February 1, 200719 yr From Air Force Times New small bomb dropped in Afghanistan Staff reports Posted : Thursday Feb 1, 2007 9:54:57 EST The Air Force’s newest operational bomb, the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, was dropped in Afghanistan for the first time Saturday. Getting the honors of using the bomb in combat was the 391st Fighter Squadron deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The decision to drop the weapon came when Army soldiers were under mortar fire from a ridgeline, according to an Air Force account. An Air Force joint terminal air controller with the Army unit requested the F-15E Strike Eagle drop the GBU-39 and told the aircrew where to aim. “It hit exactly on the spot and performed perfectly, as far as we can tell,” the F-15E’s weapons systems officer said. At 250 pounds, the GBU-39 is the Air Force’s smallest guided bomb. The bomb uses Global Positioning System satellite signals to find its preprogrammed target. The bomb was developed with the hope that its smaller explosive power would allow it to be used in situations where friendly forces or civilians were close by. Since the fall of 2006, when the weapon was approved for combat, the Small Diameter Bomb has been released three times — twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan, according to Air Force accounts.
Create an account or sign in to comment