SCHLAUER SPRENGKOPF: Auf diese "Guided Bomb Unit" schwört die Deutschen Luftwaffe | WELT Hintergrund

The GBU 48, the so-called smart drop

bomb

, equipped with a laser head and controllable wings, the

bomb

glides precisely to the target after being dropped at the Nörvenich air base in North Rhine-Westphalia. The 31st air force tactical squadron with the traditional name of Boelke is The squadron has 30 multipurpose attack aircraft of the Eurofighter type, according to the order, the aircraft are equipped with a combination of

guided

missiles for air combat and readers, as well such as GPS-controlled precision bombs for air-to-ground. The GBU 48 aerial bomb is also used. GBU is the English abbreviation for

guided

bomb

unit

, translated as bomb guidance

unit

with the built-in part.

Drop bombs are easily upgraded to low-cost, precision joint weapons. The pump consists of a weapon steering unit. The length unit of the weapon is used to detect the laser and direct the bomb towards the target using the paddle. Behind is the bomb body and around the body is the explosive and the detonator and folding tail are deployed to guide the bomb to the target. The control rooms of the Eurofighter aircraft are responsible for the assembly of the glide bomb. The GBU 48 weighs more than half a ton and is also called a "thousand-footer" by crews. As of 2017, the Air Force acquired about 400 of these American-made smart bombs.

The unit price is around 200,000 euros, but the costs also include training, maintenance, spare parts and operational tests for the introduction of the GPU 48. The Eurofighter can carry a maximum of six of these bombs in its external charging stations in the fuselage and the The wings are also armed. The bombs are electronically connected to the plane. The explosive charge is locked at the suspension points and is thus secured until launched. The detonators of the bombs are only activated in the air. The bomb is completely safe as soon as we are with it. . Pass the cargo cart under it and let it fit into the locks, so to speak, and put your hands around it, the bomb is secure and hangs.

The pilot assumes control of the Eurofighter armed with the maintenance team and therefore also assumes responsibility for the Eurofighter, a multi-role single-seat fighter aircraft. Supported by the most modern sensors and avionics of aircraft electronics, various computer systems provide you with all the data for navigation, the status of your aircraft and the use of weapons. The systems also warn of threats, identify them and prioritize them. This effectively increases the so-called situational awareness of the pilot. The GBU 48 glide bomb measures approximately 3.70 m long and about 70 cm in diameter. It consists of a GPS navigation system, a laser search head passive, a control unit and a bomb filled with explosives.

Its weight is half a ton. About 200 kilograms are made of high-quality material. explosives military explosives in the bomb body The maximum range is about 25 km. Actual use of the GBU-48 is not possible in Germany due to its enormous explosive power. Eurofighter pilots use the extensive test range in Witzel, northern Sweden. The body of the blue bomb shows that these are bombs practice. They are equipped with all the systems equipped with a real bomb but not filled with explosives because this exercise is about precision for the two Eurofighters when all the bombs are dropped at the same time at different GPS coordinates of the target.

Now with the normal configuration, i.e. two tanks, we can use a maximum of four of the 48 GPU to build the plane, which means we can attack four separate targets at once, which means I only need a single approach to attack four targets separately, the bomb. It does not have to hit the target with millimeter accuracy for it to be considered a direct hit, but the maximum deviation must be less than ten meters. The GBO 48 does not have its own propulsion, it glides to the target using satellite navigation because the weapon is in dual mode. I can also easily do this GPS integration and that's really what makes the most sense tactically.

I can cast it to a coordinate in addition to the given GPS coordinates. Alternatively, the bomb can be guided to the target using a laser. The laser seeker head of the GBO 48 detects the target marked with a reader. The mark can be made by a person on the ground or by the pilot. When using laser-guided weapons, human identification of the target is a prerequisite, since well, continuous observation of the target during the flight phase. I can change the coordinates in the cockpit as well as in flight, if I see that the coordinate does not match the illumination container of my target, I can still correct the coordinate in the sense that even when the gun is in flight I can turn on the laser I move on the ground and then the gun basically follows the laser and then hits the target.

The bomb's programmable detonator offers pilots different options. The bomb explodes directly on impact or with an adjustable time. The pilot also decides when the detonator is armed when he uses it. If you drop the bomb abruptly, then it is not armed immediately after it separates from the plane, but normally we set a certain time delay for the detonators so that the GBU 48 explodes close to its own plane, but is used as part of the close air support against enemy troops or lightly fortified positions. , the bomb lacks penetrating power to destroy bunkers or heavy battle tanks.