Pentagon Drops Bombs of All Sizes
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Pick a target, and the military has something to blow it up.
There are laser-guided tank-killers and bunker-busters, cluster bombs that can rip apart columns of soldiers and armored vehicles, old-fashioned "dumb" bombs that, used together, can blast an entire region.
Missiles launched from ships and planes complete the arsenal being used against targets in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon is "dropping the full range of weaponry," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday.
Some categories of munitions in Afghanistan include:
- Guided bombs. These are some of the "smart bombs" of Persian Gulf War fame, and the military has been using them in increasing numbers over the past decade. They can be dropped from fighters and bombers, and they use lasers or other means to find their targets. These bombs can be targeted on buildings or vehicles and, because of their accuracy, don't cause as much unintended damage as World War II-style unguided bombs.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition _ "Jay-Dam" in military parlance _ is frequently employed and can be launched from fighters and bombers.
Among the largest of the guided bombs are the GBU-28 and GBU-37. These massive weapons weigh roughly 5,000 pounds and are designed to penetrate buried bunkers, killing leaders and destroying command-and-control networks hidden underground. The GBU-37 can be launched by the B-2 stealth bomber and is guided by GPS satellites to its target.
- Cluster bombs. Once launched, these bombs essentially drop more little bombs, called bomblets, over a wide area. Some explode on contact, and are able to wipe out troop concentrations or columns of armored vehicles. Others delay exploding until a certain amount of time has passed, becoming what amounts to an air-dropped minefield.
- Unguided "dumb" bombs. These range from 500 pounds to 2,000 pounds. The skill of the bomber pilot determines whether these free-fall weapons hit their targets. B-52s can drop these in large numbers, laying waste to a wide swath of territory. They are also much cheaper to manufacture than the newer, guided weapons.
- Air-to-ground missiles. Similar to guided bombs, these also have a propulsion system that carries them to their targets, meaning they can be launched from farther away.
One relatively new missile, called the Joint Standoff Weapon, is built to be fired from a great enough distance that the bomber's exposure to anti-aircraft fire is limited.
Certain air-to-ground missiles, called high-speed antiradiation missiles, or HARMs, can follow an incoming radar signal back to its source. These are used to attack air defense sites, which use radar to search for incoming attack aircraft.
- Cruise missiles. This term is generally applied to long-range ship- or air-launched missiles that jet toward their target, be it a building, ship or military vehicle. The most well-known is the Tomahawk, launched from U.S. cruisers, destroyers and submarines. B-52s can also launch cruise missiles from great distances.
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