Textron (Avco) BLU-106/B BKEP

The BLU-106/B BKEP (Boosted Kinetic Energy Penetrator) was a rocket-boosted submunition against runways and hardened aircraft shelters. It was developed by Avco (now Textron Systems) in the mid-1980s under a U.S. Air Force contract. The BLU-106/B was intended to be delivered by the following weapons:

• CBU-98/B DAACM (Direct Airfield Attack Combined Munition): 8 BLU-106/B + 24 HB876 area-denial mines in an SUU-64/B dispenser.
• AGM-109H TAAM (Tactical Anti-Airfield Missile): Air-launched derivative of the BGM-109 Tomahawk missile with 24 BLU-106/B units.
• AGM-130B: 15 BLU-106/B + 75 HB876 area-denial mines in a rocket-boosted SUU-54/B dispenser.

Photo: Avco

BLU-106/B

After release from the dispenser, each BKEP projectile was retarded by a parachute until a 65° nose-down attitude was reached. Then the parachute was discarded, and the solid-fueled rocket motor ignited to accelerate the projectile to high speed. In flight, the BLU-106/B was stabilized by four flip-out tailfins. The BKEP's high-explosive warhead detonated after the weapon had penetrated the target surface.

Photo: Avco

BLU-106/B

In the end, the BLU-106/B submunition, and the weapons that were designed to carry it, were not produced for service use. Reasons included relatively high cost, and the development of other weapons, which could satisfy the operational requirement (e.g. the 900 kg (2000 lb) BLU-109/B penetrator warhead).

Specifications

Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Data for BLU-106/B:

Main Sources

[1] Christopher Chant: "World Encyclopedia of Modern Air Weapons", Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1988

Back to Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4