B-52 armed with LGBs

[frank]

I recently saw a pic somewhere of an LGB, sorry don't recall which one, with a B-52 in the background & the caption stated something about the B-52 carrying the LGBs. However, there's no better pic showing placement or number carried. I asume they're carried on the wing racks. Anyone have further details?

 

[sferrin]

I recently saw a pic somewhere of an LGB, sorry don't recall which one, with a B-52 in the background & the caption stated something about the B-52 carrying the LGBs. However, there's no better pic showing placement or number carried. I asume they're carried on the wing racks. Anyone have further details?

I have a picture at home somewhere with a B-52 loaded up with LGBs on it's pylons. ISTR they were just transporting them though. I'll dig it up later.

 

[frank]

Hmm, I was under the impression it transported them to target. I'd like to see your pic if you run across it.

I recently saw a pic somewhere of an LGB, sorry don't recall which one, with a B-52 in the background & the caption stated something about the B-52 carrying the LGBs. However, there's no better pic showing placement or number carried. I asume they're carried on the wing racks. Anyone have further details?

I have a picture at home somewhere with a B-52 loaded up with LGBs on it's pylons. ISTR they were just transporting them though. I'll dig it up later.

 

[flateric]

http://www.military-aerospace-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=192
“Last summer, we got a request from ACC to carry a laser-guided bomb,” Price said. “We had never carried one before. It was another one of those quick-response things. We have responded to a lot of those since 9/11 and the war on terrorism.”

The B-52 thus tested the guided bomb unit (GBU)-12 on March 28 (2003) in conjunction with the Litening II targeting pod. Historically, only fighter jets have carried laser-guided bombs. However, the B-52 can carry the bombs internally and externally and carry the capacity of six or more fighters, Morris said. A bomber like the B-52 can loiter at a high altitude and stay on station longer than a fighter. As such, it can stay in the immediate area and engage emerging threats, whereas fighters typically have enough fuel to fly to their targets and back. The B-52 demonstrated that capability on April 7 when it targeted the Baghdad airport during Operation Iraqi Freedom.


GBU-12 loading on B-52 during operation Valiant Shield (2007)
http://www.andersen.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/070806-F-5853M-214.JPG
http://www.andersen.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070810-005.wmv

More hi-res here http://www.917wg.afrc.af.mil/news/story_media.asp?id=123064941

 

[Antonio]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the utility such a big aircraft to carry 4 tiny bombs?

 

[flateric]

Such a rich country can afford sending B-52 with four GBUs...Talking seriously, added a capture from an article that says of internal carriage as well, so the number is at least two or three times more

 

[frank]

Thanks! The stuff Google WON'T find!

 

[frank]

It does state they can carry as many as 6 or more fighters & loiter way longer. I still can't imagine a BUFF being that much cheaper than 6 or more fighters, regardless. Hey, it's only money, & right now, USDs ain't worth that much!

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the utility such a big aircraft to carry 4 tiny bombs?

 

[flateric]

Found with Google with key words B-52 and GBU-12 in approximately 0,5 minutes

 

[sferrin]

Hmm, I was under the impression it transported them to target. I'd like to see your pic if you run across it.

I recently saw a pic somewhere of an LGB, sorry don't recall which one, with a B-52 in the background & the caption stated something about the B-52 carrying the LGBs. However, there's no better pic showing placement or number carried. I asume they're carried on the wing racks. Anyone have further details?

I have a picture at home somewhere with a B-52 loaded up with LGBs on it's pylons. ISTR they were just transporting them though. I'll dig it up later.

I looked on my computer and I'm thinking the picture was in a book called "Gulf Air War Debrief" which I don't have handy. Basically they loaded up the pylons with 2000lb LGBs to haul to the Gulf for fighters to use during Desert Storm. It wasn't SOP but they needed to get some there quick. F-111s carried a full load of them when they first deployed as well. Anyway, I did find this for a consolation prize ;D

 

[frank]

Maybe that was the diff, I looked a few months back.........

Found with Google with key words B-52 and GBU-12 in approximately 0,5 minutes

 

[Vahe Demirjian]

Hi,

I found a recent article of relevance to the topic of B-52s being armed with laser-guided bombs:

News Article

 

[mkellytx]

Hi,

I found a recent article of relevance to the topic of B-52s being armed with laser-guided bombs:

News Article

There's a backstory to this one, GBU-12 ended the BUFF's Seek Eagle exemption once and for all. Before my days as a BUFF flight tester, GBU-12's were attempted from the bay from the dumb bomb racks. The fins were aligned differently than normal and the store came back up into the aircraft and hit the tail. This was after there was a store to store contact with another weapon type, which later Monte Carlo analysis showed hit the other store 996 of 1000 times. So, from then on all new stores went through Eglin and Seek Eagle.

Back in those days laser JDAM was still a Power Point slide, so if you wanted to hit a moving target it was either dumb bombs or GBU-12.