Mark 83 bomb

The Mark 83 is a 1,000-pound (450 kg) bomb, part of the Mark 80 series of low-drag general-purpose bombs in United States service.

Mark 83 general-purpose bomb
Mark 83 1,000-pound general-purpose bombs
Type	Low-drag general-purpose bomb
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	Since 1950s
Wars	Gulf War
Production history
Variants	GBU-16 Paveway II GBU-32 JDAM GBU-55 Laser JDAM
Specifications
Mass	985 lb (447 kg)
Length	9.8 ft (3 m) overall
Diameter	14 in (350 mm)
Tailspan	19 in (480 mm)
Warhead	H6 or PBXN-109
Warhead weight	445 lb (202 kg)
Detonation mechanism	M904 nose fuze and M905 tail fuze
References	Janes[1][2][3][4]

Development and deployment

Ten Mark 83 bombs aboard a US Navy F/A-18E.

The nominal weight of the bomb is 1,000 pounds (450 kg), although its actual weight varies between 985 pounds (447 kg) and 1,030 pounds (470 kg), depending on fuze options,^[5] and fin configuration.^[6] The Mk 83 is a streamlined steel casing containing 445 pounds (202 kg) of tritonal high explosive. When filled with PBXN-109 thermally insensitive explosive, the bomb is designated BLU-110.

The Mk 83/BLU-110 is used as the warhead for a variety of precision-guided weapons, including the GBU-16 Paveway laser-guided bombs, the GBU-32 JDAM and Quickstrike sea mines.

The Mk 83 is also used as the warhead in a variety of Pakistani smart bombs made by GIDS. During Operation Swift Retort in 2019, 2 JF-17 Thunders of the No. 16 Squadron "Black Panthers" armed with newly developed Mk. 83 Range Extension Kit (REK) bombs struck military targets in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.^[7][8][9]

This bomb is most typically used by the United States Navy but is also used by the USAF in the F-22A in a JDAM configuration. According to a test report conducted by the United States Navy's Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB) established in the wake of the 1967 USS Forrestal fire, the cooking-off time for a Mk 83 is approximately 8 minutes 40 seconds.

See also

• Mark 81 bomb
• Mark 82 bomb
• Mark 84 bomb
• FAB-500 – Soviet counterpart