Forum: F-16 News

This is a discussion topic for the F-16.net news article: "Israel plans to acquire BLU-109 "Bunker Busters" bombs". You can read the full forum discussion in the F-16.net forum.

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Hmmmm, BLU 109 is just a nice mild penetrator. It is a forged steel body that carrys 600lb of explosive ( approx going by memory ) vs a regular dumb iron Mk84 which has around 900lb of explosive ( approx going by memory ), BLU -109 does penetrate but lets not get all excited listening to the uninformed press. A bunker buster to US is something like the GBU-37 ( just one example ) which is a GPS assisted ( "GAM" kit by Northrop ) and the Body weighs about 4500lb and has 630lb of explosive ( approx going by memory ) and will penetrate up to 100ft or more of earth ( public consumption I am sure the fraggers know its real ability ).

Calling BLU 109 a bunker buster is a bit of a reach, unless it is a small tactical battlefield bunker.... not some big custom. underground C3 thing.

BLU-109 is handy for....

Urban strikes. The warhead digs in about 6-10 feet ( depending on the street or ground ) before going off and limits massive collateral damage.....kinda.... while maybe not the building next to the target building, certainly a builing 30 yards away might be standing, where as a MK84 could really be messy. BLU-109 manages modern ( common ) multi-story buildings better when you want to gut one.

And of course hard concrete where you want to penetrate a bit before the wep goes off: Like a bidge or even better making a runway unusable for a while by putting a 15-20 ft deep crater in it.

FYI, the failed hit on the restaraunt to hit Sadaam in Bagdad with a B-1 bomber was 4 large JDAMs. 2 BLU-109 and 2 Mk-84.

Elp