The
CBU-24 (
Cluster Bomb Unit-24) is an unguided, aircraft delivered
anti-personnel and anti-materiel weapon developed by the
United States. Because it is an unguided weapon, the CBU-24 can be carried and dropped by any aircraft capable of carrying standard "dumb" or "iron" bombs.
The CBU-24 cluster bomb consists of a SUU-30 dispenser unit containing a payload of 665
tennis ball-sized BLU-26 or BLU-36 fragmentation submunitions, also known as bomblets. Once dropped from the delivery aircraft, the CBU-24 casing breaks open in-flight and releases the individual submunitions, scattering them over a large area.
Each submunition is designed to
detonate and damage or destroy targets within the weapon's footprint by explosion, concussion and fragmentation effects. While most BLU-26 submunitions explode on impact, they can also be set for air-burst or fixed-period delayed detonation.
The time-delay function of the submunitions is designed to continue to deny the area to the enemy for some time after the initial attack and hamper clean...
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