Guard F-16s Drop GBU-38s In Combat

Two F-16 pilots from the Alabama Air National Guard each released a GBU-38 simultaneously on the same target in central Iraq in late September, marking the first successful drop of the guided 500-pound munitions in combat. The bombs hit precisely on a two-story building with minimal collateral damage. The target was a confirmed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi terrorist meeting. The GBU-38 gives coalition leaders a smaller precision weapon that further decreases the likelihood of collateral damage in Iraq. The GBU-38 consists of a Mk-82 iron bomb with the joint direct attack munitions guidance system.