GBU-28
| Guided Bomb Unit 28 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Hard target laser-guided weapon |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1991 to present |
| Used by | United States, Israel, South Korea |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Defense Systems and Electronics Group (Texas Instruments) |
| Manufacturer | Raytheon |
| Specifications | |
| Length | Bomb Body 153 inches, 223 inches Overall |
| Diameter | 38.8 centimetres (15.3 in) |
|
|
|
| Wingspan | 1.7 metres (5.6 ft) |
|
Operational
range |
More than 9 kilometres (4.9 nmi) |
|
Launch
platform |
|
The Guided Bomb Unit 28 (GBU-28) is a 5,000-pound (2,268 kg) laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb nicknamed "Deep Throat" (and unofficially nicknamed "The Saddamizer" by a design team worker, alluding to its initial purpose of bombing a bunker believed to be then-occupied by Saddam Hussein during Operation Desert Storm) produced originally by the Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York. It was designed, manufactured, and deployed in less than three weeks due to an urgent need during Operation Desert Storm to penetrate hardened Iraqi command centers located deep underground. Only two of the weapons were dropped in Desert Storm, both by F-111Fs.
The Enhanced GBU-28 augments the laser-guidance with Inertial navigation and GPS guidance systems.
In August 1990, the U.S. military began planning an air offensive campaign against Iraq. Planners noticed that a few command and control bunkers in Baghdad were located deep underground to withstand heavy fire. Doubts were raised about the ability of the BLU-109/B to penetrate such fortified structures, so the USAF Air Armament Division at Eglin AFB, Florida was asked to create a weapon that could, and engineer Al Weimorts sketched improved BLU-109 variants. By January 1991, as the Persian Gulf War was well underway, it was determined that the BLU-109/B-equipped laser-guided bombs (LGB) would be unable to penetrate fortified bunkers deep underground.
The initial batch of GBU-28s was built from modified 8 inch/203 mm artillery barrels (principally from deactivated M110 howitzers), but later examples are purpose-built with the BLU-113 bomb body made by National Forge of Irvine, Pennsylvania. They weigh 4,700 pounds (2132 kg) and contain 630 pounds (286 kg) of high explosive.
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