2003 Iraq War

GBU-32 1,000-pound JDAM in the 2003 Iraq War

U.S. air-war munitions data reviewed by Human Rights Watch listed 768 GBU-32 1,000-pound JDAMs used in the 2003 Iraq campaign.

Weapon profileGBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition
SideUnited States and coalition forcesRoleFire Support
GBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition, 1,000-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb kit, Munitions - 2003 Iraq War
Image source: F-22 dropping GBU-32 photo

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
The GBU-32 was used by U.S. forces in the 2003 Iraq War.

Sources: HRW Off Target Iraq JDAM Table

The documented 2003 campaign total was 768 GBU-32 JDAMs.

Sources: HRW Off Target Iraq JDAM Table

The 2003 air-campaign data covered the major March-April 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom air phase.

Sources: Air Force Magazine OIF Air Campaign Numbers, HRW Off Target Iraq Report

JDAM is a GPS/INS guidance kit family, and GBU-32 is the 1,000-pound class.

Sources: Air Force JDAM Fact Sheet, Navy JDAM Fact File

A separate Navy historical record documents F/A-18C GBU-32 use in Iraq on July 20, 2004.

Sources: NHHC John F. Kennedy History

Timeline

GBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition In 2003 Iraq War

  1. Operation Iraqi Freedom air-campaign reporting period begins

    Air & Space Forces Magazine summarized the CENTAF air-campaign statistics report as covering March 19 through April 18, 2003.

    Sources: Air Force Magazine OIF Air Campaign Numbers

  2. Air war begins over Iraq

    Human Rights Watch described the Iraq war as beginning with air strikes on March 20, 2003, followed by a wider bombardment of Baghdad and Iraqi air-defense targets.

    Sources: HRW Off Target Iraq Report

  3. GBU-32 use recorded in air-war data

    Human Rights Watch's appendix to Off Target listed 768 GBU-32 1,000-pound JDAMs among precision-guided munitions used in the Iraq air campaign.

    Sources: HRW Off Target Iraq JDAM Table

  4. Navy F/A-18C drops GBU-32s in Iraq

    NHHC records a John F. Kennedy air-wing F/A-18C dropping GBU-32 guided bombs against anti-Iraqi positions during the ship's Iraq-supporting deployment.

    Sources: NHHC John F. Kennedy History

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The GBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition is directly documented in the 2003 Iraq War through U.S. air-war munitions data reproduced by Human Rights Watch. In Appendix D of Off Target, Human Rights Watch listed 768 GBU-32 JDAMs among the precision-guided munitions used in the Iraq air campaign.

The same appendix places the GBU-32 inside the broader U.S. and coalition air campaign that used 19,040 precision-guided munitions in the 2003 fighting. The source supports use of the weapon type in the campaign, but it does not identify every GBU-32 release platform, target, or strike location.

Sources: HRW Off Target Iraq JDAM Table, HRW Off Target Iraq Report

Air-campaign context

The 2003 Iraq air campaign began on March 20, 2003, and shifted from initial leadership and air-defense attacks to wider strikes supporting coalition ground operations. Air & Space Forces Magazine summarized Lt. Gen. T. Michael Moseley's Operation Iraqi Freedom--By the Numbers report as covering March 19 through April 18, 2003, with 41,404 coalition sorties and 29,199 total bombs, rockets, and missiles.

Within that munitions mix, JDAM was one of the main precision-guided weapon families. The Air Force and Navy describe JDAM as a GPS/INS guidance tail kit that converts existing free-fall bomb bodies into all-weather guided munitions; the 1,000-pound class corresponds to the GBU-32 family.

Sources: Air Force Magazine OIF Air Campaign Numbers, Air Force JDAM Fact Sheet, Navy JDAM Fact File

Later Iraq use

Public Navy historical material also records later Iraq-conflict use after the initial 2003 campaign. The Naval History and Heritage Command history of USS John F. Kennedy states that on July 20, 2004, Carrier Air Wing Seventeen aircraft destroyed two anti-Iraqi positions, with an F/A-18C Hornet dropping GBU-32 guided bombs on the positions.

That 2004 entry is a separate post-invasion Iraq use record and should not be read as part of the 768-bomb total from the March-April 2003 air campaign.

Sources: NHHC John F. Kennedy History

Related Weapons by Role

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GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, 500-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb, MunitionsMunitionsGBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition500-pound GPS/INS-guided bombGBU-38 Mk-82 JDAM is Boeing's 500-pound GPS/INS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition, turning the Mk 82 bomb body into an all-weather precision air-to-surface weapon. U.S. Air Force sources list the GBU-38 at 92.6 inches long, 558 pounds at launch, a 14-inch wingspan, up to 15 miles range, and 5-meter-or-less CEP when GPS data is available, while combat reporting documents F-15E, F-16, B-1B, and MQ-9 employment in Afghanistan, Iraq, and 2014 Operation Inherent Resolve.
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Sources