Air Weapons: March 8, 2003

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The U.S. Air Force has received 17,200 of 30,000 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) kits. Costing $20,000 each, the WCMD is attached to CBU-87, -89, and 97 cluster bombs (carrying anti-personnel or anti-vehicle bomblets) and gives them the similar accuracy of JDAM smart bombs (but just using inertial guidance, not inertial and GPS as in JDAM). The WCMD got it's first combat use in Afghanistan and is currently used by B-52, F-16 and F-15 aircraft. The B-1 will be able to use it sometime this year, followed by the A-10, F-117 and F-35. These cluster bombs weigh half a ton and disperse 202 bomblets that explode and damage vehicles, while wounding and killing personnel in a 200x400 meter area. With WCMD, you can have a B-52 drop a dozen or more of these and cover a huge area simultaneously. If done at night, troops sleeping in the open, have no chance to seek better shelter and casualties are higher. 

 

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