Originally Posted by
AZFlyer
Question from a civvie: How is it decided what aircraft type will employ which weapon when there are multiple aircraft types capable of deploying it?
I find it interesting that only the Strike Eagles (or whoever else) would utilize a particular bomb, but not F-16's.
Also, forgive me if I misread some of the posts, but is this to say that the F-16 is lacking some sort of defensive capability the other types have?
1. Which airplane will use a particular weapon is often a matter or either system compatability, or pure physical size. An F-15E is almost double the gross weight of an F-16. Both can carry 500 and 1000 lb bombs, but I don't think (not positive) the F-16 can carry 2000-pounders. I think the special "Bunker-Buster" bombs were in the 4000 lb range..too heavy to carry under just one wing, and no ground clearance to put it under the centerline of an F-16.
2. Systems compatibility: During Desert Storm, only the F-15E could carry a laser-designator as a strap-on store. The F-111F and F-117 had them built-in. Later, that bolt-on capability was wired in to F-16s (I think just Block 40s; not sure about 50s).
3. It's not the defensive capability, it's the offensive.
4. Sometimes "which jet, which bomb" may also be decided by issues such as range and payload (ie, you can put the bomb on the plane, but can it carry enough fuel to get there and back?), accuracy (Probability of Kill, or Pk...the estimate of how effective your weapon will be), or survivability (we need two engines because it's a long distance and there is a sandstorm enroute that could trash an engine, or we want the single-engine jet because it has a smaller radar cross-section, and is less likely to be detected/hit).