Precision Bomb

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Airman 1st Class Ryan Thompson, 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, aligns strakes with lugs on a GBU-38 bomb here Feb 14. Members from AMMO assembled 24 bombs in a 2-hour time frame. Thompson's home unit is the 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt Demetrius Lester)

Building Together

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Members of the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron assemble GBU-38s during the night shift here Feb 14. The bombs will be loaded onto F-15E's for missions in support of the war on terror. (From left to right) Staff Sgt. Jeremy Woodruff is from the 375th Logistic Readiness Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., Airman 1st Class Zack Demeter is from the 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany and Tech. Sgt. Ben Walker is form the 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Demetrius Lester)

Painting Info

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Airman 1st Class Jedediah McClain, a 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron AMMO troop, paints fuse settings on bombs for identification by loaders and pilots here Feb 14. McClain's home unit is the 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Demetrius Lester)

Working in Sync

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Airman 1st Class Jedediah McClain (left), and Airman 1st Class Zack Demeter, 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, reset umbilical connectors on the fins for GBU-38 bombs here Feb. 14. McClain's home unit is the 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. and Demeter is from the 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Spangdhalem Air Base, Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Demetrius Lester)

Here comes the Boom!

Published Feb. 22, 2008
By Tech. Sgt. James Law
455 Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- "We have 10,000 pounds of net explosive weight on the pad right now," said Tech. Sgt. Erick Chrostowski. "If you see anybody running, try to keep up."

This was the simplified version of the safety brief given to observers by the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron AMMO production supervisor before the team of deployed Airmen returned to the assembly of 24 GBU-38 bombs here Feb 14.

"Some people think you open a box and there is a bomb ready to be loaded on an aircraft," said Sergeant Chrostowski. "There is more to it than that."

The initial step of the process is identifying, obtaining and storing the assets essential to build the variations of bombs needed to support different mission requirements.

Once a specific bomb is requested, the assets are moved from storage to the munitions assembly conveyer pad, where individual pieces collectively become a bomb.

The basic elements of the GBU-38 are the MK-82 500-pound bomb body commonly known as the warhead, the fuzes, fins and front ends.

"There are different types of front ends for bombs," said Senior Airman Collin Dillingham, conventional maintenance crew member on the assembly team. "There are bombs that penetrate the ground before blowing up, there are bombs that hit the ground and blow up and there are bombs that blow up above the ground."

Just as there are different front ends for different objectives, there are different fins with different purposes.

"There are dumb fins, fins that do not move like the classic cartoon bomb, and there are the smart fins that drive or guide the bomb," said Airman Dillingham.

The Airmen assembling the GBU-38s divided into teams. The first team loaded the body onto a trolley system where assembly began. One team placed the front end on while another installed the fuzes. Once this phase was complete, the bomb was slid down the rail system to the team building and installing the fins and guidance control system. The last stage before loading the bombs on a trailer to deliver to the flightline was a complete inspection performed by Sergeant Chrostowski.

"There is job satisfaction when we watch weapon systems video and see our bombs do what they were supposed to, whether it is assisting troops-in-combat or hitting a high-value target," Sergeant Chrostowski said.

Among the munitions built by the 455 EMXS AMMO Airmen and employed by the F-15 Eagles and A-10 Warthogs here include 20 mm and 30 mm cannon ammunition, anti-threat countermeasures, laser-guided bombs, and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) GPS-aided weapons.