Munitions

BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomblet

Also known as
  • BLU-97/B
  • BLU-97A/B
  • BLU-97B/B
  • BLU-97
  • Combined Effects Bomblet
  • Combined Effects Bomb
  • Bomb Live Unit 97
  • CEB

The BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomblet is a small U.S. aerial submunition built around anti-armor, fragmentation, and incendiary effects in one package. It is best documented as the payload inside CBU-87 and CBU-103 cluster munitions, the AGM-154A JSOW, and the retired TLAM-D Tomahawk dispenser variant; this support record keeps conflict use on directly sourced parent-munition pages rather than inferring independent BLU-97/B use.

BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomblet, Cluster submunition, Munitions
Image source: BLU-97.jpg
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States
Type
Cluster submunition
Service note
1980s-present as a legacy submunition
Produced
Produced for CBU-87 family weapons by the 1980s-1990s

Specifications

Munition class
Aerially dispensed combined-effects bomblet
Documented carrier payloads
CBU-87/CBU-103 carry 202 BLU-97/B-family bomblets; AGM-154A JSOW carries 145 BLU-97 bomblets; TLAM-D used a 166-bomblet dispenser warhead
Diameter
Approximately 6 cm / 2.5 in, depending on source measurement
Length
Approximately 20 cm in GlobalSecurity's summary; HRW describes the bomblet as about seven inches long
Weight
About 3.41 lb / 1.5 kg in Human Rights Watch and Cluster Munition Coalition summaries
Explosive fill
Original Cyclotol fill, with PBXN-107 described for the insensitive-munitions BLU-97 variant
Stabilization
Decelerator-stabilized descent using a sleeve, solid-plastic parachute, or drogue-style tabs depending on source terminology
Fuzing
Impact fuzing with primary standoff firing and a secondary semi-all-way graze-sensitive firing path described in ordnance references
Effects
Copper-cone shaped charge, internally scored steel fragmentation body, and zirconium incendiary element
Carrier Munitions

The BLU-97/B is documented as a submunition payload in CBU-family dispensers, the baseline JSOW glide bomb, and the retired TLAM-D cruise-missile dispenser variant.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
CBU-87 cluster munition, Air-delivered cluster munition, MunitionsCBU-87 cluster munitionCluster munition

The CBU-87 carries 202 BLU-97/B combined-effects bomblets in its SUU-65/B tactical munitions dispenser.

Sources: CBU-87/B Combined Effects Munition report, GlobalSecurity BLU-97/B

AGM-154 JSOW, Air-launched guided glide bomb, MunitionsAGM-154 JSOWStandoff glide bomb

The AGM-154A baseline JSOW carries 145 BLU-97 combined-effects bomblets; later JSOW A-1 and C-series variants use different warheads.

Sources: AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)

BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, Ship- and submarine-launched land-attack cruise missile, MunitionsBGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack MissileRetired cruise-missile dispenser variant

The retired TLAM-D / BGM-109D Tomahawk variant used a dispenser warhead with 166 BLU-97/B combined-effects bomblets; this does not describe current Block IV or Block V Tomahawk warheads.

Sources: Raytheon Tomahawk designations, GlobalSecurity BLU-97/B

CBU-103 Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser, Wind-corrected munition dispenser, MunitionsCBU-103 Wind-Corrected Munitions DispenserWCMD cluster munition

The CBU-103 is the WCMD-equipped CBU-87 derivative and retains the 202 BLU-97/B bomblet payload.

Sources: CBU-87/B Combined Effects Munition report, GlobalSecurity BLU-97/B

Timeline

BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomblet Key Events

  1. BLU-97/B designation assigned

    Forecast International reports that the Combined Effects Munition submunition received the BLU-97/B military designation in 1981.

  2. First CBU-87/B service delivery

    The BLU-97/B was integrated with the SUU-65/B Tactical Munitions Dispenser for the CBU-87/B, with first service delivery reported in December 1983.

  3. TLAM-D dispenser variant entered service

    Designation-Systems identifies the RGM/UGM-109D TLAM-D as a Tomahawk dispenser variant that entered U.S. Navy service with a BLU-97/B submunition warhead.

  4. JSOW service entry with BLU-97 payload option

    U.S. Navy and NAVAIR fact files list January 1999 deployment for JSOW and identify the AGM-154A warhead as 145 BLU-97 combined-effects bomblets.

Media

BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomblet Images

BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomblet, Cluster submunition, Munitions - view 1
Source: BLU-97.jpg
Related Weapon Systems
Mk 118 Rockeye submunition, HEAT cluster submunition, MunitionsMunitionsMk 118 Rockeye submunitionHEAT cluster submunitionThe Mk 118 Rockeye is a U.S. high-explosive anti-tank submunition carried in Rockeye-family cluster bombs, including Mk 20, CBU-99, and CBU-100 configurations that release 247 bomblets over an area target. Its shaped-charge warhead and folding fins made it an anti-armor bomblet, while failed functioning creates unexploded-ordnance hazards after a strike. The submunition is documented through Rockeye use in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Kosovo, the 2003 Iraq War, and North Sinai, where Amnesty International linked an unexploded Mk 118 to Egyptian Air Force cluster-munition use during Operation Sinai 2018.

Sources

CBU-87/B Combined Effects Munition reportPublisher: Forecast International | Note: Supports the BLU-97/B relationship to the CBU-87/B and CBU-103/B family, the 202-submunition payload, and Aerojet/Primex production context. | Accessed: 2026-07-04GlobalSecurity BLU-97/BPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports BLU-97/B dimensions, effects, and parent weapon-airframe context including the CBU-87 tactical munitions dispenser. | Accessed: 2026-07-04U.S. CBU seriesPublisher: Designation-Systems | Note: Supports CBU-87, CBU-103, and CBU-113 designation relationships, including 202 BLU-97/B-family bomblets in the SUU-65/B dispenser and BLU-97A/B use in later CBU-87B/B and CBU-103B/B designations. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Bomb, HEAT, BLU-97/BPublisher: BulletPicker / Ordnance, Explosives, and Related Items | Note: Supports BLU-97/B and BLU-97A/B construction, shaped-charge liner, prescored body, zirconium ring, decelerator stabilization, and primary/secondary impact-fuzing description. | Accessed: 2026-07-04A Guide to Cluster MunitionsPublisher: Cluster Munition Coalition | Note: Supports BLU-97 combined-effects description, fragmentation and penetration context, weight, and post-impact hazard context for unexploded BLU-97 submunitions. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Ticking Time Bombs: Appendix APublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports compact BLU-97/B dimensions and weight, and CBU-87 payload context. This source is used here for technical context, not to assert independent BLU-97/B conflict use. | Accessed: 2026-07-04AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)Publisher: United States Navy | Note: Supports the AGM-154A JSOW relationship by identifying the baseline JSOW warhead as 145 BLU-97 submunitions and distinguishing later JSOW warheads. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)Publisher: Naval Air Systems Command | Note: Supports the AGM-154A JSOW relationship and carrier context by listing the AGM-154A warhead as 145 BLU-97 combined-effects bomblets. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Raytheon Tomahawk designationsPublisher: Designation-Systems | Note: Supports the Tomahawk-family relationship by identifying the TLAM-D / BGM-109D dispenser variant as using 166 BLU-97/B combined-effects bomblets. | Accessed: 2026-07-04BLU-97.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and license context for the BLU-97/B gallery image. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Combined Effects Munition BLU 97-B SDASM imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons / San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives | Note: Supports image provenance and no-known-restrictions context for the secondary BLU-97/B gallery image. | Accessed: 2026-07-04