Bunker buster
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A bunker buster bomb is designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground.
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Aircraft delivered bombs
In World War II the British designer Barnes Wallis of Bouncing bomb fame, designed two bunker buster bombs. The five tonne Tallboy bomb and the ten tonne Grand Slam (Earthquake) bomb. The designs were very aerodynamic with a tail which caused them to spin. This allowed them to break the sound barrier as they fell from a height of 22,000 feet (6,700 m). They had a much thicker skin than the typical World War II bomb so that they would survive the impact of hitting a hardened surface.
In the First Gulf War (1990-1991) there was a need for deep penetration bomb similar to the British weapons of World War II, but none of the NATO air forces had such a weapon. These were developed rapidly over a period of 28 days, using old 8 inch (203 mm) artillery barrels as casings. The bombs held over two tons of high explosive and were laser-guided. They were designated "Guided Bomb Unit-28 (GBU-28)". They worked very effectively.
More recently the US has developed a series of custom made bombs to penetrate hardened or deeply buried structures:
| Depth of Penetration | War head designation | Weapon Systems |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: 1.8 m (6 ft) | BLU-109 Penetrator (Mark 84 bomb) | GBU-10, GBU-15, GBU-24, GBU-27, AGM-130 |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: 3.4 m (11 ft) | BLU-116 Advanced Unitary Penetrator (AUP) | GBU-15, GBU-24, GBU-27, AGM-130 |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: 3.4 m (11 ft) | BLU-118/B Thermobaric Warhead | GBU-15, GBU-24, AGM-130 |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: more than 6 m (20 ft) | BLU-113 Super Penetrator | GBU-28, GBU-37 |
Fusing
The traditional fuse is the same as a classic armor-piercing bomb: a combination of timer and a sturdy dynamic propellor on the rear of the bomb. The fuse is armed when the bomb is released, and detonates when the propellor stops turning and the timer has expired.
Modern bunker busters may use the traditional fuse, but some also include a microphone and microcontroller. The microcontroller listens, and counts floors until the bomb busts through the desired numbers of floors.
Missiles
The rocket motor in missiles can be used to drive a hardened war head deep into a structure.
Halts in production
The McAlester production plant for the U.S. Military halted the production of 2,000 pound (900 kg) bunker buster bombs on two occasions. The first, on February 8th, 2005, revealed that 17 employees who made the weapons had low blood oxygen levels because of their exposure to trinitrotoluene. Later in August, 34 workers were also found to be anemic. Production restarted on January 1, 2005 after a new ventilation system was installed, but halted again on March 2nd of the same year when blood tests confirmed continued adverse effects to employee health from TNT exposure. [1] (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1896&e=4&u=/nm/health_bombs_dc)
Nuclear
External links
- Guided Bomb Unit-28 (GBU-28) BLU-113 Penetrator (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gbu-28.htm)
- GBU-28/B "Bunker Buster" (http://www.clw.org/milspend/gbu28.html)
- BBC: 'Bunker buster' missiles aim at Moon (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2970205.stm)