Mark 82 bomb

{{short description|500 lb unguided aerial bomb}} {{Infobox weapon | name = Mark 82 General Purpose bomb | image = Mk-82 xxl.jpg | image_size = 300 | alt = | caption = | type = Low-drag general-purpose bomb | origin = United States | is_explosive = y | service = Since 1950s | used_by = | wars =  | designer = | design_date = | manufacturer = General Dynamics | unit_cost = {{Currency|4000|US}} | production_date = | number = | variants = {{ubl|GBU-12 Paveway II|GBU-22 Paveway III|GBU‐38 JDAM|JDAM-ER|Paveway IV}} | spec_label = | mass = {{cvt|241|kg|lb|order=flip}} | length = {{cvt|2.21|m|ftin|order=flip}} | width = | height = | diameter = {{cvt|273|mm|in|order=flip}} | filling = Tritonal, Comp H-6 or PBXN-109 | filling_weight = {{cvt|89|kg|lb|order=flip}} | detonation = | yield =  | ref = Janes<ref>{{Citation |author=Janes |url=https://customer.janes.com/display/JALW2717-JALW |title=Mk 80 general‐purpose bombs (BLU‐110/111/117/126/129) |date=26 July 2022 |website=Janes Weapons: Air Launched |publisher=Jane's Group UK Limited. |publication-place=Coulsdon, Surrey |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Janes |url=https://customer.janes.com/display/JALWA051-JALW |title=GBU-10/12/16/58 Paveway II |date=1 June 2023 |website=Janes Weapons: Air Launched |publisher=Jane's Group UK Limited. |publication-place=Coulsdon, Surrey |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Janes |url=https://customer.janes.com/display/JALW3671-JALW |title=GBU‐22, GBU‐24, GBU‐27 Paveway III, and Enhanced Paveway III |date=1 December 2022 |website=Janes Weapons: Air Launched |publisher=Jane's Group UK Limited. |publication-place=Coulsdon, Surrey |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Janes |url=https://customer.janes.com/display/JALW3667-JALW |title=GBU‐31/32/38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) |date=1 June 2023 |website=Janes Weapons: Air Launched |publisher=Jane's Group UK Limited. |publication-place=Coulsdon, Surrey |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Janes |url=https://customer.janes.com/display/JALW9213-JALW |title=Paveway IV (PGB) |date=4 August 2021 |website=Janes Weapons: Air Launched |publisher=Jane's Group UK Limited. |publication-place=Coulsdon, Surrey |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 June 2023}}</ref> & ''The War Zone''<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Newdick |first1=Thimas |last2=Rogoway |first2=Tyler |date=15 December 2022 |title=What Joint Direct Attack Munitions could do for Ukraine |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/what-jdam-smart-bombs-could-do-for-ukraine |magazine=The War Zone |location=Miami, New York & San Francisco |publisher=Recurrent Ventures |access-date=29 May 2023}}</ref> }}

The '''Mark 82''' is a {{convert|500|lb|kg|adj=on}} unguided, low-drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used.

It is manufactured by Australia, the United States and Turkey.

== Development and deployment == With a nominal weight of {{cvt|500|lb|kg}}, it is one of the smallest bombs in current service, and one of the most common air-dropped weapons in the world. Although the {{nowrap|Mk82's}} nominal weight is {{cvt|500|lb|kg}}, its actual weight varies depending on its configuration, from {{cvt|510|to|570|lb|kg}}. It is a streamlined steel casing containing {{cvt|192|lb|kg}} of Tritonal high explosive. The {{nowrap|Mk82}} is offered with a variety of fin kits, fuzes, and retarders for different purposes.

The {{nowrap|Mk82}} is the warhead for the GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and for the GBU-38 JDAM.

Over many years Nitro-Chem in Bydgoszcz, Poland was the only provider of certified TNT for U.S. Department of Defense.<ref name="NitroChem">{{Cite web |title=NITRO-CHEM SA has received further orders to supply TNT to the USA |url=https://nitrochem.com.pl/en/cms/news/367/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Nitro-Chem |language=en}}</ref> As of 2021 also the General Dynamics plant in Garland, Texas was providing bombs for the US Armed Forces.{{cn|date=June 2021}}

The {{nowrap|Mk82}} is currently undergoing a minor redesign to allow it to meet the insensitive munitions requirements set by Congress.

According to a test report conducted by the United States Navy's Weapon Systems Explosives Safety Review Board established in the wake of the 1967 USS Forrestal fire, the cooking off time for a {{nowrap|Mk82}} is approximately {{nowrap|2 minutes}} {{nowrap|30 seconds}}.

thumb|U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4B Phantom II of VF-111 ''Sundowners'' deploying Mark 82 bombs over Vietnam, 1971. More than 4,500 {{nowrap|GBU-12/Mk82}} laser-guided bombs were dropped on Iraq during the Persian Gulf War.<ref>{{cite book|author=Friedman, Norman|title=The Naval Institute guide to world naval weapons systems, 1997–1998|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1997|isbn=978-1-55750-268-1|page=249|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l-DzknmTgDUC&pg=PA249}}</ref> France requested 1,200 {{nowrap|Mk82s}} in 2010 to Société des Ateliers Mécaniques de Pont-sur-Sambre (SAMP) which builds {{nowrap|Mk82s}} under license.<ref name=France2010>{{Cite web | url=http://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualite-dga/2009/la-dga-notifie-l-achat-de-1-200-corps-de-bombes-de-type-mk82 | title=La DGA notifie l'achat de 1 200 corps de bombes de type Mk82 | language=fr | publisher=Government of France | date=28 June 2010 | access-date=2016-08-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916235653/http://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualite-dga/2009/la-dga-notifie-l-achat-de-1-200-corps-de-bombes-de-type-mk82 | archive-date=16 September 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref> Saudi Arabia requested 8,000 {{nowrap|Mk82s}} in 2015, along with guidance kits and other weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-11-20/saudis-request-huge-resupply-us-air-ground-weapons|title=Saudis Request Huge Resupply of U.S. Air-To-Ground Weapons|work=Aviation International News|access-date=2015-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122171650/https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-11-20/saudis-request-huge-resupply-us-air-ground-weapons|archive-date=2015-11-22|url-status=live}}</ref>

In August, 2018, a Mark 82 bomb was used for Saudi Arabia's Dahyan air strike in Yemen. Munitions experts confirmed that the numbers on it identified Lockheed Martin as its maker and that this particular Mk82 was a Paveway, a laser-guided bomb.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/17/middleeast/us-saudi-yemen-bus-strike-intl/index.html|title=Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by US|author1=Nima Elbagir |author2=Salma Abdelaziz |author3=Ryan Browne |author4=Barbara Arvanitidis |author5=Laura Smith-Spark|work=CNN|access-date=2018-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818040221/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/17/middleeast/us-saudi-yemen-bus-strike-intl/index.html|archive-date=2018-08-18|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Low-level delivery == [[File:Mk. 81 250-lb and Mk. 82 Snakeye I 500-lb.jpg|thumb|Museum-based inert Mark 82 bomb with a Snake Eye Tail Retarding Device – displaying deployed high-drag tail-fin for low-altitude release.]] In low-level bombing, it is possible for the delivering aircraft to sustain damage from the blast and fragmentation effects of its own munitions since the aircraft and ordnance arrive at the target almost simultaneously. To address this issue, the standard {{nowrap|Mk82}} General-Purpose bomb can be fitted with a special high-drag tail fin unit. In this configuration, it is referred to as the {{nowrap|Mk82}} Snake Eye.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ordnance.org/gpb.htm |title=Bombs and components |publisher=www.ordnance.org/gpb.htm |access-date=2008-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981202181847/http://ordnance.org/gpb.htm |archive-date=1998-12-02 |url-status=live }}</ref> The tail unit has four folded fins that spring open into a cruciform shape when the bomb is released, slowing the bomb by increasing drag, thus allowing the delivery aircraft to safely pass over the target before the bomb hits it.

{{Clear}} == Variants == [[File:B-2 Spirit bombing, 1994.jpg|thumb|A B-2 Spirit dropping {{nowrap|Mk82}} bombs into the Pacific Ocean in a 1994 training exercise off Point Mugu, California.]] * '''BLU-111(AUS)B/B''' – Australian variant of the Mk82, fitted with both JDAM and Paveway II guidance kits.<ref>https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2022-01-17/australian-warheads-introduced-into-service</ref>

* '''BLU-111/B''' – {{nowrap|Mk82}} casing filled with PBXN-109 (instead of Composition H6); item weighs {{cvt|218|kg|lb|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.chinalakealumni.org/Glossary.htm|title= China Lake, Naval Warfare Center|publisher= www.chinalakealumni.org|access-date= 2007-03-01|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070203040906/http://www.chinalakealumni.org/Glossary.htm|archive-date= 2007-02-03|url-status= live}}</ref> PBXN-109 is a less sensitive explosive filler when compared to H6.<ref name= fact>{{cite web|url= http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-111.htm|title= BLU-111/B|publisher= Federation of American Scientists|access-date= 2007-03-01|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061213004148/http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-111.htm|archive-date= 2006-12-13|url-status= live}}</ref> The BLU-111/B also is the warhead of the A-1 version of the Joint Stand-Off Weapon. * '''BLU-111A/B''' – Used by the U.S. Navy,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/asetds/u-b.html#_BLU|title= Equipment Listing|publisher= www.designation-systems.net|access-date= 2007-03-01|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070204002314/http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/asetds/u-b.html#_BLU|archive-date= 2007-02-04|url-status= live}}</ref> this is the BLU-111/B with a thermal-protective coating added<ref name= fact /> to reduce cook-off in (fuel-related) fires. * '''BLU-126/B''' – Designed following a U.S. Navy request to lower collateral damage in air strikes. Delivery of this type started in March 2007. Also known as the Low Collateral Damage Bomb (LCDB), it is a BLU-111 with a smaller explosive charge. Inert ballast is added to match the original weight of the BLU-111, which gives it the same trajectory when dropped.<ref>Little Bang – p.38, Aviation Week & Space Technology-January 29, 2007</ref> * '''BLU-129/B''' – U.S. Air Force Mark 82 version with a composite warhead case that disintegrates upon detonation to minimize fragmentation, decreasing damage to nearby structures and reducing the chances of collateral damage.<ref>[https://www.wpafb.af.mil/News/story/id/123285609/ Precision Lethality Responds to Urgent Operational Need] – AF.mil, 9 January 2015</ref> The carbon fiber composite shell achieves three-times less collateral damage by keeping the blast radius tight, while the tungsten-laden case high explosive has greater lethality in that blast radius. Entered service in 2011 with some 800 units produced until early 2015. USAF is looking to restart production for domestic and international consumption.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usafs-ultra-lethal-carbon-fibre-bomb-approved-for-export-414130/ USAF’s ultra-lethal carbon fibre bomb approved for export] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703205910/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usafs-ultra-lethal-carbon-fibre-bomb-approved-for-export-414130/ |date=2015-07-03 }} – Flightglobal.com, 29 June 2015</ref><ref>[http://www.copybook.com/military/news/usaf-has-carbon-fibre-bomb-export-hopes USAF Has Carbon Fibre Bomb Export Hopes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712015646/http://www.copybook.com/military/news/usaf-has-carbon-fibre-bomb-export-hopes |date=2015-07-12 }} – Copybook.com/Military, 2 July 2015</ref> * '''Mark 62 Quickstrike mine''' – A naval mine, which is a conversion of the Mark 82 bomb.<ref>Jenkins, Dennis R. ''B-1 Lancer, The Most Complicated Warplane Ever Developed'', p. 159. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. {{ISBN|0-07-134694-5}}.</ref> * '''Mark 82 Mod 7''' – Near-term solution for cluster bomb replacement that replaces the forged steel casing with a unitary "cast ductile iron" warhead and reconfigured burst height and fuze locations, dispersing iron fragmentation over a large area to fulfill area-attack requirements with less chance of unexploded ordnance. To enter service by 2018.<ref>[https://medium.com/war-is-boring/air-force-replaces-cluster-bombs-with-something-slightly-less-likely-to-kill-civilians-be94942adb97 Air Force Replaces Cluster Bombs With Something Slightly Less Likely to Kill Civilians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623141842/https://medium.com/war-is-boring/air-force-replaces-cluster-bombs-with-something-slightly-less-likely-to-kill-civilians-be94942adb97 |date=2015-06-23 }} – Medium.com/War-is-Boring, 12 October 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-moving-past-cluster-munitions-calcm-cruise-missile-413090/ USAF moving past cluster munitions, CALCM cruise missile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610041514/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-moving-past-cluster-munitions-calcm-cruise-missile-413090/ |date=2015-06-10 }} – Flightglobal.com, 4 June 2015</ref> * '''MK82-T (Tendürek)''' –Turkish variant of {{nowrap|Mk82}} with a thermobaric warhead, can be fitted with locally produced HGK, LGK, and KGK guidance kits.

==Gallery== <gallery class="center" widths="220"> File:An aviation ordnanceman installs an arming wire on the nose fuze of a Mark 82 500-pound bomb mounted on the wing pylon of an A-7E Corsair II aircraft aboard the nuclear-powered airc - DPLA - 3fdcf5d91737e1aeb709cb5bd08e6c0a.jpeg|Naval aviation ordnanceman installing arming wire on the nose fuze of a Mark 82 500-pound bomb. File:Mk 82 bombs being armed Hahn AB 1978.JPEG|U.S. Air Force weapons personnel from the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing attach release wires to the arming vanes on Mark 82 bomb during exercise ''Salty Rooster'', Hahn Air Base, Germany - 15 April 1978. File:B-52D(061127-F-1234S-017).jpg|B-52D deploying Mark 82 bombs, Vietnam conflict. File:A-7Es VA-27 dropping bombs Vietnam 1972-73.jpg|A-E Corsairs deploying Mark 82 bombs, Vietnam conflict. File:F-18 ordnance VMFA-235 Desert Storm 1991.jpeg|F/A-18C Hornet displaying equipped Mark 82 bombs, Operation Desert Storm. File:A-10 Thunderbolt II drops live Mk 82, 500lb bombs on the Grayling Aerial Gunnery Range during Exercise Northern Strike 2014.png|Aftermath of Mark 82 deployments via A-10 Thunderbolt II, Grayling Aerial Gunnery Range. </gallery>

== See also == * Mark 81 bomb * Mark 83 bomb * Mark 84 bomb * Paveway IV * Armement Air-Sol Modulaire * FAB-250 – Soviet counterpart

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/mk82.htm Mk82 General-Purpose Bomb] * [http://www.ordnance.org/gpb.htm Bombs, Fuzes, and associated Components]

Category:Cold War aerial bombs of the United States Category:Aerial bombs of the United States Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1950s Category:General Dynamics