Forum: F-16 Armament & Stores

Congrats for being the first combat user of the GBU-38 ( 500lb class JDAM )

This weapon, along with the GBU-12 should be the bread and butter item for doing a lot of jobs. Hope to see the new twin racks out in the field more someday.

http://www.f-16.net/f-16_news_article1213.html

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A couple of photos of the GBU-38 during validation.

Loader, is that chaff/flare dispencers in the back of the rack on the top picture?

Those are 3 chaff dispensers located in the aft section of the weapons pylon.

Interesting how that kit has the little strkes thing in the nose as opposed to the girdle of the GBU-31, 32, 35...

Be easier to ID it in photos... Hope there are enough of those twin rack thingys in the field.

Cool photos FTJ.... thanks. !!! The whole JDAM program is so awesome, kinda right up there with C-47 and C-130 for all time usefulness. Very Happy

4 twin racks for 8 GBU-38 or 4 GBU-38 and 4 GBU-12 on a Blk 60 CFT jet would be awesome.... Cool

lamoney, Yes they are. Pylon Integrated Dispenser System (PIDS), as FlightTestJim said, 3 chaff dispensers

Elp, your are right, it really is an amazing weapon.

More precision is now available more so than before. Liked to have had use of it a few months ago. Of course if your reading the news you'll hear of the civilians in Fallujah and elsewhere getting killed. You can be rest assured that the designated targets are INDEED targets and if insurgents want to include their families........
Watching the jets sweep the skies at low to medium level and providing CAS for the troops is impresive.

chickenlegs wrote:

You can be rest assured that the designated targets are INDEED targets and if insurgents want to include their families........
.

Damn straight.

Don't forget high altitude CAS drops too Smile

. Like any good sales person ..... Very Happy

LGB dual use add on for JDAM proposed ... ( 500lb der to be first !!! ( smart ) )
Article from Aviation Week:
"Laser-Guided JDAM To Begin Flight-Tests Before Year's End"

Finally someone is getting smart: 1_multi_ability_PGM for the fight.

BTW, I have driven by the Alabama ANG F-16 home a few times... hard to think of a little regional airport out in the sticks as being leaders in new wave PGM strike history Laughing

I worked with Alabama during OIF in 2003. I did EOR launch almost the entire time there. Their jets would come down to EOR with the zip tie banding still on the GBU-12 seeker heads sometimes. Their pylon access doors or panels would be open or adjusted so you'd need a screwdriver to pop them open, or a speed handle and an apex to screw them closed. They sent me planes that frequently weren't ready to even send to EOR, let alone into battle.

One day my crew went to the recover end to relieve some Alabama guys for lunch. I was a 2 man at the time, and asked the other 2 man where his mirror was for checking the AIM-120s on recovery. He says, "Mirror? What the hell you need a mirror for?" I say, "Well, I'm taller than you, and I can't see the damn white s on a green background through the peep hole on top of the missile." Rolling Eyes

He still didn't understand why I would want to see that. Maybe the Bama loadies are getting some better load barn now! (Hopefully) Any Bama boys on here? McCracken?!

elp wrote:

Finally someone is getting smart: 1_multi_ability_PGM for the fight.

Finally? We've (UK) already got multi-ability dual guidance bombs!
http://www.raf.mod.uk/equipment/a_sshort.html
Enhanced Paveway II (UK) = Standard UK Paveway II but with a new seeker (can identify it by the mushroom antenna in front of the canards) and some bolt on aircraft interfaces.

They work very nicelly too, the most widely used RAF weapon in the last Gulf war (even more than the conventional Paveway II (UK)). Not bad for a 14-month crash program (UOR) after Kosovo - including production deliveries.

Just working on the EPWII succesor, the rather funky Paveway IV.
http://www.raytheon.co.uk/highlights/pgb.html.

I also believe that USAF has a small quantity of EGBU-24 which are very similar in principle to the EPWII (albeit with a Paveway III style seeker). Plus the GBU-15 TV/IR has an enhnaced variant as well. So yeah, dual guidance is not a new thing on either side of the pond! Smile

500lb JDAM has the strakes at the nose to facilitate clearance in internal bomb bays allegedly. I'm guessing that that means the bomb clips used in the strategic bombers rather than the F-117.

Good to see it making its way onto the tactical platforms though!

Hope that helps!

HI Elvis, Those are issues at every F-16 unit, the better ones don't have all of them though. Pylon doors are a pain and you know it. Though proper maintenance can help find them and if the Scd Maint is done proper correctly. The loading issues go back to sloppy Crew Chiefs. Perhaps one of them is reading this and will take your words to heart. I don't doubt you one bit because I have seen the same thing in units I have worked in in the past. I did my best to fix the crap I found and you do the same.

I thought the PIDS was in use only with the Danish and Belgian Air Forces?

HI_Elvis wrote:

I worked with Alabama during OIF in 2003. I did EOR launch almost the entire time there. Their jets would come down to EOR with the zip tie banding still on the GBU-12 seeker heads sometimes. Their pylon access doors or panels would be open or adjusted so you'd need a screwdriver to pop them open, or a speed handle and an apex to screw them closed. They sent me planes that frequently weren't ready to even send to EOR, let alone into battle.

One day my crew went to the recover end to relieve some Alabama guys for lunch. I was a 2 man at the time, and asked the other 2 man where his mirror was for checking the AIM-120s on recovery. He says, "Mirror? What the hell you need a mirror for?" I say, "Well, I'm taller than you, and I can't see the damn white s on a green background through the peep hole on top of the missile." Rolling Eyes

He still didn't understand why I would want to see that. Maybe the Bama loadies are getting some better load barn now! (Hopefully) Any Bama boys on here? McCracken?!

I don't know if you are Active or ANG but I will say that I have been both for a fair amount of time in each. There is good and bad on both sides. I've seen top notch Active guys and some really poor ones. Same goes for ANG/Reserves. I've had the same tail number for 10 years now and the average age of our Crew Chiefs is 28 and most of us have worked together as a team for an average of 15 years. The Actives have a hard time competing with that.

I too have seen some poorly maintained ANG jets. BUT - I have been a part of the 140th CO ANG, 192nd VA ANG, and 181st IN ANG and I would put those units up against ANY Active/ANG/Reserve units in the world.

I don't think you meant to disparage the ANG but there is a stereotype amongst some younger active troops that the ANG is filled with a bunch of incapable old geezers. The older active folks that have worked with ANG units know better. Yep - we're old. But experience and cunning will beat youth and stamina every time.

Sorry for the rant but I wanted to dispel some unfounded stereotypes.

I'm in the reserves, and I understand your rant. I was ranting specifically against the Alabama guys. They just didn't seem to have enough experienced guys showing them how it's supposed to be done.

You brought up some good points for the active duty guys to think about. I've been on a weapons load crew for over 6 years now. By now in the active duty, I'd be the weapons expediter or something else. I've been a 1 man now for 1 year. My previous crew had a 1 man that had been doing that for over 15 years now. He's still the 1 man on a different load crew. The 3 man on our crew had 18 years experience doing the 3 man job. Maybe that's why my team won "Load Crew of the Year."

The reserves and ANG have people that stick around doing the same job for years and years. We know what we're doing. Here at Hill AFB, they're merging the AFRES guys with the 388th active duty wing. The concept isn't complete, but it looks like we'll become their training squadron. The new guys/gals will come and get training from seasoned veterans. Yes, veterans. We've been on all our fair share of deployments around the world. I'm still hoping for a deployment to Australia or New Zealand, but for now, I'll have to enjoy our next deployment to the Desert AOR.

Forum: F-16 Armament & Stores

Congrats to Alabama ANG - GBU-38