F/A-18C Weapon Basic Course (DCS)

You can attach various unguided bombs to weapon stations 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 (see also armament dialog).

Some bombs are smaller and can therefore be mounted on a 2-position carrier. The BDU-33 even have a 6-position carrier because the bombs are so small.

The list looks long and confusing. But we are only interested in four types:

The Mk-82 (500 lb), Mk-83 (1,000 lb) and Mk-84 (2,000 lb) are conventional unguided bombs, which differ only in size, weight and thus in explosive power.

Retarded Variants

The addition of tail modifications allows the GPB to be retarded.  

• The Mk-82 SnakeEye is a modified Mk-82 with folded, retarding petals which open and act as air brake surfaces, so it can be dropped in low-level flight without blowing yourself up (Fragging).
• The Mk-82Y is the Mk. 82 BSU-49, which, like the SnakeEye, is an air-braked bomb for attacking in low-flying. But instead of metal braking surfaces a balloon, called a Ballute, is inflated. This greatly increases the air resistance (see section "Retarded Bombs").

Practice Variant

The BDU-33 is a small blue practice bomb without explosive effect.

Cluster Variants

The CBU-99 and Mk-20 are both cluster or bombs, i.e. they are containers that open at a set height scatter a number of bomblets, see section

Guided Variants

Laser Guidance

The GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU16 are laser-guided bombs and will only be covered in the next weapons course.

INS / GPS Guidance

This is also true for the GBU-31 and GBU-38, which use an INS / GPS system which is independently programmed with the target coordinates prior to being dropped. They are often referred to as JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Ammunition), although LGB (Laser Guided Bombs) strictly speaking also fall into the JDAM category.

Weapon Stations

Finally, a list of which bomb can be loaded to which station or carrier.
In SMS (Stores Management System), the names given below are used.