GBU-15
| GBU-15 | |
|---|---|
 A GBU-15(V)21/B | |
| Type | Precision guided munition (PGM) |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1975–present |
| Used by | USAF |
| Wars | Operation Wooden Leg Persian Gulf War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Rockwell International |
| Designed | 1970s |
| Variants |
|
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2450 lb (1111 kg)[1] |
| Length | 154 in (3.90 m) |
| Diameter | 18.7 in (475 mm) |
| Wingspan | 4 ft 11 in (1.5 m) |
| Warhead weight | 2,000 lb (910 kg) |
Operational range | 5 to 15 nmi (9.3 to 27.8 km; 5.8 to 17.3 mi) |
Guidance system | Manual guidance by radio datalink with TV guidance or Infrared homing with Imaging Infra-red |
Steering system | Aerodynamic |
Launch platform | |
The Rockwell International Guided Bomb Unit 15 is an unpowered glide weapon used to destroy high-value enemy targets. It was designed for use with F-15E Strike Eagle, F-111 'Aardvark' and F-4 Phantom II aircraft. The GBU-15 has long-range maritime anti-ship capability with the B-52 Stratofortress.[2]
Overview
[edit]The weapon consists of modular components that are attached to either a general purpose Mark 84 bomb or a penetrating-warhead BLU-109 bomb. Each weapon has five components—a forward guidance section, warhead adapter section, control module, airfoil components, and a weapon data link.
The guidance section is attached to the nose of the weapon and contains either a television guidance system for daytime or an imaging infrared system for night or limited, adverse weather operations. A data link in the tail section sends guidance updates to the control aircraft that enables the weapon systems operator to guide the bomb by remote control to its target.
An external electrical conduit extends the length of the warhead which attaches the guidance adapter and control unit. The conduit carries electrical signals between the guidance and control sections. The umbilical receptacle passes guidance and control data between cockpit control systems of the launching aircraft and the weapon prior to launch.
The rear control section consists of four wings that are in an "X"-like arrangement with trailing edge flap control surfaces for flight maneuvering. The control module contains the autopilot, which collects steering data from the guidance section and converts the information into signals that move the wing control surfaces to change the weapon's flight path.
Uses
[edit]The GBU-15 may be used in either a direct or an indirect attack. In a direct attack, the pilot selects a target before launch, locks the weapon guidance system onto it and launches the weapon. The weapon automatically guides itself to the target, enabling the pilot to leave the area. In an indirect attack, the weapon is guided by remote control after launch. The pilot releases the weapon and, via remote control, searches for the target. Once the target is acquired, the weapon can be locked to the target or manually guided via the Hughes Aircraft AN/AXQ-14 data-link system.
This highly maneuverable weapon has an optimal, low-to-medium altitude delivery capability with pinpoint accuracy. It also has a standoff capability. During Desert Storm, all 71 GBU-15 modular glide bombs used were dropped from F-111F aircraft. Most notably, EGBU-15s were the munitions used for destroying the oil manifolds on the storage tanks to stop oil from spilling into the Persian Gulf . These EGBU-15s sealed flaming oil pipeline manifolds sabotaged by Saddam Hussein's troops.[3][4]
The Air Force Development Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, began developing the GBU-15 in 1974. The Air Force originally asked for the missile designations AGM-112A and AGM-112B for two versions of the system. This was declined because the weapon was an unpowered glide bomb and GBU designation was allotted instead. The M-112 designation remains unassigned as a result.[5]
It was a product improvement of the early guided bomb used during the Vietnam War called the GBU-8 HOBOS. The GBU-8 could not be controlled after the bomb was released. Instead, the aircraft was forced to fly very close to the target so the WSO could acquire it. Once locked on, the weapon could be released and the aircraft could return to base.
Flight testing of the weapon began in 1975. The GBU-15 with television guidance, completed full-scale operational test and evaluation in November 1983. In February 1985, initial operational test and evaluation was completed on the imaging infrared guidance seeker.
In December 1987, the program management responsibility for the GBU-15 weapon system transferred from the Air Force Systems Command to the Air Force Logistics Command. The commands merged to become the Air Force Materiel Command in 1992.
During the integrated weapons system management process, AGM-130 and GBU-15 were determined to be a family of weapons because of the commonality of the two systems. The Precision Strike Program Office at Eglin AFB became the single manager for the GBU-15, with the Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah providing sustainment support.
Notes
[edit]- ^ Carlo Kopp. "Pave Tack and the GBU-15 Greatly Expand RAAF Strike Capabilities". Air Power Australia. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ Caldwell, Hamlin A., Jr. "Air Force Maritime Missions" United States Naval Institute Proceedings October 1978 p.31
- ^ Leone, Dario (15 October 2019). "Duck Mission: The F-111 Sortie Flown To Preserve Cormorant Colonies against Oil Spill Caused by Iraqis during Operation Desert Storm". The Aviation Geek Club. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
Four aircraft operated as buddy pairs, each with one jet as the GBU-15 launcher and the second flying more than 50 miles off-shore to guide the weapon through data link. Capts Rick `Spanky' Walker and Ken Theurer, in F-111F 72-1446 (`Charger 34′), made the first supersonic drop eight miles from the target at 15,000 ft and then turned away to avoid heavy AAA, while the guiding F-111F, 65 miles away, linked to the infra-red sensing bomb. Contact with the weapon was lost soon afterwards so a second GBU-15 was launched, also at supersonic speed, by Maj Sammy Samson and Capt Steve Williams from F-111F 70-1452 (`Charger 35′). Its signal was picked up by WSO Capt Brad Seipel and pilot Capt Mike Russell from 50 miles distance in 'Charger 32' (70-2414). Seipel, who had flown in the lead F-111F attacking Saddam's Tikrit palace on Night One of the war, guided the bomb to a direct hit on one of the manifold structures and then picked up and directed a second bomb from Samson's aircraft for a hit on the other manifold building three miles away. It took a day for the oil in the pipelines to burn out, but the spillage was almost stopped. A second data-link aircraft (70-2408 'Charger 31′) was flown by Capt Ben Snyder and Maj Jim Gentleman and a fifth jet, 70-2404 `Charger 33', crewed by Capts John Taylor and Seth Bretscher, had to abort the mission with technical problems.
- ^ "WAR IN THE GULF: The Overview; U.S. BOMBS KUWAIT OIL STATIONS, SEEKING TO CUT FLOW INTO GULF; MORE IRAQI PLANES FLY TO IRAN". The New York Times. 28 January 1991. p. Section A, Page 1. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
In the attack aimed at stemming the oil release, four F-111 jet fighters were reported to have let loose GBU-15 "smart bombs" to destroy a critical maze of controls for pumping oil between storage installations on the southern Kuwaiti coast to the offshore Sea Island Terminal, where the oil was pouring into the gulf.
- ^ Parsch, Andreas (2004). "Rockwell GBU-15(V)/B". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
External links
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