Sensor Fuzed Weapon - 1000 Pound Smart Cluster Bomb

The Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a United States Air Force 1,000 pound class non-guided, freefall, cluster bomb, hence the name CBU (Cluster Bomb Unit).

The CBU-97 consists of a tactical munition dispenser that contains 10 submunitions. Each submunition contains forty hockey puck shaped sensor fused projectiles called Skeets. These detect targets, such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks and other support vehicles, and fire an explosively formed penetrator.

The 40 Skeets scan an area of 1,500 feet by 500 feet using infrared and laser sensors until it finds a target, or failing that, self destructs 50 feet above the ground. This harasses dismounted troops and prevents any rounds that do not explode immediately from hurting civilians later. There is also a back-up timer that enables the Skeet to time-out seconds after hitting the ground. These two redundant self-destruct modes results in an unexploded ordnance rate of less than 1%.

As the CBU-97 approaches its designated aim point, the dispenser skin is severed into three panels by an explosive cutting charge. The slipstream peels away these panels, exposing the 10 BLU-108 submunitions. An airbag ejects the forward five submunitions, then five in the aft bay. Following a preset timeline, the submunitions deploy parachutes so that they are spaced about 100 feet apart. Then each submunition releases its chute, fires a rocket motor that stops its descent and spins it on its longitudinal axis, and releases pairs of Skeets 90 degrees apart. Each spinning Skeet makes a coning motion that allows it to scan a circular area on the ground.

The 1000 Pound Cluster Bomb is an extremely effective weapon that dispenses 202 bomblets over an area the size of 16 football fields. The body of the submunition bombs are cylindrical in shape, approximately 20 centimeters long, and have a 6 centimeter diameter.

Cluster Bombs were used extensively for interdiction during Desert Storm. During Desert Storm the US Air Force dropped 10,035 CBU-87 bombs. During Allied Force operations the US dropped about 1,100 cluster bombs. By the end of November 2001, a total of 600 cluster bombs had been dropped over Afghanistan.

The Sensor Fused Weapon aka the 1000 Smart Cluster Bomb is an extremely effective weapon and the United States has not signed any agreement, with any Nation, not to use it again.

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• Cluster
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• 1000
• Sensor
• Fuzed
• Weapon
• Fused
• War
• Iraq
• Afghanistan
• Tank
• Hell Fire
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• Military
• Air Force

[jakobole]

@salemsblood Not if you need 40+ shells to take out the same targets which could potentially do more collateral damage. But I get your point - these are nasty weapons and I only say this because it's a matter with many complications.

[salemsblood]

but you know what im done going after this arguement so if you have any further curiosity check out cluster bomb ban.

[salemsblood]

@nift0tiboy 40 potential misfires over 1600 yards is a bigger potential and issue than a single grenade or mortal shell.

[NifoOtiBoy]

@salemsblood You realize artillery shells, mortars, and grenades don't have 100% reliablility either.. :0

[Ap3xYank]

@EvilxMerlin Hey, just so you know, salemsblood replied to you indirectly. I hate when people do that to me, so I thought I should let you know.

[salemsblood]

@evilxmerlin proven to not effectively work 100% percent of the time hence the international attempt to ban clusterbombs.

[EvilxMerlin]

@salemsblood

Nope. THe US Smart Muitions have had self destruct/disable devices in them since 1986.

[Tycetto]

That guy reporting got a big boner on by watching shit that kill others... SICK FUCK!

[salemsblood]

i just got done watching a news report stating that the unexploded ordinance is unstable and it kills innocent passerby's kinda like a forgotten mine

[franknbeans4761]

@TheFlygt It's more complicated than that. All the unexploded ordinance you speak of is very complicated to remove. Especially when there are people that would gladly kill you when you try removing it. And trust me, the US doesn't want it out there. Especially considering it can be used against them. But I think the fact that the Us is making more precision weapons & more smaller bombs like this, shows it wants to limit collateral damage & limit civilian casualties. More so than most countries.