It was cussed and dis-cussed 3 months ago on the US "news" channels. It has
never been "suppressed" just not that big a deal. 30 years ago I was with an
Artillery unit that had tactical nukes close enough to deploy and use in
case the Soviet sent tanks through the Fulda Gap. Those same tactical
warheads could as easily have been placed in the tube and dropped onto a
bunker complex just like the "Bunker Buster" GBU-28.

The Guided Bomb Unit-28 (GBU-28) is a special weapon developed for
penetrating hardened Iraqi command centers located deep underground. The
GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound laser-guided conventional munition that uses a
4,400-pound penetrating warhead. The bombs are modified Army artillery
tubes, weigh 4,637 pounds, and contain 630 pounds of high explosives. They
are fitted with GBU-27 LGB kits, 14.5 inches in diameter and almost 19 feet
long. 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 28 "Bunker Buster" was put together in record time to support
targeting of the Iraqi hardened command bunker by adapting existing
materiel. The GBU-28 was not even in the early stages of research when
Kuwait was invaded. The USAF asked industry for ideas in the week after
combat operations started. Work on the bomb was conducted in research
laboratories including the the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions
Directorate located at Eglin AFB, Florida and the Watervliet Armory in New
York. The bomb was fabricated starting on 1 February, using surplus 8-inch
artillery tubes as bomb casings because of their strength and weight. The
official go-ahead for the project was issued on 14 February, and explosives
for the initial units were hand-loaded by laboratory personnel into a bomb
body that was partially buried upright in the ground. The first two units
were delivered to the USAF on 16 and 17 February, and the first flight to
test the guidance software and fin configuration was conducted on 20
February. These tests were successful and the program proceeded with a
contract let on 22 February. A sled test on 26 February proved that the bomb
could penetrate over 20 feet of concrete, while an earlier flight test had
demonstrated the bomb's ability to penetrate more than 100 feet of earth.
The first two operational bombs were delivered to the theater on 27
February.

The Air Force produced a limited quantity of the GBU-28 during Operation
Desert Storm to attack multi-layered, hardened underground targets. Only two
of these weapons were dropped in Desert Storm, both by F-111Fs. One weapon
hit its precise aimpoint, and the onboard aircraft video recorder displayed
an outpouring of smoke from an entrance way approximately 6 seconds after
impact. After Operation Desert Storm, the Air Force incorporated some
modifications, and further tested the munition. The Fy1997 budget request
contained $18.4 million to procure 161 GBU-28 hard target penetrator bombs.
For a visual depiction of how the GBU-28 works view the grapic produced by
Bob Sherman and USA Today on-line.


--


Don Thompson

Ex ROMAD


"Dave Mundt" wrote in message
...
Greetings and Salutations.
Take a gander at this story from
the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2779069.stm

I suppose it is not totally off topic,
as it does involve some fairly intricate metalwork.
However, if any of y'all are involved in the
recreational creation of nuclear devices, I REALLY
want to know...mainly so I can consider moving
a BIT further away (*smile*)
In any case, here is a story with meat
and serious implications for America, and, it
receives NO publicity, and no discussion. Instead
we are bombarded by tedious discussions about relatively
trivial issues - Kobe, gay marriage, "Governer Arnold",
etc.
My question is this: Is this story suppressed
because the news organizations have finally given up
and admitted they are no different from Jerry Springer
in the sort of program they produce, or, is our government
using the questionable powers of the Patriot Act and other
leverage to keep the sheeple from hearing something
disturbing?
To quote Bill O'Reilly: "We'll let the audience
decide".
Regards
Dave Mundt