What is a “Gravity Bomb”?

The Strategic Shift: “Stand-off” to “Direct Bombardment”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that because Iranian air defenses have been “severely degraded,” the U.S. is moving away from stand-off munitions toward direct bombardment using gravity bombs.

• Initial Strategy (Stand-off): Using long-range weapons like Tomahawk cruise missiles and LUCAS drones. These are launched from outside the reach of enemy defenses to dismantle radars and missile batteries while keeping pilots safe.

• New Strategy (Direct): Now that the air space is less contested, aircraft can fly closer to targets to drop unpowered, high-yield gravity bombs.

What is a “Gravity Bomb”?

A gravity bomb, or “free-fall” bomb, is an unpowered munition. Unlike a cruise missile, it has no internal engine. Once released, its path is determined by:

1. Gravity (pulling it down).

2. Aerodynamics (its shape).

3. Speed/Altitude of the aircraft at the time of release.

Modern “Precision” Upgrades:

While they sound like old-fashioned weapons, modern gravity bombs are often equipped with JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) kits. These kits add:

• GPS guidance systems.

• Steerable tail fins that allow the bomb to “glide” and hit specific coordinates with high accuracy.

Types of Conventional U.S. Gravity Bombs:

The U.S. utilizes three primary weight classes of these bombs, each designed for specific targets: