[A-List] US military: new, improved cluster bombs

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

B-52s use new type of bomb
MARTIN WILLIAMS
The Herald, 3 April 2003

US B-52 bombers yesterday dropped new precision-guided 1000lb cluster bombs
on Iraqi tanks defending Baghdad, the first time the devastating explosives
have been used in combat.

As American ground forces launched all-out assaults on Republican Guards
defending the Iraqi capital, the US Central Command's air wing said six
CBU-105 bombs - which each dispense 10 armour-destroying bomblets - were
dropped "to stop an Iraqi tank column from continuing its route" towards the
attackers.

The bomblets are designed to land more precisely on intended targets. They
can detect, aim and engage both fixed and moving enemy land combat vehicles
within a 30-acre coverage area, and can find targets from an altitude of up
to 40,000ft and ranges of up to 12 miles.

Unlike older, cluster weapons, each warhead features built-in self-destruct
logic if it does not meet its target.