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Developed and produced by Textron Defense Systems, the 'CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon' is a United States Air Force 1,000-pound-class (450 kg) non-guided (freefall) cluster bomb, hence the name CBU (Cluster Bomb Unit).

Contents

Overview

Operation

General characteristics

References

External links

Overview

The CBU-97 consists of a SUU-66/B tactical munition dispenser (TMD) that contains ten BLU-108 submunitions. Each submunition contains 4 hockey-puck-shaped sensor-fused projectiles (called Skeets) that autonomously detect targets, such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks and other support vehicles, at which it fires an explosively formed penetrator (EFP).

Operation

The 40 Skeets scan an area of 1500 feet × 500 feet (460 m × 150 m) using infrared and laser sensors until it either finds a target or reaches 50 feet (15 m) above the ground where it will self-destruct, so as to leave a "clean" battlefield. There is also a back-up timer that enables the Skeet to time-out seconds after hitting the ground. These two redundant self-destruct modes results in an unexploded-ordnance (UXO) rate of less than 1%.
As the CBU-97 approaches its designated aim-point, the TMD skin is severed into three separate panels by an explosive cutting charge. Aerodynamic forces "peel away" these panels exposing the 10 BLU-108 submunitions inside. An airbag system then sequentially ejects the forward bay of 5 submunitions then the aft bay of 5 additional submunitions. Each submunition has a parachute that is sequentially deployed resulting in a linear spacing of submunitions approximately 100 feet (30 m) apart. Each submunition then goes through a prescribed sequence of releasing its parachute, firing a rocket motor that stops the submunitions descent and also spins the submunitions on its longitudinal axis and releasing pairs of Skeets 90° apart. Each Skeet makes a spin/coning motion that results in a circular ground scan pattern.
The laser sensor detects changes in height such as the distinctive contour of a vehicle. At the same time, infrared sensors detect heat signatures, such as those emitted by the engine of a target vehicle. When the combination of height contours and heat signatures indicative of a target are detected, the Skeet detonates, firing an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) into the target vehicle at high speed, enabling it to penetrate armor plating and destroy what is underneath the armor plating. Note that SFW disables targets using the kinetic energy of the EFP, not the blast of an explosive charge.
The weapon is deployed by US Air Force tactical aircraft from altitudes of 200 feet (60 m) Above Ground Level (AGL) to 20,000 feet (6100 m) Mean Sea Level (MSL) at speeds of 250 to 650 knots.^[1]
The CBU-97 was first deployed during Operation Allied Force when the United States and NATO entered the Kosovo War, but were not used. Sensor-fused weapons were first fired in combat during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
When the CBU-97 is used in conjunction with the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser guidance tail kit, it is designated as CBU-105.^[2]
The CBU-97 was also featured on the television show ''Future Weapons'' in the 2006 season.

General characteristics

★ 'Type': Freefall bomb

★ 'Weight': 927lbs (420 kg)

★ 'Name': CBU-97 Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW)

★ 'Length': 92 inches (234 cm)

★ 'Diameter': 15.6 inches (40 cm)

★ 'Dispenser': SW-65 tactical dispenser

★ 'Bomblets': 10 × BLU-108/B

★ 'Warhead': Armour Piercing

★ 'Unit Cost': $360,000 - baseline

References

1. CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon - GlobalSecurity.org
2. Lockheed Martin WCMD (Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser)

External links

★ Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) - Textron Defense Systems

★ Federation of American Scientists article about SFW's

★ GlobalSecurity.org: CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon

★ GlobalSecurity.org: CBU-105 Wind Corrected Munition Dispenser (WCMD)

★ GlobalSecurity.org: BLU-108/B Submunition

★ Animated Video of SFW Deployment