Bigeye bomb
Encyclopedia
The Bigeye bomb was a proposed U.S. binary chemical weapon
. The Bigeye was a glide bomb
designed under the auspices of the U.S. Navy. Initially approved by the Carter administration, the program persisted into the early 1990s.
and then-President Jimmy Carter
rejected Army requests for authorization of the binary chemical weapons program. The talks deteriorated and Carter eventually granted the request. However, at the last minute Carter pulled the provision from the budget, this action left the decision on a retaliatory binary chemical weapons program to Ronald Reagan
.
around 200 test articles were produced. Initial contracts for the Bigeye were awarded in June 1988, to the Marquardt Company, the project's primary contractor. The original timeline for the U.S. binary chemical weapons program called for the Bigeye to be deployed by September 1988. Reagan authorized the spending of more than $59 million in 1986 to revive the chemical weapons program, under the original timeline, the Bigeye was to be the first of these weapons produced. After a General Accounting Office (GAO) report pointed out numerous flaws in the program the U.S. Senate moved to effectively kill the binary chemical weapons program, including the Bigeye bomb. In 1989 President George H.W. Bush announced that the U.S. would retain the option to produce such binary weapons even after the Chemical Weapons Convention
took effect. At the time of his announcement, 1992 was the earliest date Bigeyes were expected to be produced.
and QL
, were combined to create VX.
The Bigeye bomb would have weighed 595 pounds (270 kg); 180 pounds (80 kg) would have been chemical agent, VX in this case. It was to have a length of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) and a diameter of 13¼ inches (337 mm). The glide bomb had a wingspan of 1 foot 5¼ inches (440 mm). The Bigeye was not planned to have any guidance, propulsion or autopilot systems.
s only to enhance its recent reactivation; critics also charged the Army was opposed to arms control talks. Also criticized was the entire idea of a modern American chemical weapons program. Such a program, the argument went, would actually encourage others to develop chemical weapons, as opposed to acting as a deterrent.
The testing, which had dismal results, presented its own set of problems. In 1987 the Navy conducted 58 tests, results were "very inconsistent". Problems the Navy encountered with the Bigeye included excessive pressure build-up, questions about the lethality of the chemical mixture, unpredictable agent burning, and overall performance concerns. Scientists debated the efficacy of the binary weapons program, especially since the Bigeye had only been tested using simulants. This led to speculation that the binary weapons might be inferior to those unitary weapons they were replacing. The GAO repeatedly backed these assertions, maintaining that the Bigeye was not adequately tested and that it had encountered major technical issues.
Binary chemical weapon
Binary chemical weapons or munitions are chemical weapons wherein the toxic agent is not contained within the weapon in its active state, but in the form of two chemical precursors, physically separated within the weapon...
. The Bigeye was a glide bomb
Glide bomb
A glide bomb is an aerial bomb modified with aerodynamic surfaces to modify its flight path from a purely ballistic one to a flatter, gliding, one. This extends the range between the launch aircraft and the target. Glide bombs are often fitted with control systems, allowing the controlling aircraft...
designed under the auspices of the U.S. Navy. Initially approved by the Carter administration, the program persisted into the early 1990s.
Background
As the stockpile of unitary chemical weapons began to leak in the 1970s the Department of Defense was acutely aware of the public backlash this created. With this in mind the Pentagon insisted it needed a binary chemical weapons program to counter and deter a Soviet or third-world chemical attack. The U.S. Army's Chemical Corps was reactivated in 1976 and with it came the increased desire for the Army to acquire a retaliatory chemical capability in the form of that binary chemical weapons program. Initially, the United States was in arms control talks with the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and then-President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
rejected Army requests for authorization of the binary chemical weapons program. The talks deteriorated and Carter eventually granted the request. However, at the last minute Carter pulled the provision from the budget, this action left the decision on a retaliatory binary chemical weapons program to Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
History
Bigeye was the codename for the BLU-80, a concept conceived during 1959. During the 1970s at Pine Bluff ArsenalPine Bluff Arsenal
The Pine Bluff Arsenal is a US Army installation located in Jefferson County, Arkansas, just northwest of the city of Pine Bluff. PBA is one of the six Army installations in the United States that store chemical weapons...
around 200 test articles were produced. Initial contracts for the Bigeye were awarded in June 1988, to the Marquardt Company, the project's primary contractor. The original timeline for the U.S. binary chemical weapons program called for the Bigeye to be deployed by September 1988. Reagan authorized the spending of more than $59 million in 1986 to revive the chemical weapons program, under the original timeline, the Bigeye was to be the first of these weapons produced. After a General Accounting Office (GAO) report pointed out numerous flaws in the program the U.S. Senate moved to effectively kill the binary chemical weapons program, including the Bigeye bomb. In 1989 President George H.W. Bush announced that the U.S. would retain the option to produce such binary weapons even after the Chemical Weapons Convention
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
took effect. At the time of his announcement, 1992 was the earliest date Bigeyes were expected to be produced.
Specifications
The Bigeye was a roughly 500 pound bomb delivered by plane. It consisted of two separate canisters of chemical weapons which were combined just before flight. It was the separation that was meant to make handling the weapons simpler by increasing their shelf life and decreasing the amount of maintenance they required. The bomb was a U.S. Navy weapon designed to spray VX nerve agent over a target area by gliding through the air over it. Inside the weapon two compounds, non-toxic by themselves, sulfurSulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
and QL
QL (chemical)
Isopropyl aminoethylmethyl phosphonite , also known as O- O'-ethyl methylphosphonite, is a precursor chemical to the nerve agent VX.-Uses in chemical warfare:...
, were combined to create VX.
The Bigeye bomb would have weighed 595 pounds (270 kg); 180 pounds (80 kg) would have been chemical agent, VX in this case. It was to have a length of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) and a diameter of 13¼ inches (337 mm). The glide bomb had a wingspan of 1 foot 5¼ inches (440 mm). The Bigeye was not planned to have any guidance, propulsion or autopilot systems.
Problems and issues
The 14 year plus, on again off again, Bigeye bomb program was plagued with problems and controversy from its outset. The Chemical Corps was accused of interest in binary chemical weaponBinary chemical weapon
Binary chemical weapons or munitions are chemical weapons wherein the toxic agent is not contained within the weapon in its active state, but in the form of two chemical precursors, physically separated within the weapon...
s only to enhance its recent reactivation; critics also charged the Army was opposed to arms control talks. Also criticized was the entire idea of a modern American chemical weapons program. Such a program, the argument went, would actually encourage others to develop chemical weapons, as opposed to acting as a deterrent.
The testing, which had dismal results, presented its own set of problems. In 1987 the Navy conducted 58 tests, results were "very inconsistent". Problems the Navy encountered with the Bigeye included excessive pressure build-up, questions about the lethality of the chemical mixture, unpredictable agent burning, and overall performance concerns. Scientists debated the efficacy of the binary weapons program, especially since the Bigeye had only been tested using simulants. This led to speculation that the binary weapons might be inferior to those unitary weapons they were replacing. The GAO repeatedly backed these assertions, maintaining that the Bigeye was not adequately tested and that it had encountered major technical issues.