The IAF has taken delivery on 1,000 small diameter bombs (SDB's) from the United States. The bombs, which weigh about 250 pounds each, and have about 50 pounds of explosives, are as powerful as a bomb containing 900 kilograms (nearly a ton) of explosives.
Israel is the first country outside of the United States to receive the weapon.
The IAF has named the new bomb “Sharp Hail.” The total cost of the deal was $77 million.
The GPS-guided SDB is said to be one of the most accurate bombs in the world. It has the same penetration capabilities as a normal 900-kg. bomb, although it has only 22.7 kg. of explosives. At just 1.75 meters long, its small size increases the number of bombs an aircraft can carry and the number of targets it can attack in a sortie.
Tests conducted in the US have proven that the bomb can penetrate at least 90 cm. of steel-reinforced concrete.
The GBU-39 can be used in adverse weather and has a standoff range of more than 110 km. due to its pop-out wings.
This enables aircraft to attack more targets per sortie, since each weapon’s station can carry four bombs.
The first planes to have the GBU-39 are the IAF’s F- 15Is – which can carry around 20 of the bombs on its wings and fuselage, turning the aircraft into what defense officials termed a “killing machine.”
Hmmm.