CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
Encyclopedia
Cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...
used by the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. CBU stands for Cluster Bomb Unit.
The CBU-87 was developed by Aerojet General/Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
and introduced in 1986 to replace the earlier cluster bombs used in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The CBU-87 is designed to be dropped by plane at any altitude
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
and any air speed. It is a free-falling bomb and relies on the aircraft to aim it before it drops. Once it is dropped, it needs no further instruction, as opposed to guided munitions or smart bombs. The bomb can be dropped by a variety of modern-day aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. It is 7 feet, 7 inches (2.33 meters) long, has a diameter of 16 inches (40 centimeters), and weighs roughly 950 pounds (430 kg). The list price is set at $14,000 per bomb.
When the CBU-87 is used in conjunction with the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser
Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser
The Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser system is a tail kit for use with the TMD family of cluster bombs to convert them to precision-guided weapons...
guidance tail kit, it is designated as CBU-103.
Each CBU-87 consists of an SUU-65B canister, a fuse with 12 time selections and 202 submunitions (or bomblets) designated BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomb (CEB). Each bomblet is a yellow cylinder with a length of 20 centimeters and a diameter of 6 centimeters. The BLU-97/B bomblets are designed to be used against armour, personnel and softskin targets and consist of a shaped charge
Shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
, a scored steel fragmentation
Fragmentation (weaponry)
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
case and a zirconium
Zirconium
Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon. Its atomic mass is 91.224. It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium...
ring for incendiary
Incendiary ammunition
-World War I:One of the first uses of incendiary ammunition occurred in World War I. At the time, phosphorus—the primary ingredient in the incendiary charge—ignited upon firing, leaving a trail of blue smoke. They were also known as 'smoke tracer' for this reason. The effective range of...
effects. The CBU-87 can also be equipped with an optional FZU-39/B proximity sensor with 10 altitude selections.
When dropped from an aircraft, the bomb starts spinning. There are 6 speeds that can adjust the bomb's rate of spin. After it drops to a certain altitude, the canister breaks open and the submunitions are released. Each bomblet has a ring of tabs at the tail end, these orient the bomblet and deploy an inflatable decelerator to decrease the falling speed of the bomblet. When the submunitions hit the ground, they will cover a large area and the CBU-87 can be adjusted so it can cover a smaller or wider area. Depending on the rate of spin and the altitude at which the canister opens, it can cover an area between 20x20 meters (low release altitude and a slow rate of spin) to 120x240 meters (high release altitude and a high rate of spin).
Manufacturers and the Department of Defense have claimed that the failure rate for each bomb is about 5%. This would mean that of the 202 bomblets dropped, about 10 will not explode on impact. In reality however, the failure rates of the CBU87 have been much higher.
Operational use
During Operation Desert Storm, the US Air Force dropped 10,035 CBU-87s. During Operation Allied ForceOperation Allied Force
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, the US dropped about 1,100 cluster bombs, and most of these were CBU-87s.
On May 7, 1999, a CBU-87 was responsible for one of the most serious incident involving civilian deaths and the use of cluster bombs, the cluster bombing of Niš
Cluster bombing of Niš
The Cluster bombing of Niš was an event that occurred on May 7, 1999 during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. It was the most serious incident involving civilian deaths and the use of cluster bombs. The cluster bombs had been dropped by Dutch F-16s. After the incident the Dutch stopped using cluster...
.