Mark 82 bomb explained
The Mark 82 is a 500lb unguided, low-drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used.
Development and deployment
With a nominal weight of, it is one of the smallest bombs in current service, and one of the most common air-dropped weapons in the world. Although the nominal weight is, its actual weight varies depending on its configuration, from . It is a streamlined steel casing containing of Tritonal high explosive. The is offered with a variety of fin kits, fuzes, and retarders for different purposes.
The is the warhead for the GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and for the GBU-38 JDAM.
Currently only the General Dynamics plant in Garland, Texas and Nitro-Chem in Bydgoszcz, Poland are Department of Defense-certified to manufacture bombs for the US Armed Forces.
The is currently undergoing a minor redesign to allow it to meet the insensitive munitions requirements set by Congress.
According to a test report conducted by the United States Navy's Weapon Systems Explosives Safety Review Board established in the wake of the 1967 USS Forrestal fire, the cooking off time for a is approximately .
More than 4,500 laser-guided bombs were dropped on Iraq during the Persian Gulf War.[2] France requested 1,200 in 2010 to Société des Ateliers Mécaniques de Pont-sur-Sambre (SAMP) which builds under license.[3] Saudi Arabia requested 8,000 in 2015, along with guidance kits and other weapons.[4]
In August, 2018, a Mark 82 bomb was used for Saudi Arabia's Dahyan air strike in Yemen. Munitions experts confirmed that the numbers on it identified Lockheed Martin as its maker and that this particular Mk82 was a Paveway, a laser-guided bomb.[5]
Along with the heavier Mark 84 bombs, Mark 82 bombs were also supplied for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.[6] In July 2024, the Biden administration resumed shipments of the 500-pound bombs to Israel, which were halted in May due to concerns about the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza.[7]
Low-level delivery
In low-level bombing, it is possible for the delivering aircraft to sustain damage from the blast and fragmentation effects of its own munitions since the aircraft and ordnance arrive at the target almost simultaneously. To address this issue, the standard General-Purpose bomb can be fitted with a special high-drag tail fin unit. In this configuration, it is referred to as the Snake Eye.[8] The tail unit has four folded fins that spring open into a cruciform shape when the bomb is released, slowing the bomb by increasing drag, thus allowing the delivery aircraft to safely pass over the target before the bomb hits it.
Variants
- BLU-111/B – casing filled with PBXN-109 (instead of Composition H6); item weighs .[9] PBXN-109 is a less sensitive explosive filler when compared to H6.[10] The BLU-111/B also is the warhead of the A-1 version of the Joint Stand-Off Weapon.
- BLU-111A/B – Used by the U.S. Navy,[11] this is the BLU-111/B with a thermal-protective coating added to reduce cook-off in (fuel-related) fires.
- BLU-126/B – Designed following a U.S. Navy request to lower collateral damage in air strikes. Delivery of this type started in March 2007. Also known as the Low Collateral Damage Bomb (LCDB), it is a BLU-111 with a smaller explosive charge. Inert ballast is added to match the original weight of the BLU-111, which gives it the same trajectory when dropped.[12]
- BLU-129/B – U.S. Air Force Mark 82 version with a composite warhead case that disintegrates upon detonation to minimize fragmentation, decreasing damage to nearby structures and reducing the chances of collateral damage.[13] The carbon fiber composite shell achieves three-times less collateral damage by keeping the blast radius tight, while the tungsten-laden case high explosive has greater lethality in that blast radius. Entered service in 2011 with some 800 units produced until early 2015. USAF is looking to restart production for domestic and international consumption.[14] [15]
- Mark 62 Quickstrike mine – A naval mine, which is a conversion of the Mark 82 bomb.[16]
- Mark 82 Mod 7 – Near-term solution for cluster bomb replacement that replaces the forged steel casing with a unitary "cast ductile iron" warhead and reconfigured burst height and fuze locations, dispersing iron fragmentation over a large area to fulfill area-attack requirements with less chance of unexploded ordnance. To enter service by 2018.[17] [18]
- MK82-T (Tendürek) –Turkish variant of with a thermobaric warhead, can be fitted with locally produced HGK, LGK, and KGK guidance kits.
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Newdick . Thimas . Rogoway . Tyler . 15 December 2022 . What Joint Direct Attack Munitions could do for Ukraine . The War Zone . . Recurrent Ventures . 29 May 2023.
- Book: Friedman, Norman. The Naval Institute guide to world naval weapons systems, 1997–1998. Naval Institute Press. 1997. 978-1-55750-268-1. 249.
- Web site: La DGA notifie l'achat de 1 200 corps de bombes de type Mk82 . fr . Government of France . 28 June 2010 . 2016-08-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160916235653/http://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualite-dga/2009/la-dga-notifie-l-achat-de-1-200-corps-de-bombes-de-type-mk82 . 16 September 2016 . live .
- Web site: Saudis Request Huge Resupply of U.S. Air-To-Ground Weapons. Aviation International News. 2015-11-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20151122171650/https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-11-20/saudis-request-huge-resupply-us-air-ground-weapons. 2015-11-22. live.
- News: Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by US. Nima Elbagir . Salma Abdelaziz . Ryan Browne . Barbara Arvanitidis . Laura Smith-Spark. CNN. 2018-08-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20180818040221/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/17/middleeast/us-saudi-yemen-bus-strike-intl/index.html. 2018-08-18. live.
- Web site: US has agreed to send more bombs and warplanes to Israel, sources say . 29 March 2024 . 30 March 2024 . www.reuters.com . The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, said the sources, who confirmed a report in the Washington Post..
- News: Holland . Steve . US to resume shipping 500-pound bombs to Israel, US official says . Reuters . 11 July 2024.
- Web site: Bombs and components . www.ordnance.org/gpb.htm . 2008-06-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/19981202181847/http://ordnance.org/gpb.htm . 1998-12-02 . live .
- Web site: China Lake, Naval Warfare Center. www.chinalakealumni.org. 2007-03-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20070203040906/http://www.chinalakealumni.org/Glossary.htm. 2007-02-03. live.
- Web site: BLU-111/B. Federation of American Scientists. 2007-03-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20061213004148/http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-111.htm. 2006-12-13. live.
- Web site: Equipment Listing. www.designation-systems.net. 2007-03-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20070204002314/http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/asetds/u-b.html#_BLU. 2007-02-04. live.
- Little Bang – p.38, Aviation Week & Space Technology-January 29, 2007
- http://www.wpafb.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123285609 Precision Lethality Responds to Urgent Operational Need
- http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usafs-ultra-lethal-carbon-fibre-bomb-approved-for-export-414130/ USAF’s ultra-lethal carbon fibre bomb approved for export
- http://www.copybook.com/military/news/usaf-has-carbon-fibre-bomb-export-hopes USAF Has Carbon Fibre Bomb Export Hopes
- Jenkins, Dennis R. B-1 Lancer, The Most Complicated Warplane Ever Developed, p. 159. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. .
- https://medium.com/war-is-boring/air-force-replaces-cluster-bombs-with-something-slightly-less-likely-to-kill-civilians-be94942adb97 Air Force Replaces Cluster Bombs With Something Slightly Less Likely to Kill Civilians
- http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-moving-past-cluster-munitions-calcm-cruise-missile-413090/ USAF moving past cluster munitions, CALCM cruise missile
