Ukraine wants American cluster bombs Mk 20 Rockeye II
Mk 20 bombs aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) during Desert Storm, 1991
The Kiev regime continues to beg for various weapons from foreign partners. Recently it became known that cassette tapes became his next desire. aviation Mk 20 / CLU-99/100 or American-made Rockeye II bombs. Due to the loss of most of the combat aircraft, the use of such products in a regular way is not possible, and they are considered as a source of small ammunition.
Regular requests
On March 6, the American edition of Reuters reported on the new desires of the Kyiv regime in the field of foreign weapons. It received information about this from Congressmen Jason Crowe and Adam Smith, who serve on the House Armed Services Committee. They said that Ukraine had recently received several requests for the provision of cluster munitions from the presence of the American army.
According to congressmen, earlier Kyiv asked to supply it with 155-mm DPICM-type cluster artillery shells. Then the list of desired ammunition was supplemented without further announcement with Mk 20 Rockeye II cluster aerial bombs. The Ukrainian side hopes that such products will help it in the fight against the Russian army.
According to Reuters, the administration of President George Biden is not yet going to transfer cluster munitions to Kyiv partners. In this regard, at the February security conference in Munich, representatives of Ukraine called on US congressmen to put pressure on the White House and contribute to obtaining a positive decision.
There is no consensus yet on the need to provide Rokay-2 bombs. So, A. Smith ruled out the possibility of approval of supplies by the administration of J. Biden. J. Crow, in turn, could support the supply of aerial bombs, but only if there were guarantees that Ukraine would not use them in the regular way - in the form of cartridges with small ammunition.
At the same time, J. Crowe is against sending DPICM shells due to the high percentage of fuse failures. Ukraine is already covered in explosives, and he doesn't want to make it worse with American-made submunitions.
Disassemble into components
J. Crowe and A. Smith told Reuters exactly how the Ukrainian side is going to use the received Mk 20 bombs - if, of course, they are provided. As it turned out, they are not planned to be used in their original form, as a free-fall weapon for tactical aviation, capable of covering a significant area with combat elements.
CLU-99/100 bombs are proposed to be disassembled and submunitions of the M118 Rockeye type are removed from them. They want to use these products separately - as ultralight bombs for unmanned aerial vehicles. First of all, combat elements are considered as an anti-tank weapon that hits a target in the least protected upper projection.
By dismantling Mk 20 bombs and extracting Mk 118 products, Ukrainian formations plan to solve several main tasks. First of all, foreign products will have to cover part of the need for ammunition. In addition, it will be possible to equip light attack UAVs with a specialized anti-tank weapon, which is expected to improve their combat capabilities.
Disassembly of a cluster bomb, stowage of Mk 118 ammunition visible
Apparently, while we are talking only about the most general technical proposal. Probably, Ukrainian specialists did not yet have access to the CLU-99/100 and Mk 118 products, and therefore could not work out the issues of adapting the American submunition to the existing ones. drones. How long it will take if foreign bombs are received is unknown. However, so far everything depends on the decision of the United States, which is in no hurry to fulfill all the requests of Kyiv.
Weapons of the past
The Rockeye II cluster bomb was developed in the USA in the second half of the sixties. In 1968, it was adopted by the tactical aviation of the Air Force and Navy. In aviation fleet and the Marine Corps, the product received the designation Mk 20; its training version Mk 7 was also produced. The bomb entered service with the Air Force as CLU-99. Later, its modernized version appeared with the CLU-100 index.
Rokay-2 bombs were widely used in almost all major conflicts involving US tactical aviation. Depending on the number and intensity of sorties, the consumption exceeded tens of thousands of items. Thus, in the course of Operation Desert Storm, the Air Force, Navy and ILC spent a total of almost 28 bombs.
Products Mk 20 / CLU-100 are still in service with US tactical aviation and in recent years have been used mainly for training purposes. At the same time, a significant stock of such weaponssuitable for use. Bombs of this type were not exported, but now Ukraine is counting on receiving them.
Dropping and deploying a cluster bomb
Technical features
The CLU-99/100 or Mk 20 product is a bomb in a cylindrical body with an ogive head fairing and a folding tail stabilizer. Bomb length - 2,3 m with a case diameter of 335 mm. The span of the planes is approx. 900 mm. The total weight is 220 kg.
The bomb body holds 274 Mk 118 submunitions. The bomb is deployed and the submunitions are ejected using linear charges laid along the body and controlled by the Mk 339 fuse. In preparation for the release, the fuse can be set to operate according to the height of the ejection of the elements and the area of their dispersion.
The Mk 118 submunition is a miniature cumulative munition with a streamlined body and a tail stabilizer. The mass of such ammunition is 600 g, of which 180 g falls on the cumulative charge. Estimated penetration - 190 mm.
Limitations and problems
According to the latest news, Ukraine wants to receive American bombs Mk 20 / CLU-100. The issue of the supply of such products has not yet been resolved, but already now this situation has several characteristic features. They show the specifics of the current state of affairs, and also hint at further developments.
The United States is reportedly not going to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine yet. This is probably due to the current restrictions of American law. Back in 2009, President B. Obapa signed a decree according to which the United States cannot export cluster munitions with a high percentage of fuse failures. Apparently, the Mk 20 and Mk 118 products are subject to these restrictions.
Unexploded submunitions Mk 118
It should be noted that the existing Convention on the Prohibition of Cluster Munitions is actually irrelevant to the current situation. Washington and Kyiv did not sign or ratify this agreement, as a result of which they have the formal right to produce and use cluster munitions.
Of great interest is the proposal to dismantle American bombs and use submunitions one at a time. First of all, it follows from it that the Ukrainian command no longer considers the existing aircraft as full-fledged carriers of bomb weapons. In the current situation at the front, an attempt to use free-falling bombs is guaranteed to be stopped by Russian air defense systems, and long before the aircraft reaches the drop point.
The use of individual submunitions as a payload for light UAVs generally makes sense. "Unmanned strike systems" based on available aircraft and ammunition are widely used and perform well. At the same time, the desire of Ukrainian formations to receive foreign bombs and submunitions may indicate the depletion of their own stocks of weapons suitable for use on UAVs.
Pending a decision
Thus, the Kiev regime is again asking foreign patrons for weapons, with the help of which they plan to strengthen their formations and / or solve urgent problems. However, the United States is in no hurry to make its decision, and the Ukrainian side has to ask the legislators for help and pressure on the White House.
How the situation around the Mk 20 bombs will develop in the future and what it will lead to is still unknown. However, even at this stage it is of great interest. It may show that the Ukrainian formations, which relied on modern unmanned aerial vehicles, faced unexpected problems. Time will tell how the American side will react to this and what measures it will take.
Information