Question about Russian and US dumb bombs.

I said they were designed for internal use, not “these are internal use only”. There’s nothing to stop them from using them for external carry, and indeed they do. It’s possible that they’re cheaper to produce and therefore likely the first bombs to go when a bomb needs dropping in say a low-intensity war like Afghanistan or Chechnya, but it’s not like they don’t have a lot of the other variant either.

I don’t doubt it, I’m just pointing out that you don’t see them nearly as often. OR it could just be like the Mk117s “let’s use up all the old stuff”.

It was. If you’ll notice, almost ALL the bombs on Russian aircraft over on the IMMPRESSIVE LOADS thread are of this draggy looking type so I’m skeptical about “these are for internal use only” line of reasoning.

I said they were designed for internal use, not “these are internal use only”. There’s nothing to stop them from using them for external carry, and indeed they do. It’s possible that they’re cheaper to produce and therefore likely the first bombs to go when a bomb needs dropping in say a low-intensity war like Afghanistan or Chechnya, but it’s not like they don’t have a lot of the other variant either.

I thought the question isn’t about drag during delivery, but about the shape of the bomb itself….i.e. the finess ratio of the bombs. :confused:

It was. If you’ll notice, almost ALL the bombs on Russian aircraft over on the IMMPRESSIVE LOADS thread are of this draggy looking type so I’m skeptical about “these are for internal use only” line of reasoning. I figure they’re that way either because they’re cheaper or because the shape goes BOOM better.

The US uses low drag bombs (I think all the 750 and 3000 pounders are gone) but all of the Russian bombs I’ve seen seem like drag wasn’t even considered when they were designed. My questions are do you lose explosive efficiency with a low drag design or is it just cheaper to make them the way the Russians do?

Dear Member,

There have been a lot of questions about this subject in the aviation press. Especially when they saw them on the Mig-27. Many think the Russians designed those 250kg and 500kg with those blunt noses with the opinion it keeps them from digging in the ground before exploding. Also they are more effective in fragmentation when explode. We also must remember the Russians keep their tactical aircraft close to the front so drag and range is not a worry.

Just my 2 cents worth. Could be wrong.

Jack E. Hammond

I thought the question isn’t about drag during delivery, but about the shape of the bomb itself….i.e. the finess ratio of the bombs. :confused:

Here in the U.S. we use the MK80 series familiy GP (General Purpose) bombs. These bombs can be delivered in HD (High Drag) or LD (Low Drag) configuration. This configuration depends on this mission. If my squadron is coming in low and hot the MK.82 (500lb) would have a MK.15 Snakeye fin or BSU-86 installed. In this configuration the bomb can be dropped (pilot option) retarded or not. MK. 83 (1000lbs) is delivered with a BSU-85 Para-pack fin an air inflatable ballon deployes retarding delivery as with the MK15/BSU-86 this can be delivered non-retarded as well. Hope this helps with your question.

Troy

F/A-18A+ Ordnanceman

Nice to have a man in the know on board! Welcome to our happy forum 😀

Its always useful to have service people posting on the board as they can usually sort out technical arguments.

Here in the U.S. we use the MK80 series familiy GP (General Purpose) bombs. These bombs can be delivered in HD (High Drag) or LD (Low Drag) configuration. This configuration depends on this mission. If my squadron is coming in low and hot the MK.82 (500lb) would have a MK.15 Snakeye fin or BSU-86 installed. In this configuration the bomb can be dropped (pilot option) retarded or not. MK. 83 (1000lbs) is delivered with a BSU-85 Para-pack fin an air inflatable ballon deployes retarding delivery as with the MK15/BSU-86 this can be delivered non-retarded as well. Hope this helps with your question.

Troy

F/A-18A+ Ordnanceman

M54 where almost a direct descendent of the ww2 bombs .
What is strange is that M-54 are used without any kind of restrictions in external stores.

The “draggy” versions of Russian bombs you see are designed for use in internal bomb bays, so their exact shape means nothing. The low-drag ones are of course designed for external use.

The russian had also different types of bombs
Lets take the FAB serie.
M-54 is what apper a draggier that US counterpart.
M-62 is low drag version.