Where Bombs Are Going and How Much They Cost

Compiled by Ewa Historian John Bond 

 Where Bombs Are Going and How Much They Cost

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_of_the_United_States

As of 2019, the U.S. has an inventory of 6,185 nuclear warheads; of these, 2,385 are retired and awaiting dismantlement and 3,800 are part of the U.S. stockpile. Of the stockpiled warheads, the U.S. stated in its March 2019 New START declaration that 1,365 are deployed on 656 ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers.

US Running Out Of Bombs?

https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2018/05/22/the-us-is-running-out-of-bombs-and-it-may-soon-struggle-to-make-more/

The Pentagon plans to invest more than $20 billion in munitions in its next budget. But whether the industrial base will be there to support such massive buys in the future is up in the air — at a time when America is expending munitions at increasingly intense rates.

As to diversity in the industrial base, well ― there isn’t any, with the authors concluding that Raytheon and Lockheed Martin account for about 97 percent of the DoD’s munitions and missile procurement funding.

According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, U.S. aircraft dropped 7,423 munitions in 2019 — that’s the highest number of bombs released in nearly a decade.

Per the Air Force budget, a standard, unguided Mk 82 500-pound class bomb has a unit price of $4,000, while 2,000-pound class Mk 84 unguided bombs cost $16,000 apiece.

In 2018, U.S. warplanes dropped 7,362 bombs — the second highest total in a year thus far since AFCENT began publishing the number of munitions released in Afghanistan.

In 2010 and 2011, the height of America’s participation in Afghan war, coalition aircraft dropped 5,100 and 5,411 bombs respectively. During those two years, the U.S. military had nearly 100,000 U.S. troops on the ground as part of President Barack Obama’s troop surge to clear Taliban militants.

The US bombing the hell out of the Taliban as munitions

dropped reaches nearly 10-year high

https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2020/01/27/the-us-is-bombing-the-hell-out-of-the-taliban-as-munitions-dropped-reaches-nearly-10-year-high/

In the backdrop of peace negotiations to end the 18-year long war U.S. aircraft are bombing the hell out of the Taliban and other militants as the warring parties slog through never-ending discussions to bring the fighting to a close.

According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, U.S. aircraft dropped 7,423 munitions in 2019 — that’s the highest number of bombs released in nearly a decade.

Record Number Of Bombs Dropped On Afghanistan In 2019

https://www.statista.com/chart/16079/weapons-released-by-the-us-coalition-over-afghanistan/

High Volume of Bombs Dropped During The Vietnam War

Eight bombs a minute were dropped on average during the Vietnam war between 1964 and 1973 - more than the amount used during the whole of World War Two.

Despite the war ending in 1975, it is estimated that there are still at least 350,000 tons of live bombs and mines remaining in Vietnam alone, with Cambodia also heavily affected and Laos suffering more than either country. At the current rate, it will take 300 years to clear all the explosives from the landscape.

What Each Of The Pentagon's Air-Launched Missiles And Bombs Actually Cost

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32277/here-is-what-each-of-the-pentagons-air-launched-missiles-and-bombs-actually-cost

What follows are the unit prices, rounded to the nearest dollar, that the various branches of the U.S. military expect to pay for various air-launched weapons in the 2021 Fiscal Year as they appear in the official budget documents.

Air-to-Air Missiles:

AIM-9X Sidewinder (Air Force) - $472,000

 

AIM-9X Sidewinder (Navy) - $430,818

 

These unit prices are averages for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year orders for both services, which include lots of AIM-9X-2 Block II and AIM-9X-3 Block II+ missiles, the latter of which is specifically for variants F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

 

AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air To Air Missile (AMRAAM) (Air Force)- $1.095 million

 

AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air To Air Missile (AMRAAM) (Navy)- $995,018

 

Air-to-Surface Missiles:

AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) (Navy) - $6.149 million

AGM-114 Hellfire (Air Force) - $70,000

 

This unit price is an average for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year order, which may include a variety of Hellfire missiles in Air Force service, including, but not limited to the AGM-114R2, AGM-114R4, AGM-114R9E, and AGM-114R12.

 

This is also the unit price for orders in the base budget. The Air Force is also looking to purchase a much larger number of AGM-114 variants through the supplemental Overseas Contingency Operations budget at an average unit cost $31,000.

 

AGM-114 Hellfire (Army) - $213,143

 

This unit price is an average for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year order, which may include a variety of Hellfire missiles in Army service, including various different variants of the AGM-114R, as well as the millimeter-wave radar-guided AGM-114L.

 

This is also the unit price for orders in the base budget. The Army is also looking to purchase a much larger number of AGM-114R variants through the supplemental Overseas Contingency Operations budget at an average unit cost $76,461.

 

AGM-114 Hellfire (Navy) - $45,409

 

This unit price is an average for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year order, which may include a variety of Hellfire missiles in Navy and Marine Corps service, including, but not limited to the AGM-114K/K2, AGM-114M, AGM-114N, AGM-114P/P2, and AGM-114Q.

 

AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) (Air Force) - $1.266 million

 

This unit price is an average for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year order, which includes examples of the AGM-158A JASSM and AGM-158B JASSM-Extended Range (JASSM-ER).

 

The Air Force also expects the complete 2021 Fiscal Year JASSM order will also include the purchase of the first batch of low rate initial production AGM-158D JASSM-Extreme Range (JASSM-XR) missiles.

 

AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) (Air Force) - $3.960 million

AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) (Navy) - $3.518 million

 

AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) (Army) - $324,805

 

AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) (Navy) - $243,281

 

Precision-Guided Bombs:

GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) (Air Force) - $39,000

This unit price is an average for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year order, which may include the GBU-39A/B Focused Lethality Munition (FLM) variants, which has a special carbon fiber body intended to reduce the chance of collateral damage, and GBU-39B/B Laser SDBs.

 

GBU-53/B StormBreaker/Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) (Air Force) - $195,000

 

GBU-53/B StormBreaker/Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) (Navy) - $220,916

 

Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) (Air Force) - $21,000

 

Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) (Navy) - $22,208

 

These are the unit prices for orders in the base budget. The Air Force is also looking to purchase a much smaller number of JDAM kits through the supplemental Overseas Contingency Operations budget at an average unit cost of $36,000. The Navy is also looking to purchase a smaller number of JDAM kits through the supplemental Overseas Contingency Operations budget at an average unit cost of $23,074.

 

These unit prices are also averages for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year orders for both services and apply to the JDAM guidance kits only for 500, 1,000, and 2,000-pound class bombs.

 

This unit price average also includes multi-mode Laser JDAM kits.

The different JDAM guidance kits will work with a wide variety of different dumb bomb types within those classes, but some, such as the new BLU-137/B 2,000-pound class bunker buster, require certain weapon-specific modifications that impact the specific price point.

 

Per the Air Force budget, a standard, unguided Mk 82 500-pound class bomb has a unit price of $4,000, while 2,000-pound class Mk 84 unguided bombs cost $16,000 apiece.

It's important to note that a number of air-launched munitions that are in active service across the U.S. military, such as the AGM-65E Maverick laser-guided missiles, AGM-154 Joint Stand Off Weapon (JSOW) glide bombs, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles, and Paveway laser and multi-mode guidance kits for various types of bombs, are not mentioned above. 

 

This is because the services are not planning to buy new stocks of them in the 2021 Fiscal Year or they are included include broader sections of the budget where their exact unit cost is not readily apparent. There are requests for funds for sustainment of many of those weapons, as well as modifications and upgrades, too. The Navy is notably expecting to begin purchasing a powered derivative of the AGM-154, known as the JSOW-Extended Range (JSOW-ER), in the 2022 Fiscal Year.

Navy Sub Identification - Composition of the current force

 Compiled by Ewa Historian John Bond

Navy Sub Identification - Composition of the current force

As part of the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, the Navy announced in early 2006 that it would shift 60% of its attack submarines to the Pacific by 2010.

Pearl Harbor currently home ports 10 Los Angeles-class submarines and 6 Virginia-class submarines (however these numbers change every year.) 

Pearl Harbor does not home port any ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs)

Approximate composition of the current force (new subs come in while old subs are decommissioned)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarines_in_the_United_States_Navy

Los Angeles class (32 in commission, 2 in reserve) – attack submarines

Ohio class (18 in commission) – 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), 4 guided missile submarines (SSGNs)

Seawolf class (3 in commission) – attack submarines

Virginia class (15 in commission, 1 delivered, 1 fitting out, 9 under construction, 11 on order) – fast attack submarines

Shown above is an LA Class with forward missile launchers. The newer Virginia class, Block V, VPM, have greatly expanded additional missile capabilities

Fast attack submarines

The U.S. currently operates three classes of fast attack submarine: the Los Angeles, Seawolf, and Virginia classes. There are 34 Los Angeles-class submarines on active duty and 28 retired, making it the most numerous nuclear-powered submarine class in the world. Except for USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709), submarines of this class are named after U.S. cities, breaking a Navy tradition of naming attack submarines after sea creatures. Ships from the USS Virginia afterwards are named after US States, a convention traditionally reserved for battleships and nuclear missile submarines.

The final 23 boats in the Los Angeles class, referred to as "688i" boats, are more quiet than their predecessors and incorporate a more advanced combat system. These 688i boats are also designed for under-ice operations: their diving planes are on the bow rather than on the sail, and they have reinforced sails.

Shown above is an Ohio Class missile submarine.

The next generation "boomer" model is the Columbia class

Ballistic and guided missile submarines

The U.S. has 18 Ohio-class submarines, of which 14 are Trident II SSBNs (Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear), each capable of carrying 24 SLBMs. The first four which were all equipped with the older Trident I missiles have been converted to SSGN's each capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk guided missiles and have been further equipped to support Special Operations (SEALS). If the maximum of 154 Tomahawk missiles were loaded, one Ohio-class SSGN would carry an entire Battle Group's equivalent of cruise missiles. Ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs or boomers in American slang) carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads for attacking strategic targets such as cities or missile silos anywhere in the world. They are currently universally nuclear-powered to provide the greatest stealth and endurance. This comprised an important part of the strategy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).

In order to comply with arms reduction against the START II treaty, the U.S. Navy modified the four oldest Ohio-class Trident submarines (Ohio (SSGN-726), Michigan (SSGN-727), Florida (SSGN-728), and Georgia (SSGN-729)) to SSGN (Ship, Submersible, Guided, Nuclear) configuration. The conversion was achieved by installing vertical launching systems (VLS) in a configuration dubbed "multiple all-up-round canister (MAC)." This system was installed in 22 of the 24 missile tubes, replacing one large nuclear strategic ballistic missile with 7 smaller Tomahawk cruise missiles. The two remaining tubes were converted to lockout chambers (LOC) to be used by special forces personnel who can be carried on board. This gives each converted sub the capability to carry up to 154 Tomahawk missiles. The MAC tubes can also be used to carry and launch UAVs or UUVs which give the ship remote controlled "eyes & ears" allowing the ship to act as a forward-deployed command & control center.

The American George Washington-class "boomers" were named for patriots, and together with the Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes, these SSBNs comprised the Cold War-era "41 for Freedom." Later Ohio-class submarines were named for states (recognizing the increase in striking power and importance once bestowed upon battleships), with the exception of Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730), which was named for United States Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson (1912–1983) of Washington upon his death while in office (1983). This honor was in recognition of his advocacy on behalf of the nuclear submarine program. He strongly supported the rapid development of nuclear submarines and especially the development of an SSBN program. Senator Jackson also called for the establishment of a Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea Warfare because he believed submarines were "lost in a welter of naval bureaucracy."

What is the difference between SSBN and SSGN?

The SSBN submarines provide the sea-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad. Each SSBN submarine is armed with up to 24 Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). Each SSGN is capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, plus a complement of Harpoon missiles to be fired through their torpedo tubes.

The Columbia-class submarine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia-class_submarine

The Columbia-class submarine, formerly known as the Ohio Replacement Submarine and SSBN-X Future Follow-on Submarine, is an upcoming class of nuclear submarines designed to replace the Ohio class ballistic missile submarines in the United States Navy. The first submarine is scheduled to begin construction in 2021 and enter service in 2031.