US B-52s drop new cluster bombs on Iraqi tanks

Reuters | 4/02/03

[kattracks]

US B-52s drop new cluster bombs on Iraqi tanks

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. B-52 bombers dropped six new precision-guided 1,000-pound (454 kg) "cluster" bombs on Wednesday on an Iraqi tank column defending Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

The U.S. Central Command's air component command said the CBU-105 bombs, which each dispense a number of armor-destroying bomblets, were dropped for the first time ever "to stop an Iraqi tank column from continuing its route" toward American troops fighting the Iraqi Republican Guards.

The release did not provide any battle damage assessment of the bombing in central Iraq or say exactly where they had landed. The bombs are upgraded versions of older munitions and have been adapted to allow for wind and weather conditions to make them more accurate.

04/02/03 08:25 ET

[LS]

I think I can give you the "battle damage." DEAD.

[Gefreiter]

Cool. New ordnance for a new model year.

[trebb]

I saw a vid clip on TV last night, where it looked like a whole ridge line exploded at the same time and couldn't figure out how we managed that; they then said it was cluster bombs, but I still had trouble believing it as there was no perceptible delay from one end to the other, it all seemed to happen at once. Looks like our technology is cranking...

[Oldeconomybuyer]

CBU-97/CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon

[BruceS]

I'm wondering why the Iraqis still think they can move "columns" of anything without them being destroyed - whether by cluster bombs or ordinary bombs. I know they are evil, but I didn't think they were this stupid.

[First_Salute]

That was not a cluster bomb strike.

That was a coordinated time to target strike by artillery. The time to target is coordinated so that all the shells arrive at the same instant.

[Riley]

This was the one with the three guys walking from right to left at the bottom of the ridge who went flat when it hit, right?

I saw that, too. I *just missed* getting a video capture of it.

[BillM]

This munition distributes miniature anti tank devices on parachutes. They orient themselves towards armored vehicles and destroy them from above. They use the shaped charge technique and are devastating to massed armor.

[MEG33]

I like your assessment.

[xkaydet65]

Are these the "Rods of God" that I've wondered about since Jerry Pournelle described something similar in "Footfall"?

[Riley]

That was a coordinated time to target strike by artillery.

I think you're right. There wasn't any of the 'crackly' fireworks effect typical of CBUs.

[driftless]

We probably should have dropped leaflets thanking them for being so stupid as to move their armor out into the open. The equivalent of some rag-armed pitcher serving up a fifty mph chest-high fastball to Barry Bonds with the bases loaded.

[EternalVigilance]

Amazing weapon. One minute the enemy has a tank corps, the next minute he doesn't...

[EternalVigilance]

The equivalent of some rag-armed pitcher serving up a fifty mph chest-high fastball to Barry Bonds with the bases loaded.

Yeah, when we were already up 23-0 in the bottom of the ninth... ;-)

[EternalVigilance]

Tom Clancy had us using these on the Chinese in 'the Bear and the Dragon'.

[Daniel Ramsey]

Here is some info and links about fuzed cluster bombs against armor. The CBU-105 is reported to being used just lately.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-87.htm

[CatoRenasci]

Ah, nothing like a nice Divarty 3 in Effect, Time-on-Target fired on a line off a registration point..... Ruins the perps whole day.

[conservativecorner]

BOMBS AWAY FOR FREEDOM!!

[EternalVigilance]

Thanks for the link. Very interesting.

It would seem that in addition to being devastating to armor, they are specifically designed to be anti-personnel, too.

I hate to say it, but I am more concerned about reducing their personnel than I am in taking down their tanks. The Abrams that are rolling in are going to make mincemeat out of any tank they have anyhow, but after the atrocities committed by their troops, they pose a greater longterm danger, IMO.

[Semper Paratus]

I want to see the 'Film at 11'.

[Daniel Ramsey]

I keep a window open on the DOD 101 so i can post a quick link about military subjects, sometimes the info is dated but it does help those in a basic understanding how technical our equipment is.

[RayChuang88]

Tom Clancy had us using these on the Chinese in 'the Bear and the Dragon'.

What was described in that novel was the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW), essentially an air-gliding weapons dispenser that is guided by GPS signals. I'm quite sure JSOW has seen extensive use lately against the Iraqi armored columns.

[EternalVigilance]

Thanks.

[katana]

That weapon's use against a Chinese armored division (and the results) and the assassination of the commanding general by a 70 plus year old Siberian WWII sniper vet are the two images I especially remember from the book. IMHO, one of Clancy's best efforts.

[N. Theknow]

I'm wondering why the Iraqis still think they can move "columns" of anything without them being destroyed - whether by cluster bombs or ordinary bombs. I know they are evil, but I didn't think they were this stupid.

When the only "shopping" you have done is at the French, German and Russian arms mall and then have to fight against munitions from the All-American Whoop-Ass Shopping Center, it is a bit like an uneducated shopper discovering sliced bread.

[RayChuang88]

I thought The Bear and the Dragon was Clancy's best book since The Sum of All Fears. =)

I especially liked the part about what happened to the church clergymen and how the insular Chinese response made everything go from bad to worse.

[Justa]

"That was a coordinated time to target strike by artillery."

I believe the correct term for this type of firemission is Time On Target (TOT).

[ericthecurdog]

Okay... that's FREAKIN COOL.

[Teacher317]

I love the fact that we're using the war to test our new toys. ;^)

[katana]

He sometimes makes mistakes. The water vapor cooling system at the Sydney Summer Olympics was a key plot device in Rainbow Six. The problem was the 2000 Summer Olympics were held in the middle of the Australian winter (southern hemisphere) and the temperatures would have been and were quite mild.

I agree that The Bear and the Dragon was one of his best as the scenarios were disturbingly plausible. The only problem I had with Sum of All Fears was the idea of the Vatican guards policing an internationalized Jerusalem. Tom sometimes wears his religious loyalties on his sleeve, but that's OK, I'm still a big fan.

[strela]

"Where does he get such wonderful toys?"

[Remole]

I saw that clip too. What was fascinating was the reaction of 3 people walking along the ridge: one second, they are walking along, it's a nice sunny day, gee the wall there looks a little dry and then WHAMMO the ridge and building just go up in a column of dark gray smoke. The 3 people hit the deck and it seems that they were not hurt at all.

[fourdeuce82d]

Are these the "Rods of God"

Good memory! Those were different- the idea was to launch a bunch of "crowbars" with guidance systems into orbit, and park them there..de-orbiting them as needed. No explosives, just a chunk of metal saying hello at ~10K fps. neat book- check out http://www.nuclearspace.com/a_liberty_ship.htm

[eureka!]

Evil-doer ending American technology bump....

[FreedomPoster]

>>That was not a cluster bomb strike.

Looked like clusters to me, and I know what a tot is. It was way too linear for artillery. Nice big rectangle (superimposed on a ridge line) just erupted.

[Valin]

What you gonna do when it feels like the whole world is raining down on you?
Brought too you courtesy of the RED, WHITE and BLUE.

[sine_nomine]

TOT was first used during WWII against the Germans. The Germans would have a great coordinated attack ready. Then we would call in the arty. The German attack often fell apart before it even started. They had nothing to counter it. We had massive amounts of ammo available. It's good to be the best.

Hats off to our armed services and their families. They have provided an awesome response to Iraq after 10 years of Congressional neglect and ingratitude.