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 The F-16 recently certified two new smart weapons and a new reconnaissance pod that were developed as a result of lessons learned in the Gulf War. These weapons will significantly enhance the combat effectiveness of the F-16. One new smart weapon, the Lockheed Martin-produced wind-corrected munitions dispenser, or WCMD, features an inertial reference system that corrects for actual wind effects the bomb encounters while falling. Bombs can then be delivered more accurately from high altitude.
The cluster weapon comes as a CBU-103 with BLU-97 combined effects munitions; CBU-104 with BLU-91/92 mines; and CBU-105 with BLU-108 antiarmor sensor-fused weapons.
The EGBU-27 guided bomb, the other new smart weapon, has multisensor guidance and an improved 2,000-pound “bunker buster” warhead that allows it to be used as a precision laser-guided bomb or as a near-precision, all-weather “launch-and-leave” weapon.
The recce pod, the Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System, or TARS, combines a forward framing sensor; medium-altitude electro-optical sensor; digital recorder system; sensor controller unit; and an environmental control system. It can grow to incorporate a datalink system as well. Built for USAF by Lockheed Martin Fairchild Systems, the streamlined pod loads on the F-16 centerline station. The TARS pod is certified to fly with a variety of stores, allowing the aircraft to perform multiple roles on the same mission. The pod is currently fielded with five ANG F-16 squadrons.
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