General Dynamics gets order for 10,000 Mk80 series bombs

Sept. 15 (UPI) -- General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has received a $20.6 million modification to an existing contract for foreign military sales of Mk82 and Mk84 bomb bodies.

The modification will provide for 10,933 Mk82-6, 866 Mk84-4 and 1,365 Mk84-10 bomb bodies for Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in support of Air Force, Navy and foreign military sales requirements.

The Mk82 is a unguided low-drag, air-dropped conventional bomb in the 500-pound range. It's explosive filling is usually Tritonal but other explosives have been used. It is the most widely used aerial bomb in the world and has been exported to dozens of countries. Variants include the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb and the GPS-guided Joint DIrect Attack Munition.

The Mk84 is the largest of the Mk80 series of bombs and weighs over 2,000 pounds. It is the fourth-largest bomb in the U.S. inventory behind the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter", the Massive Ordnance Air Burst and the Massive Ordnance Penetrator deployed by the B-2 stealth bomber. Laser and GPS-guided versions have also been produced.

The Mk80 series are relatively cheap and can be deployed by a wide variety of aircraft. The bolt-on JDAM kits are a low-cost method of converting the unguided munitions into precision strike weapons. The series has been in use since the late 1940s.