Air Weapons: January 24, 2004

Archives

The U.S. Air Force is now convinced that air burst JDAM smart bombs are often much more effective than those that detonate on contact with the ground. This was determined after closely examining the use of such bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The air burst is achieved using the DSU-33B/B Proximity Sensor, which is a fuze that uses radio waves to sense how high the bomb is, and detonates the bomb when it is 20 feet above the ground (an "air burst"). This maximizes the blast and fragmentation effect of a high explosive bomb. This is more effective against troops and vehicles out in the open. If a normal contact fuze is used, the bomb explodes when it hits the ground, digging a crater, but putting a lot of the blast and fragments into the ground. The air force has just bought another 7,000 of these fuzes, for $1,130 each. The U.S. Navy and Australia have also bought this fuze. 

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close