U.S. runs live test of new bomb against insurgents (terrorists) in Faluja

WORLD TRIBUNE.COM ^ | Wednesday, October 13, 2004 | WORLD TRIBUNE.COM

[dennisw]

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

The U.S. military has used Iraq to test a precision bomb designed for targets in urban areas and producing minimal collateral damage.

The U.S. Air Force has conducted the first successful drop of a GBU-38 bomb in combat during a recent mission in Iraq. The bombs were deployed on two F-16 multi-role fighters, which performed a simultaneous GBU-38 release on the same target in central Iraq.

Officials said the 500-pound bombs precisely hit a two-story building occupied by the Tawhid and Jihad group in Faluja with minimal collateral damage. They said this was the first time a GBU-38 was deployed in a demonstration of a smaller munition meant to reduce collateral damage in urban areas, Middle East Newsline reported.

"This was the right weapon for the job," the lead pilot who carried out the mission, identified only as Lt. Col. Mitch, said. "If we used any bigger of a bomb, we would have caused unnecessary damage."

Officials said the GBU-38 provides the U.S. military with a smaller precision weapon for use against urban targets. They said the bomb, which could be deployed on the F-16, would allow for precision strikes at night.

The GBU-38 is composed of an MK-82 with the Joint Direct Attack Munitions guidance system. Officials said the GBU-38 was regarded as much lighter and easier to assemble than most of the other munitions loaded on F-16s. The GBU-38 was said to be significantly smaller and lighter than the GBU-12 and the GBU-31.

"This is a relatively easy bomb to drop," Mitch said. "We simply set the coordinates and deliver the bomb. There's a slight shake in the jet as the bomb is released because [of] the sudden weight reduction, which happens after every drop."

The bomb has been sought by Middle East allies.

[SERKIT]

The RIGHT bomb,
in the RIGHT war,
at the RIGHT place,
at the RIGHT time!

'nuf said!

[Yo-Yo]

A basic Mk-82 GP bomb costs somewhere between 2 to 4 hundred dollars.

How much?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Good to see our arsenal getting smarter and more precise, but it's too little, too late.

ZellsBells Since Oct 2, 2004

Welcome aboard, troll.

Oh, and goodbye, too.

[demlosers]

wouldn't it be nice if these had a 1 quart reservoir for a pigs blood air burst 100 feet above impact.

It could be done easily. Use a SUU 30 container (bomblet dispenser) fill it up with 100 gallons or so of pigs blood and guts, and set the fuze height of burst to 100 feet. Bamb! Couldn't resist :0

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Well come on! If you are going to use that logic then the atom bomb was to little to late.

Don't waste your time on a troll.

ZellsBells
Since Oct 2, 2004

[Lancey Howard]

Cool! Now is the time to test all kinds of bombs.

[Americanwolf]

yeah... saw the date too. Just thought that I would try to give them an opportunity to defend themselves before I tore into them.

[demlosers]

That's for a "MK 82 Low Drag"

I'm talking about just the plain bomb itself, not with all its attachments. Attachments are the basic fuzes for its nose and tail, arming wire, adapter-boosters, lug nuts, swivel and links, fahnstock clip, fin assembly, ecetera ecetera...

Yeah, then the total cost would exceed 1000 dollars per bomb.

[Chode]

I wonder what a bowling ball from 60,000 feet would do?

INTRO: Pentagon officials say U-S pilots attacking Iraq have started using a special kind of bomb that is highly accurate - but does not blow up. The weapons are filled with concrete instead of explosive. As V- O-A's Jim Randle reports, the high-tech rock-throwing is intended to wreck Iraqi air defenses without hurting nearby civilians.

Text: A Pentagon spokesman says Iraq is putting important military facilities in the middle of civilian areas.

The apparent goal is to force U-S and British pilots to either ignore the target, or risk handing Baghdad a propaganda victory by killing civilians.

The official says non-exploding weapons reduce the chance that fires or flying debris will hurt Iraqi civilians.

Iraqi officials say nearly 200 people have been killed in air strikes this year. U-S officials say the toll is exaggerated, but refuse to offer an assessment of their own.

U-S pilots have long used concrete-filled bomb casings for training and practice, but this is the first time that Washington has used what are essentially satellite-guided rocks in combat.

The New York Times first reported the unusual tactic, and says the weapons in this case weigh about 900- kilograms. These `rocks' arrive at their target traveling perhaps 800 kilometers per hour, so they can do great damage to whatever they hit.

In this 1998 tape supplied by the Pentagon, we can hear U-S pilots using lasers to guide bombs to Iraqi targets.

/// Pilots act /// Start coordination for (garble). I've got (see) them in the (sensor) Pod. Highly local guidance -- active. Course one. Tally the second. Splash. Splash. /// end act ///

The highly technical language means the pilots pointed laser beams at the target, and the bombs used the reflected laser light as a beacon to find the target.

Pilots using inert bombs can use the same laser or satellite guidance systems as regular bombs, and so use similar procedures in the cockpit.

The change in tactics follows nine months of frequent conflict between Allied planes patrolling Iraqi skies and Baghdad's air defenses. (10/7/99)

[Anti-Christ is Hillary]

My favorite bomb is the Daisy Cutter. It just sounds nice. lol

[Chapita]

As long as they bounce the rabble!

[TomasUSMC]

I could care less about stinking collateral damage. I DO like the fact that if the enemy thinks they can close in to our troops so as to negate air support, THEY will be surprised.

This will allow us to use more firepower closer to our troops. THAT is what I like. I personally like collateral damage as an effective pysop tool against the enemy. Those people see their neighbors blown away, they make a decision. "Who do I get mad at?". If the Americans are winning and not backing down away, not letting anyone rest, showing no mercy, those folks say, "I will get mad at the insurgents".

[Paloma_55]

I have a theory.

I understand that the ball will achieve Terminal Velocity, but given a 16lb ball, a smooth spherical surface, and perhaps some rotation to help it retain its trajectory, I am thinking it would get falling pretty fast.

But when it hits, especially if it hits something really hard, the plastic would probably explode. The amount of energy released would be (mV^2)/2 so that would be a lot of energy to be contained in a plastic ball. I think it would fragment out.

[Paloma_55]

I just talked to a guy who got back a few months ago. He was not happy about the way we are using kid gloves on those guys over there.

He hopes that when Bush wins, we can get tough and finish the job.

In Fallujah, where he was, he would encircle the city and tell everyone to get out. All civilians would have to exit through checkpoints. Once everyone was out, they would go in and remove any weapons and kill anyone who was still there. If a fight erupted, they would get back and call in the F16s and point the lasers for them.

I hope Bush wins and we do just that. We should also declare that any Mosque used as a military base will become a target and bring out the daisy cutters. I really believe that if we just flattened one of them with a DC, the bad guys would get a strong message that it was not a winning approach.

[gdc61]

too little, too late...?? seems to me its right on time for the falluja

[r9etb]

Sounds like it was done off-budget

Doubtful -- they'd need to program the JDAM stuff to account for the characteristics of the MK-82, as opposed to the bigger bombs it's on now.

Probably not a big job, but I'm guessing it was still a few million bucks to somebody.

[truthandlife]

Interesting. Love to see Israel get it.

[blackie]

Death To all Islamofascist terrorists ~ Bump!

[Little Ray]

To heck with "collateral damage." They should have used a MOAB. Or a nuke.

[Darksheare]

No.

Artillery is fun, but you're running risk of "CEP".
Circular Error Probability.
That's the cone of uncertainty within which a bomb/rocket/artillery shell may land anywhere.
With precision weapons, the CEP is measure in inches.
With lower tech items, the CEP is measure in meters.

A street, 5 meters wide with a munition with a CEP of, say, 20 meters coming in is NOT an urban combat situation soldiers will want to be in.