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Mk 83
The Mark 83 is part of the Mark 80 series of low-drag general-purpose bombs in United States service. Development and deployment The nominal weight of the bomb is 1,000 lb (454 kg), although its actual weight varies between 985 lb (447 kg) and 1,030 lb (468 kg), depending on fuze options, and fin configuration. The Mk 83 is a streamlined steel casing containing 445 lb (202 kg) of tritonal high explosive. When filled with PBXN-109 thermally insensitive explosive, the bomb is designated BLU-110. The Mk 83/BLU-110 is used as the warhead for a variety of precision-guided weapons, including the GBU-16 Paveway laser-guided bombs, the GBU-32 JDAM and Quickstrike sea mines. The Mk 83 is also used as the warhead in a variety of Pakistani smart bombs made by GIDS. During Operation Swift Retort in 2019, 2 JF-17 Thunders of the No. 16 Squadron "Black Panthers" armed with newly developed Mk. 83 Range Extension Kit (REK) bombs struck military target ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tritonal
Tritonal is a mixture of 80% Trinitrotoluene, TNT and 20% aluminium Powder (substance), powder, used in several types of ordnance such as air-dropped bombs. The aluminium improves the total heat output and hence Impulse (physics), impulse of the TNT — the length of time during which the blast wave is positive. Tritonal is approximately 18% more powerful than TNT alone. The 87 kilogram, kg of tritonal in a Mark 82 bomb has the potential to produce approximately 863 Joule#Megajoule, MJ of energy when detonated. This implies an energy density of approximately 9MJ/kg, compared to ~4MJ/kg for TNT. References {{reflist See also *Torpex *Composition H6 *Minol (explosive), Minol *TNT equivalent#Relative effectiveness factor, Relative effectiveness factor (RE) Explosives ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smart Bombs
A guided bomb (also known as a smart bomb, guided bomb unit, or GBU) is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP). The creation of precision-guided munitions resulted in the retroactive renaming of older bombs as unguided bombs or "dumb bombs". Guidance Guided bombs carry a guidance system which is usually monitored and controlled from an external device. A guided bomb of a given weight must carry fewer explosives to accommodate the guidance mechanisms. Radio The Germans were first to introduce Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs) in combat, using the 1,400-kg (3,100 lb) MCLOS-guidance Fritz X to successfully attack the Italian battleship ''Roma'' in September 1943. The closest Allied equivalents were the 1,000-lb (454 kg) AZON (AZimuth ONly), used in both Europe and the CBI Theater, and the US Navy's Bat, primarily used in the Pacific Theater of World War II which used autonomous, on-board radar guidance. In additio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark 81 Bomb
The Mark 81 (Mk 81) general-purpose bomb (nicknamed "Firecracker") is the smallest of the Mark 80 series of low- drag general-purpose bombs. Development and deployment Developed for United States military forces in the 1950s, it was first used during the Vietnam War. The bomb consists of a forged steel case with of Composition H6, Minol or Tritonal explosive. The power of the Mk 81 was found to be inadequate for U.S. military tactical use, and it was quickly discontinued, although license-built copies or duplicates of this weapon remain in service with various other nations. Development of a precision guided variant of the Mk 81 bomb (GBU-29) was started due to its potential to reduce collateral damage compared to larger bombs, but this program has now been cancelled in favor of the Small Diameter Bomb. Variants *Mark 81 Snakeye fitted with a Mark 14 TRD (Tail Retarding Device) to increase the bomb's drag after release. The bomb's increased air-time, coupled with its (relativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooking Off
Cooking off (or thermally induced firing) is unfired weapon ammunition exploding prematurely due to heat in the surrounding environment. The term is used both for detonation of ammunition not loaded into a weapon, and unintended firing of a loaded weapon due to heating. A fast cook-off is a cook-off caused by fire. A slow cook-off is caused by a sustained thermal event less intense than fire. A cooked-off round may cause a sympathetic detonation of adjacent rounds. Insensitive munitions are designed to be less vulnerable to accidental firing induced by external heat. Artillery Inherent design flaws in early 17th century Swedish leather cannons led to the gun tube overheating which prematurely ignited the gunpowder, injuring the loader. Muzzle-loading cannon on merchant and naval vessels of the Age of Sail would fire if the vessels caught fire while the guns were loaded. Examples include the merchantman and . After the cooking off of artillery shells in the G5 howitzer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1967 USS Forrestal Fire
On 29 July 1967, a fire broke out on board the aircraft carrier after an electrical anomaly caused a Zuni rocket on an F-4B Phantom to fire, striking an external fuel tank of an A-4 Skyhawk. The flammable jet fuel spilled across the flight deck, ignited, and triggered a chain reaction of explosions that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. At the time, ''Forrestal'' was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, during the Vietnam War. The ship survived, but with damage exceeding US$72 million, not including the damage to aircraft. Future United States Senator John McCain and future four-star admiral and U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Ronald J. Zlatoper were among the survivors. Another on-board officer, Lieutenant Tom Treanore, later returned to the ship as its commander and retired an admiral. The disaster prompted the Navy to revise its fire fighting practices. It also modified its weapon handling procedures and installed a deck wash down system on all carriers. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapon System Safety
The United States Navy formed the Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB) in 1968 as a result of the tragic fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ... on the USS ''Forrestal'' (CV-59). The subsequent investigation recommended an independent review process be established. The report highlighted the need to ensure explosives safety requirements are met for all munitions introduced to the Fleet. As a result, the WSESRB was established. WSESRB participate in numerous weapons system safety-related meetings, technical reviews, and working groups. The US Air Force and US Army have parallel boards to the Navy's WSESRB: the AF Nonnuclear Munitions Safety Board (NNMSB) and the Army Weapon Systems Safety Review Board (AWSSRB) Areas reviewed by weapon boards incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joint Direct Attack Munition
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to . JDAM-equipped bombs range from . The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM. When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached. The JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon; rather it is a "bolt-on" guidance package that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The key components of the system consist of a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces, a (body) Strake (aeronautics), strake kit, and a combined inertial guidance s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems. The aircraft first flew in 1997 and was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Although the USAF had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs, the program was cut to 187 operational aircraft in 2009 due to high costs, a lack of air-to-air missions due to the focus on counterinsurgency operations at the time of production, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control. The United States Air Force is a military service branch organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force through the Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft . The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaiser Tufail
Kaiser Tufail is a retired Pakistani fighter pilot. Outside of his military service, Tufail is an active blogger, aviation historian and has delivered motivational speeches at TEDx conferences. Service Kaiser Tufail was commissioned in 1975. After performing duties as a squadron pilot, he went on to command a fighter squadron (No.8 Tactical Attack Squadron equipped with Mirage 5) at PAF Base Masroor and a flying wing (No 34 Tactical Attack Wing) at PAF Base Rafiqui. Later he commanded PAF Base Shahbaz and PAF Base Masroor. He has had the opportunity of flying virtually all types of trainers and fighters of the PAF during his service. These include T-6G Harvard, MFI-17 Mushaak, T-37, FT-5 (dual-seat MiG-17), F-6 (MiG-19), Mirage-III/5, F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, Mirage F-1E (Qatari AF), F-7P (MiG-21) and the F-7PG (F-7 double-delta variant). Kaiser Tufail was the Director of Operations of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) during the Kargil conflict. He served as Deputy Commandant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jammu And Kashmir (state)
Jammu and Kashmir was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019, constituting the southern and southeastern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and China since the mid-20th century. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir, state of India, located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the vicinity of the Karakoram and westernmost Himalayan mountain ranges. The state is part of the larger region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947." Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China." The underlying region of this state were parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, whose western districts, now known as Azad Kashmir, and northern territories, now known as Gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
