The BLU-108 is an air-delivered

submunition A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...

, containing four further

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"Skeet" warheads. The system is manufactured by Textron Systems Weapon & Sensor Systems since 1992. The BLU-108 is released from a munitions dispenser, with a parachute being used to slow its descent. It then fires the four rapidly rotating skeets, which use multi-mode optical sensors to identify a variety of targets ranging from tanks and missile launchers to railway locomotives and landed aircraft. When the skeet passes over what it considers a high priority target (this priority can be changed prior to employment), it fires a 0.9 kg (2 lb) explosively formed penetrator providing armor-piercing and incendiary effects, as well as a fragmentation ring meant to damage any soft targets, primarily enemy persons, in the immediate vicinity of the target.

BLU-108/B specifications

* Length: 78.8 cm (31.0 in) * Diameter: 13.3 cm (5.25 in) * Maximum lateral dimension: 18.4 cm (7.25 in) * Weight: 29.5 kg (65 lb)

Skeet specifications

* Height: 9.5 cm (3.75 in) * Diameter: 12.7 cm (5.0 in) * Weight: 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) * Seeker: Dual-mode active (

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

) and passive (

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

) sensors * Explosive: 945 g (2.08 lb)

Octol {{Short description, A high explosive mixture consisting of HMX and TNT Octol is a melt-castable, high explosive mixture consisting of HMX and TNT in different weight proportions. Composition Two formulations are commonly used: * 70% HMX & 30% T ...

* Kill mechanism:

Explosively formed penetrator An explosively formed penetrator (EFP), also known as an explosively formed projectile (EFP), a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is the product of a shaped charge designed to penetrate armor effectively. As the name suggests, the ...

and fragmentation

Weapon systems

* AGM-154B Joint Standoff Weapon *

CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon The CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a United States Air Force -class freefall Cluster Bomb Unit. It was developed and produced by Textron Defense Systems. A CBU-97 used in conjunction with the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser guidance tail kit is ...

* U-ADD (Universal aerial delivery dispenser)

References

External links

BLU-108 - Textron Defense Systems

Submunitions Aerial bombs of the United States Fire-and-forget weapons Military equipment introduced in the 1990s Textron Anti-tank weapons {{Bomb-stub