USA - GBU-8/B HOBOS

GBU-8/B HOBOS (Homing Bomb System)

The u.s. air force in 1967 instructed the company to Rockwell International, respectively, its Missile Systems Divisions, the development of the sequences-guided bombs, which would have incurred a modification of the existing load-edgy "iron" bombs Mk.84 and M118.

The result was a set composed of gear parts with the television camera and guidance system, vířiči on the hull of the cougar, and four tail surfaces with kormidly to control the flight of the bombs to the target. The image of the TV camera pumas was screened on a screen of the weapon operator. When was the "contrast" of the target compared to its background is large enough, has locked the guidance system of bombs on the target. Then after the release had on the object to guide autonomously. According to the data of the manufacturer so the gun was "fire and forget", in practice, however, these pumas claims of its proponents, confirmed rarely. Modifier kit in the event of GBU-8/B was of type KMU-353A/B (or KMU-359/B), the basis of conversion then became the puma Mk.84. Compared to laser-guided munitions was this technology more expensive. Although it didn't need an aeroplane for the irradiation of targets with laser as in the pum series Paveway I, however, the accuracy of pum HOBOS was compared to the laser method of guiding the lower.

Bombs were used in combat in the Vietnam war since 1969, as a carrier were used drones F-4D Phantom II of the equipment 8. tactical fighter wing, which was dislokováno to the thai base Ubon. To nejznámnějšímu deployment of bombs GBU-8 occurred 10. may 1972 (the first day of operation Linebacker) in the attack on the bridge Paul Doumera in Hanoi. The first four-man swarm (Goatee), which was to attack the target, was equipped with a total of eight bombs just type GBU-8/B. Neither one, however, the goal did not hit, one even "refused" to leave the pylon of the airplane. During Vietnam war was overthrown by around 700 bombs, type GBU-8/B. However, the results were mixed. The commander of the 7. air army in times of war, Gen. John Vogt, the combat options pum reviewed briefly: "worth a shit..."

GBU-8/B should be also exported to Israel and Greece. Israeli bombs experienced a combat deployment during the the war of Yom Kippur. In the course of the fighting, israeli aircraft toppled 32 of these bombs, target them, hit 25 of them (the success rate of the intervention, 78%).

Despite the contradictory results of the development of this concept continued further, thereby incurring the cougar series GBU-15/B.


Technical-tactical data
Weight: 1 027 kg

Dimensions:
- length: 3.63 m
- body diameter: 0,46 m
- margin of the tail: 1.12 m


Sources
1) Taylor, M. J. H.: Missiles of the World, New York, 1980
2) Blackweider, D.I.: The Long Road to Desert Storm and Beyond, Alabama, 1992
3) Parsch, And.: Rockwell HOBOS (Homing Bomb System)
4) ORDATA
5) USAF Fact Sheets - GBU-8 Kit.

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One GBU-8/B (with the KMU-353A/B modification kit) is now on display at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio.

Under the wing of an F-111.