BLU-109 bomb

The BLU-109/B has a steel casing about thick. Its warhead is filled with of tritonal. It has a mechanical-electrical delayed-action FMU-143 tail-fuze. The BLU-109 entered service in 1985. It is also used as the warhead of some marks of the GBU-15 electro-optically guided bomb, the GBU-24 Paveway III and GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bombs, as well as the GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and AGM-130 air-to-surface missile. ==Variants==

The BLU-118 is reportedly a thermobaric explosive filler variation on the BLU-109 casing and basic bomb design. It contains PBXIH-135, an aluminized enhanced blast explosive. In 2015, General Dynamics started a $7.2 million development of a version called HAMMER, which is intended to destroy chemical and biological substances by spreading dozens of Kinetic Fireballs Incendiaries (KFI) (not explosions) inside a bunker. The KFIs evolved out of the earlier Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program by Exquadrum, Inc. of Adelanto, California. ==Operators==

The BLU-109 has been sold to key US allies including South Korea, Israel, Greece, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Pakistan, and Turkey • : Hellenic Air Force • : Israeli Air Force • : Royal Moroccan Air Force • : Royal Netherlands Air Force • : Pakistan Air Force • : Royal Saudi Air Force • : Serbian Air Force • : Republic of Korea Air Force • : Turkish Air Force • : United Arab Emirates Air Force • : United States Air Force ==Operational history==

In late 2023, the United States delivered 100 BLU-109 bombs to Israel. Israeli F-15I fighter jets are believed to have used BLU-109s with JDAM guidance kits in the strikes that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on 27 September 2024. It was also reported that Israel used BLU-109s in a July 2024 attack on Al-Mawasi that killed al-Qassam Brigades chief Mohammed Deif and al-Qassam Brigades Khan Yunis head Rafa Salama. BLU-109 bombs were used by the US in combat in the 2026 Iran war. ==See also==