GBU-16 Paveway is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. Its first prototypes appeared in the first half of the 1970s, and it was used by the US armed forces in 1976 and remains there to this day. GBU-16 is capable of carrying explosives (H-6) weighing up to 202 kg with a total empty weight of 589 kg.
The GBU-16 Paveway is manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, based on the traditional, unguided Mk. 83 weighing 454 kilograms. Modernization of the Mk. 83 consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons correcting the fall of the bomb. The first element was originally developed by Texas Instruments, which later became part of Raytheon. GBU-12 requires highlighting with a laser target pointer.
The Mark 84 bomb (Mk. 84 or BLU-117) is a modern American free-fall general-purpose aerial bomb. The mass of the bomb is 925 kg, its length is 3.28 meters, and the mass of the explosive charge is 429 kg. Unit price of a bomb of this type according to 2010 prices were around $ 3,000. The Mark 84 bomb was introduced into service primarily in the US Navy in 1970 and was used very quickly in combat during the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975). The bomb is able to pierce armor plates up to 38 centimeters thick or a concrete layer up to 3.4 meters thick. It is worth adding that after the explosion, its fragments can be scattered within a radius of up to about 365 meters from the explosion site! Many of the bombs of this type have been modernized and are used as the basis for precision bombs, such as the GBU-10 Paveway II. The only producer of the Mk.84 bombs was the General Dynamics concern.
The SUU-30 is an American cluster plane bomb from the Cold War period. Its total length is 210 centimeters. The bomb is designed to fight both the enemy's manpower and unarmored vehicles. It is assumed that its action against strongly strengthened enemy resistance points was rather limited. The presented bomb used as subammunition mainly BLU-26 and BLU-36, the diameter of which was about 6.5-7 centimeters. A single SUU-30 was able to carry up to 665 BLU-26 and BLU-36 subammunition. This subammunition had various types of fuses - including delayed fires. It is worth adding that several variants of the SUU-30 bomb were created in the course of production: SUU-30 / B, SUU-30 B / B or SUU-30 B / H. They differed from each other externally mainly in the size of the ailerons. The presented cluster bomb could be carried by many USAF aircraft, including the F-105 Thunderchief and the F-4 Phantom.
MER (abbreviation of: Multiple Ejektor Rack) is a multi-lock, US-made suspended aerial beam from the Cold War and modern times. The Marvin Engineering Company plants were responsible for its design and production. The MER beam, as a rule, was suspended from the fixed suspension point of the plane (pylon), and the armament was suspended from it. This relatively simple solution meant that on one pylon of a given plane, instead of a single hanging weapon (e.g. a bomb), it was possible to carry six such weapons. During the service, the Mark 20, Mark 82, Mark 82 Snakeye, CBU-87 or CBU-97 bombs were most often hung on the MER beams. During the service, the manufacturer introduced an improved version of the MER beam, marked as BRU-41 (MER), which was characterized by significantly improved reliability, much easier maintenance and has a built-in electronic element controlling the condition of the hanging weapons. It is worth adding that the expansion of the MER beam is the BRU-41 / A Improved Multiple Ejektor Rack (IMER) beam used in the US Navy aviation and the Marine Corps on the F / A-18 A / B / C / D and AV-8B Harier II machines .
TER (short for: Triple Ejektor Rack) is a multi-lock, American-made suspended air beam from modern times. The Marvin Engineering Company plants are responsible for its design and production. The TER beam is suspended from the fixed suspension point of the plane (pylon), and the reinforcement is suspended from it. This relatively simple solution means that on one pylon of a given plane, instead of a single hanging weapon (e.g. a bomb), you can carry three such weapons. In the course of service, the manufacturer introduced an improved version of the TER boom, designated as BRU-42 (TER), which was intended primarily for US Navy aircraft. Currently, the latest version of the boom is TER-9 / A Mod, which (according to the manufacturer's data) measures 170.2 cm in length and 38 cm in width. The weight of a single beam is approx. 48 kilograms. The beam has improved reliability, better aerodynamic properties, and is also painted with paints reducing radar reflection. TER type beams (including the latest version) may or may have been used by numerous USAF, US Navy and USMC aircraft, including: F-14 A Tomcat, A-10 Thunderbolt II or F-16 C / D Fighting Falcon. This type of beams could be used to hang various bombs, such as Mark 20 or Mark 80.