Munitions airmen build GBU-31 JDAM bombs for ISIS Air War at record pace

A dozen 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions sit inside a warehouse at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Dec. 17. The bombs were built by hand by airmen from the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron’s Munitions Flight. The Munitions Flight has built nearly 4,000 bombs since July 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman/Released)

Munitions airmen have set a new record in building JDAM bombs.

Taken at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on Dec. 17, 2015, the following interesting pictures show a dozen 2,000-pound GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) built by airmen from the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron’s Munitions Flight.

Noteworthy, a team of nearly 60 Munitions airmen set a record, building almost 4,000 bombs since July 2015, surpassing the previous one by more than 1,600.

GBU-31 3

As we have already explained, the JDAM’s GPS/INS guidance kit integrates a general purpose gravity bomb improving the weapon accuracy and making this kind of munitions suitable for those targets where adverse weather may affect laser guidance.

GBU-31 4

JDAMs are extensively used in Operation Inherent Resolve, the air campaign conducted against the Islamic State: unlike the Russian Air Force aircraft, than mainly use OFAB-250 iron bombs, the U.S. Air Force only employs PGMs (Precision Guided Munitions) in Syria.

Image credit: Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman / U.S. Air Force