Mark 84 bomb
Template:Short description Template:Infobox weapon The Mark 84 or BLU-117<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a Template:Convert American general purpose aircraft bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb. At the time, it was the third largest bomb by weight in the US inventory behind the Template:Convert BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" and the Template:Convert M118 "demolition" bomb. It is currently sixth in size due to the addition of the Template:Convert GBU-28 in 1991, the Template:Convert GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) in 2003, and the Template:Convert GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
Development and use
The Mark 84 has a nominal weight of Template:Convert, but its actual weight varies depending on its fin, fuze options, and retardation configuration, from Template:Convert. It is a streamlined steel casing filled with Template:Convert of tritonal high explosive.<ref name="FAS1">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Mark 84 can form a crater Template:Convert wide and Template:Convert deep. It can penetrate up to Template:Convert of metal or Template:Convert of concrete, depending on the height from which it is dropped, and causes lethal fragmentation to a radius of Template:Convert.<ref name="Don">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Many Mark 84s have been retrofitted with stabilizing and retarding devices to provide precision guidance capabilities. They serve as the warhead of a variety of precision-guided munitions,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including the GBU-10/GBU-24/GBU-27 Paveway laser-guided bombs, GBU-15 electro-optical bomb, GBU-31 JDAM and Quickstrike sea mines.<ref name="FAS2">Template:Cite web</ref> The HGK is a Turkish guidance kit used to convert 2000-lb Mark 84 bombs into GPS/INS guided smart bombs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
According to a test report conducted by the United States Navy's Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB) established in the wake of the 1967 USS Forrestal fire, the cooking off time for a Mk 84 is about 8 minutes 40 seconds.
Deployment in wars
MK 84 were used by U.S. forces in the Vietnam War, Gulf War,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Iraq War, Afghanistan War, and the bombing of Yugoslavia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and by Israel in the 2014 Gaza War and the ongoing Gaza war.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
According to a forensic investigation by Human Rights Watch, MK 84 bombs were also in the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2023 and 2024, the United States transferred over 14,000 Mark 84 bombs to Israel. They have been used extensively in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. At least one of the bombs was used in the 13 July 2024 al-Mawasi attack that killed the top commander of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, and Hamas' Khan Yunis Military Division Chief Rafa Salama and 90+ civilians and injured over 300.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
According to the US Senator Mark Kelly, Israel used a bomb of this type in the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, in Lebanon on September 27, 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Mk65 Quick Strike Mine, GlobalSecurity.org
- MK84, GlobalSecurity.org