CBU-107 Passive Attack Weapon
Encyclopedia
The CBU-107 Passive Attack Weapon is an air-dropped guided bomb
Guided bomb
A guided bomb is a precision-guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....

 containing 3,750 non-explosive steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 and tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

 penetrator rods of various sizes. It was designed to attack targets where an explosive effect may be undesirable, such as fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...

 storage tank
Storage tank
A storage tank is a container, usually for holding liquids, sometimes for compressed gases . The term can be used for reservoirs , and for manufactured containers. The usage of the word tank for reservoirs is common or universal in Indian English, American English and moderately common in British...

s in civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

 areas.

Overview

The weapon consists of a 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...

-equipped SUU-66/B Tactical Munitions Dispenser containing 3,750 non-explosive steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 and tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

 penetrator rods of various sizes. There is no non-WCMD version of the CBU-107. The weapon is notable for the speed with which it was developed and fielded, a total of 98 days. This was to meet an urgent operation requirement and earned the development team several awards.

Combat history

The CBU-107 was first used in a March 28, 2003 attack on the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i Ministry of Information. The intended targets were two antenna arrays which were both destroyed with little damage to the MOI or adjacent buildings.

Specifications

  • Guidance: INS
    Inertial navigation system
    An inertial navigation system is a navigation aid that uses a computer, motion sensors and rotation sensors to continuously calculate via dead reckoning the position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object without the need for external references...

  • Payload:
    • 350 14 inch tungsten rods
    • 1,000 7 inch tungsten rods
    • 2,400 2 inch steel rods

External links

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