CBU-97 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

1,000-pound-class (450 kg) non-guided (freefall) Cluster Bomb Unit

Cluster bomb

A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...

(CBU). It was developed and produced by Textron Defense Systems.

Overview

The CBU-97 consists of an SUU-66/B tactical munition dispenser that contains 10 BLU-108

BLU-108

The BLU-108 is an air-delivered submunition, containing four further smart "Skeet" submunitions. The system is manufactured by Textron Defense Systems.- BLU-108/B specifications :* Length: 78.8 cm * Diameter: 13.3 cm...

submunitions. Each submunition contains four hockey-puck-shaped sensor-fused projectiles called Skeets. These detect targets, such as tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

s, armored personnel carriers, trucks and other support vehicles, and fire an explosively formed penetrator

Explosively Formed Penetrator

An explosively formed penetrator , also known as an explosively formed projectile, a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armour effectively at standoff distances...

Operation

The 40 Skeets scan an area of 1500 feet (457.2 m) by 500 feet (152.4 m) using infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

and laser

Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

sensor

Sensor

A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...

s, seeking targets

Targeting (warfare)

Targeting is the process used to select objects or installations to be attacked, taken, or destroyed in warfare.Technologically advanced countries can generally select their targets in such a way as to minimize collateral damage and civilian casualties. This can fall by the wayside, however, during...

by pattern-matching. When a Skeet finds a target it fires an explosively-formed penetrator to destroy it. If a Skeet fails to find a target, it self-destructs 50 feet (15 m) above the ground; if this fails, a back-up timer disables the Skeet. These features are intended to avoid hurting civilians later, and result 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 parachute

Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

s so that they are spaced about 100 feet (30 m) 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 laser sensor detects changes in height such as the distinctive contour of a vehicle. At the same time, infrared sensors

Infra-red search and track

An infra-red search and track system is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infra-red radiation such as jet aircraft and helicopters. IRST is a generalized case of Forward Looking Infra-Red , i.e. from Forward-Looking to allround situational awareness...

detect heat signatures, such as those emitted by the engine of a target vehicle. When the combination of height contours and heat signatures indicative of a target are detected, the Skeet detonates, firing an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) into the target vehicle at high speed, enabling it to penetrate armor plating and destroy what is underneath the armor plating. Note that SFW disables targets using the kinetic energy

Kinetic energy

The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...

of the EFP, not the blast of an explosive charge.

The weapon is deployed by US Air Force tactical aircraft from altitudes of 200 feet (60 m) Above Ground Level (AGL) to 20,000 feet (6100 m) Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) at speeds of 250 to 650 knots (460 to 1,200 km/h).

The CBU-97 was first deployed during Operation Allied Force

Operation Allied Force

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...

when the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and NATO entered the Kosovo War

Kosovo War

The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...

, but were not used. Sensor-fused weapons were first fired in combat during the 2003 invasion of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

.

When the CBU-97 is used in conjunction with the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser

Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser

The Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser system is a tail kit for use with the TMD family of cluster bombs to convert them to precision-guided weapons...

guidance tail kit, it is designated as CBU-105.

The Pentagon has notified in 2010 the US Congress of its offer to sell India 512 CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons.

General characteristics

Type: Freefall bomb
Weight: 927 pounds (420.5 kg)
Name: CBU-97 Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW)
Length: 92 inches (234 cm)
Diameter: 15.6 inches (40 cm)
Dispenser: SW-65 tactical dispenser
Bomblets: 10 × BLU-108/B
Warhead: Armour Piercing
Unit Cost: $360,000 - baseline

External links

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