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Guided Bomb Unit-16 (GBU-16)
Paveway II

The Guided Bomb Unit-12 (GBU-16) utilizes a 1000-pound general purpose warhead. The operator illuminates a target with a laser designator and then the munition guides to a spot of laser energy reflected from the target. The GBU-16 consists of a MK-83 1,000-pound bomb modified with a common Paveway II laser guidance kit. During Desert Storm virtually all 219 GBU-16s were dropped by Navy A-6Es, which had the capability to lase the target themselves (self-designation).

FA/18 Hornet aircraft flying from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) dropped GBU-16 laser guided bombs during the waves of attacks against Iraq in support of Operation Desert Fox in December 1998.

Specifications

Mission Air interdiction
Targets Mobile hard, fixed soft, fixed hard
Service Air Force, Navy
Program status Operational
First capability 1976
Guidance method Laser (man-in-the-loop)
Range 8 nautical miles
Circular error probable 9 meters
Quantity
Development cost Air Force officials state that they could not provide development cost because they do not have records covering the development period.
Production cost
Total acquisition cost Not available
Acquisition unit cost Not available
Production unit cost
Platforms A-6
A-10
F-14
F-15
F-16
F/A-18
F-111

Sources and Resources


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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gbu-16.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Monday, November 29, 1999 9:40:37 AM