CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon
The CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a 450 kg (1000 lbs) unguided cluster bomb produced by the US company Textron Defense Systems for fighting battle tanks and vehicles. Together with the Wind Corrected Ammunition Dispenser, it bears the designation CBU-105. As a submunition , it contains 10 BLU-108s . 4 ice hockey puck- shaped projectiles with the designation "skeets" are attached to these , which, if they have identified a target, fire a penetrator at its motor. The 40 "skeets" can scan an area of 450 m × 150 m with their infrared and laser sensors and then attack the right targets by comparison.
The bomb was first used in combat by the US in 2003 during the Iraq war .
function
After being dropped, the bomb disintegrates at a preset height above the ground. This is measured by the proximity fuse. The three panels are lifted into the air flow by an explosive cutting charge and then separated from it. Two air sacs inflate and separate the 10 BLU-108 from the bomb body. After a certain period of time, these then eject their braking parachutes . These move the 10 BLU-108 30 m into a vertical position. The BLU-108 then detach its brake parachutes and at the same time ignite a rocket motor, which stops its fall and sets it in a longitudinal rotation. During this rotation, the "skeets" are blasted off in pairs at 90 ° intervals and then scan the terrain below them in a circle for targets with their laser and infrared sensors. The laser measures differences in the height of the terrain, as would be the case with the presence of a vehicle. At the same time, the infrared detector records the heat radiation from the vehicle's engine. When a target has been detected by the interaction of these two sensors, the “skeet” fires a projectile-forming charge , which in the optimal case hits the motor and destroys it.
Users
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India : 556
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Oman : 50
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Saudi Arabia : 1300
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South Korea : 361
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Turkey : 50
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United Arab Emirates : - unknown number
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United States :> 10000