immediately to good use. US forces seeking to impede the steady flow of supplies attempted to locate largely static targets during the day with poor results.
The CBU-98/B was a planned 385 kg (850 lb) anti-airfield cluster bomb, which consisted of 8 BLU-106/B BKEP projectiles and 24 British HB876 mines in an SUU-64/B Tactical Munitions Dispenser (TMD). The BLU-106/B was cancelled, and thus the CBU-98/B, was never produced.
The CBU-72 was a 550-pound (250 kg) American fuel-air cluster bomb used by the United States Military until 1996. It was very effective against armored vehicles, aircraft parked in the open, bunkers, and minefields.
Project High Wire was a United States Air Force (USAF) modernization programme for selected North American Aviation F-100C, D and F Super Sabres that were still in active inventory. It consisted of two detailed modification groups: significant electrical rewiring upgrade, and heavy aircraft maintenance and IRAN upgrade. These upgrades began in 1962.
The Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker is an American armed gunship, counter-insurgency, utility transport version of the Pilatus PC-6 Porter for the United States Air Force. A total of 35 were built under license in the United States by Fairchild Industries, for use during the Vietnam War in the early 1970s. All aircraft were later sold to the Royal Thai Air Force.
The BLU-14/B was an American 347 kg (766 lb) ground-penetrating anti-vehicle mine for release by low-flying aircraft. It was a derivative of the MLU-10/B 750 lb (340 kg) land mine, and therefore essentially identical in shape and weight to the BLU-31/B anti-vehicle demolition mine and bomb. The designation "BLU" stands for Bomb Live Unit, as opposed to "BDU" used for practice.