Direct proof of use
The GBU-27 Paveway III is directly documented in the 2003 Iraq War through U.S. Air Force reporting on F-117 strikes and USCENTAF munitions accounting for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Air Force reported that F-117 stealth fighters struck five strategic targets in Baghdad on March 21, 2003, using the EGBU-27, the enhanced GBU-27 configuration with satellite guidance added to the laser-guidance system.
USCENTAF's April 30, 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom munitions summary separately lists 98 EGBU-27 GPS/LGB weapons and 11 GBU-27 LGB weapons expended during the reporting period. That report defines its scope as 0300Z on March 19, 2003, through 0259Z on April 18, 2003, covering the opening air campaign and immediate combat phase.
Sources: Stealth Fighters Use New Munitions To Hit Baghdad, Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers
Timeline
The enhanced weapon entered the war at the start of the air campaign. The Air Force article says the EGBU-27 was first used operationally on March 20, 2003, against strategic targets in Baghdad on the first night of the war, and then describes additional March 21 Baghdad strikes by F-117s using the same weapon.
By April 30, USCENTAF had compiled early Operation Iraqi Freedom munitions figures showing the EGBU-27 as the dominant GBU-27-family munition in the campaign summary: 98 enhanced GPS/laser-guided rounds, compared with 11 traditional GBU-27 laser-guided bombs.
Sources: Stealth Fighters Use New Munitions To Hit Baghdad, Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers
Operational role
In Iraq, the documented user was the U.S. Air Force on the United States and coalition side. The delivery aircraft identified in the direct-use reporting was the F-117, whose low-observable design allowed deep strike missions into Baghdad. The targets named in Air Force reporting were strategic Baghdad targets, including communication nodes and command bunkers.
The EGBU-27's role in the campaign was hard-target precision strike under conditions where laser-only guidance could be limited. The Air Force described the enhancement as a satellite-guidance addition to the traditional GBU-27 laser-guidance system; Designation-Systems identifies the GBU-27/B as an F-117-compatible 2,000-pound Paveway III configuration using penetrating BLU-109 or BLU-116 warheads, with GPS/INS-equipped versions informally referred to as EGBU-27.
The public sources used here support U.S. Air Force use, F-117 carriage, Baghdad strategic-target strikes, and campaign-level expenditure totals. They do not provide a public target-by-target list for every GBU-27 or EGBU-27 expended during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sources: Stealth Fighters Use New Munitions To Hit Baghdad, Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers, Raytheon Paveway III - Designation-Systems.Net
