Mark 84 bomb explained

Mark 84
Type:Low-drag general-purpose bomb
Origin:United States
Is Explosive:y
Service:Since 1950s
Manufacturer:General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
Filling:Tritonal, H6 or PBXN-109
Ref:Janes and The War Zone[1]

The Mark 84 or BLU-117[2] is a 2000lb American general-purpose bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb. At the time, it was the third largest bomb by weight in the US inventory behind the 15000lb BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" and the 3000lb M118 "demolition" bomb. It is currently sixth in size due to the addition of the 5000lb GBU-28 in 1991, the 22600lb GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) in 2003, and the 30000lb Massive Ordnance Penetrator.

Development and use

The Mark 84 has a nominal weight of 2000lb, but its actual weight varies depending on its fin, fuze options, and retardation configuration, from 1972lb2083lb. It is a streamlined steel casing filled with 945lb of tritonal high explosive.[3]

The Mark 84 can form a crater wide and 36feet deep. It can penetrate up to 15inches of metal or 11feet of concrete, depending on the height from which it is dropped, and causes lethal fragmentation to a radius of .[4]

Many Mark 84s have been retrofitted with stabilizing and retarding devices to provide precision guidance capabilities. They serve as the warhead of a variety of precision-guided munitions, including the GBU-10/GBU-24/GBU-27 Paveway laser-guided bombs, GBU-15 electro-optical bomb, GBU-31 JDAM and Quickstrike sea mines.[5] The HGK is a Turkish guidance kit used to convert 2000-lb Mark 84 bombs into GPS/INS guided smart bombs.[6]

According to a test report conducted by the United States Navy's Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB) established in the wake of the 1967 USS Forrestal fire, the cooking off time for a Mk 84 is about 8 minutes 40 seconds.

Deployment in wars

MK 84 were used by U.S. forces in the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm,[7] Iraq War and Afghanistan War and bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999[8] and by Israel in the 2014 Gaza War.[9]

According to a forensic investigation by Human Rights Watch, MK 84 bombs were also in the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war.[10]

In 2023 and 2024, the US transferred over 14,000 Mark 84 bombs to Israel who uses them extensively to attack the Gaza strip throughout the Israel–Hamas War.[11] [12] [13]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Newdick . Thimas . Rogoway . Tyler . 15 December 2022 . What Joint Direct Attack Munitions could do for Ukraine . The War Zone . . Recurrent Ventures . 29 May 2023.
  2. Web site: Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Estimate Procurement of Ammunition. US Air Force. 29 December 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120420095306/http://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100127-159.pdf. 20 April 2012. dmy-all.
  3. Web site: Mk84 General Purpose Bomb . . 23 April 2000 . 1 September 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101106043259/http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/mk84.htm . 6 November 2010 . live .
  4. Hollway. Don. March 1996. Stealth Secrets of the F-117 Nighthawk: Its development was kept under wraps for 14 years, but by 1991, the F-117 nighthawk had become a household word. . Aviation History. Cowles Magazines. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 1076-8858 . HistoryNet.
  5. Web site: Mk 65 Quick Strike Mine . 8 December 1998 . . 1 September 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100918225644/http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/mk65.htm . 18 September 2010 . live .
  6. Web site: Precision Guidance Kit (HGK). 2013. TÜBİTAK-SAGE. 28 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160222222708/https://www.sage.tubitak.gov.tr/en/urunler/precision-guidance-kit-hgk. 22 February 2016. live.
  7. Web site: Aircraft History of the MK-84 Bomb . 3 April 2014 .
  8. Web site: U toku završne pripreme za uklanjanje bombe sa gradilišta u Nišu . Janačković. Branko . sr . In the course of final preparations for removing the bomb from the construction site in Niš . Blic . 20 April 2024 . 14 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240422234831/https://www.blic.rs/vesti/hronika/u-toku-zavrsne-pripreme-za-uklanjanje-bombe-sa-gradilista-u-nisu/swh82m3 . 2024-04-22 . live.
  9. Web site: Faulty, indiscriminate, lethal: Israel opts for Vietnam-era bombs in Gaza . 17 August 2021 . 30 March 2024 . www.middleeasteye.net.
  10. Web site: Yemen: US Bombs Used in Deadliest Market Strike . 7 April 2016 . 30 March 2024 . www.hrw.org . Human Rights Watch conducted on-site investigations on March 28, and found remnants at the market of a GBU-31 satellite-guided bomb, which consists of a US-supplied MK-84 2,000-pound bomb mated with a JDAM satellite guidance kit, ....
  11. 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..
  12. Web site: Visual Evidence Shows Israel Dropped 2,000-Pound Bombs Where It Ordered Gaza's Civilians to Move for Safety . 21 December 2023 . 30 March 2024 . www.nytimes.com.
  13. News: US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Oct. 7 . 30 June 2024 . . 17 August 2024.

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