U.S.-led coalition air forces expended one GBU-28 laser-guided bunker-buster during Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to USCENTAF munitions data cited by Human Rights Watch.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| U.S.-led coalition air forces expended one GBU-28 LGB during Operation Iraqi Freedom. | |
| Human Rights Watch identified the same item as a 5,000-pound GBU-28 bunker-buster in its appendix of weapons used in the air war. | Sources: HRW Off Target Appendix D |
| The GBU-28 was a specialized Paveway III hard-target penetrator rather than a general-purpose bomb. | Sources: GBU-24/28 Paveway III |
Timeline
USCENTAF's Operation Iraqi Freedom munitions summary listed one GBU-28 LGB among guided weapons expended in the air campaign.
Human Rights Watch's Off Target appendix listed the GBU-28 bunker-buster as a 5,000-pound laser-guided bomb and recorded one used, citing Operation Iraqi Freedom air-war data.
Sources: HRW Off Target Appendix D
USCENTAF's April 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom munitions summary listed one GBU-28 laser-guided bomb among guided weapons expended by coalition air forces. Human Rights Watch reproduced the same air-war appendix line in Off Target, identifying the GBU-28 as a 5,000-pound bunker-buster and citing USCENTAF's Operation Iraqi Freedom data.
The available direct sources support use by the U.S.-led coalition at the campaign level. They do not identify the exact aircraft, target, date of release, or strike location for the single GBU-28 listed in the 2003 Iraq War expenditure data.
Sources: USCENTAF Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers, HRW Off Target Appendix D
The source-backed timeline for this conflict is limited to aggregate air-campaign reporting. The weapon's documented 2003 Iraq War use falls within the Operation Iraqi Freedom air campaign summarized by USCENTAF on April 30, 2003.
Human Rights Watch published Off Target in December 2003 and used the USCENTAF munitions data as an appendix source for weapons used in the air war, including the single GBU-28 expenditure.
Sources: USCENTAF Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers, HRW Off Target Appendix D
In the 2003 Iraq War, the GBU-28 appeared as a rare hard-target munition rather than a routine strike weapon. USCENTAF's munitions table placed it among laser-guided bombs and recorded only one GBU-28 LGB expended, compared with thousands of smaller GBU-12 and JDAM-series guided bombs in the same campaign summary.
That limited count fits the weapon's role as a specialized penetrator for hardened or buried targets. The public aggregate data confirms one use in the conflict but does not provide enough detail to connect the bomb to a named bunker, leadership site, or specific sortie.
Sources: USCENTAF Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers, HRW Off Target Appendix D, GBU-24/28 Paveway III
