Northwest Florida site of weapons system evaluation
A B-52 Stratofortress from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., launches a joint-direct attack missile Dec. 5 as part of a weapon systems evaluation held at Eglin AFB, Fla. The 2nd BW shared the bomb range with A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from Davis Monthan AFB, Ariz., and Canadian CF-18 Hornets.
Some assembly required
Staff Sgt. Dan Weaver pieces together a fuse for a guided bomb unit-12 June 16 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The team is responsible for building, maintaining and storing various munitions to support Operation Iraqi Freedom kinetic strikes. The fuse and its components detonate the munition and increase the force of the explosion; the GBU-12 can self-guide to a target pinpointed by a laser designator, which helps to minimize collateral damage resulting from detonation.
The 'Mother of All Bombs'
Al Weimorts (left), the creator of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, and Joseph Fellenz, lead model maker, look over the prototype of the bomb before it was painted and tested.
The 'Mother of All Bombs' (2)
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb sits at an air base in Southwest Asia waiting to be used should it become necessary. The MOAB is also called "The Mother of all Bombs" by scientists and the community alike.
The 'Mother of All Bombs' (3)
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb prototype is shown moments before impact March 11, 2003. The detonation created a mushroom cloud that could be seen 20 miles away.
How to build a bomb
Munitions troops with the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron assemble guided bomb unit-38 bombs during the night shift Feb 14 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The bombs will be loaded onto F-15 Strike Eagles for missions in support of the war on terrorism.
Total force uses first GBU-38 in combat
SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Senior Airman William Russell (left) and Tech. Sgt. Mark Worley detach a GBU-38 from an F-16 Fighting Falcon at a forward-deployed location.
Total force uses first GBU-38 in combat (2)
SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Tech. Sgt. Mark Worley unloads a GBU-38 from an F-16 Fighting Falcon at a forward-deployed location.
B-52 aids ground troops under small arms fire
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM -- Senior Airman Stephanie Lopez straps a joint-direct attack munitions that will be loaded on a B-52 Stratofortress to a bomb-lift vehicle...
Through snow and rain
Staff Sgt. Jeremy Crombie talks to Senior Airman Trevor Scott via radio headsets during a Global Positioning System test for a F-16 Fighting Falcon Jan. 11 at Balad Air Base, Iraq. The daily test ensures the system is working properly...
Through snow and rain (2)
Staff Sgt. Jeremy Crombie speaks into a radio headset to check the status of avionics operations Jan. 11 at Balad Air Base, Iraq. The avionics system gives a pilot the capability to use the Joint Direct Attack Munitions on the F-16 Fighting Falcon...