One of the strangest, and most useful, bombs
employed in Iraq has been the concrete filled JDAM. Why deliver a 500 pound
bomb filled with concrete instead of explosives? You do that if you want to do
some damage, but not a lot. Concrete JDAMs were first used in the 1990s to
destroy anti-aircraft guns, radars and missiles that Saddam Hussein placed in
residential areas. He believed that the Americans would not attack these
weapons, for fear of hurting nearby civilians. But it turned out that a laser,
or satellite (JDAM) guided concrete smart bomb could take out the air-defense
weapons without hurting nearby civilians. The concrete bombs come in various
sizes (500, 1,000 and 2,000 pounds), but the new 500 pound JDAM has become a
favorite when a concrete version is required. Recently, for example, two small
bridges near the Syrian border were seen being used by terrorists to bring in
people and weapons. There was no need to completely destroy the bridges (which
might take months, or longer, to replace), because the terrorists were slowly
being chased from the area. But a concrete bomb on each bridge damaged the
structures enough so that they could not be used, but not so much that they
could not be repaired in a week or two. Concrete bombs are still used against
terrorist targets in residential areas, where the bomb can reach the terrorists
before police or ground troops can. It’s all a case of a seemingly off-the-wall
weapon idea being, not a joke, but actually quite useful.
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