GBU-27 Paveway III
{{Infobox weapon
|name = GBU-27 Paveway III
| image = GBU-27 xxl.jpg
| image_size = 350
|caption = GBU-27 Paveway III
|type = Laser guided bomb
|service = 1987-present
|wars =
|designer = Texas Instruments
|number =
|spec_label =
|length = {{convert|4.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|width =
|height =
|diameter = {{convert|711|mm|in|abbr=on}}
|origin = United States
|is_ranged =yes
|is_bladed =
|is_explosive =yes
|is_missile =
|used_by =
|design_date =
|manufacturer = Raytheon
|production_date =
|variants =
|weight = {{convert|900|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|part_length =
|rate =
|velocity =
|range = {{convert|19|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|max_range =
|filling =
|filling_weight =
|detonation =
|yield =
|guidance = Laser guidance
|steering =
|wingspan = {{convert|1.65|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|propellant =
|ceiling =
|altitude =
|depth =
|boost =
|accuracy =
|launch_platform = Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
|transport =
}}
The GBU-27 Paveway III (Guided Bomb Unit) is a laser-guided bomb with bunker buster capabilities, it is a GBU-24 Paveway III (fitted on the warhead of the BLU-109 bomb body) that has been redesigned to be used by the F-117A Nighthawk stealth ground attack aircraft. The pilots flying over Iraq during the First Gulf War nicknamed it the "Hammer",{{cite journal|last=Don|first=Holloway|date=March 1996|title=STEALTH SECRETS OF THE F-117 NIGHTHAWK: Its development was kept under wraps for 14 years, but by 1991, the F-117 nighthawk had become a household word.|journal=Aviation History|publisher=Cowles Magazines|location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|issn=1076-8858}} for its considerable destructive power and blast radius.
Combat history
The GBU-27 was used in Operation Desert Storm. It was the weapon used in the February 13, 1991 attack on the Amiriyah shelter, which resulted in the deaths of more than 400 Iraqi civilians. It was also used in a series of strikes on the Muthanna State Enterprise site during February 1991.William Winkenwerder, Jr., MD, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense, "[http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/al_muth_ii/al_muth_ii_s03.htm The Gulf War Air Campaign - Possible Chemical Warfare Agent Release at Al Muthanna, February 8, 1991] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311044426/http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/al_muth_ii/al_muth_ii_s03.htm |date=March 11, 2007}}", November 15, 2001.
During the 1999 NATO attack on FR Yugoslavia, two of these bombs were used to destroy the Avala Tower, a landmark telecommunications and observation tower near Belgrade.
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the US Air Force dropped 98 EGBU-27s on Iraqi targets.{{Cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-106432932.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924045502/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-106432932.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2015|title=Royal Air Force Dropped More Than 400 Enhanced Paveway Bombs During OIF|work=Defense Daily|date=8 July 2003|access-date=8 August 2015}}
The first foreign sale of the GBU-27 was the acquisition by Israel of 500 units equipped with BLU-109 penetrating warheads, authorized in September 2004. Raas and Long, 2006 Delivery of such precision guided weaponry was accelerated at the request of Israel in July 2006, though the exact munition were not specified. Israeli Defense Forces officials state that other precision-guided munitions have been used to attack Hezbollah facilities in the 2006 Lebanon War.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/22/world/middleeast/22military.html?hp&ex=1153540800&en=3f2d5ce210ea0b64&ei=5094&partner=homepage |title=U.S. Speeds Up Bomb Delivery for the Israelis |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 July 2006 |access-date=2019-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615013405/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/22/world/middleeast/22military.html?hp&ex=1153540800&en=3f2d5ce210ea0b64&ei=5094&partner=homepage |archive-date=2018-06-15 |url-status=live |last1=Cloud |first1=David S. |last2=Cooper |first2=Helene}} However, the bunker busting technology in the GBU-27 could be directed, according to Israeli military sources, at Iran or possibly Syria.{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1472353/Israel-challenges-Irans-nuclear-ambitions.html |author=Anton La Guardia |title=Israel challenges Iran's nuclear ambitions |date=September 22, 2004 |access-date=July 28, 2019}}
As of 2011, the UK's RAF have also ordered the GBU-27 for use in Libya.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13589783 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13589783] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101030632/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13589783 |date=2018-01-01}}.
See also
References
;Notes
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
- Whitney Raas and Austin Long, [http://web.mit.edu/ssp/Publications/working_papers/wp_06-1.pdf Osirak Redux? Assessing Israeli Capabilities to Destroy Iranian Nuclear Facilities], MIT Security Studies Program Working Paper, April 2006.
{{Refend}}
External links
{{Commonscat|GBU-27}}
- [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gbu-27.htm FAS]
- [http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app5/paveway-3.html Raytheon (Texas Instruments) Paveway III - Designation Systems]
{{USAF Weapons}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gbu-27 Paveway Iii}}
Category:Guided bombs of the United States
Category:Cold War aerial bombs of the United States
Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1990s