During the 2001 War in Afghanistan, Air Power Australia described U.S. Navy GBU-32 and GBU-35 JDAMs as widely used during the Afghan campaign, tying the GBU-35 to naval 1,000-pound JDAM strike operations.
Role detailsGBU-35 BLU-110 Joint Direct Attack Munition
- GBU-35
- GBU-35/B
- GBU-35(V)/B
- GBU-35(V)1/B
- GBU-35 BLU-110 JDAM
- GBU-35 JDAM
- BLU-110 JDAM
- Navy GBU-35 JDAM
The GBU-35 BLU-110 Joint Direct Attack Munition was a U.S. Navy 1,000-pound JDAM designation for a BLU-110 bomb body fitted with Boeing's GPS/INS tail kit. Sources separate it from the Mk 83-bodied GBU-32 while placing both in the same 1,000-pound JDAM class, and direct conflict sources document GBU-35 use in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Role in Conflicts
During the 2003 Iraq War, Human Rights Watch's review of U.S. Central Command data listed 675 GBU-35 JDAMs among 1,000-pound GPS-guided bombs used in the 2003 campaign.
Role detailsProfile / Specs
Profile
- Origin
- United States
- Built by
- Boeing
- Type
- 1,000-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb
- Service note
- Late 1990s-present JDAM family; the GBU-35 name was later folded into Navy 1,000-pound GBU-32(V)2/B nomenclature
- Designer
- Boeing / McDonnell Douglas
- Unit cost
- Standard JDAM tail-kit cost class; bomb body, fuze, and sensors are separate cost items
Specifications
- Guidance
- GPS-aided inertial navigation JDAM tail kit
- Bomb body
- BLU-110/B 1,000-pound class bomb body
- Warhead distinction
- BLU-110/B is described as externally similar to Mk 83 but using PBXN-109 thermally insensitive explosive
- Weight class
- 1,000 pounds nominal
- Range class
- Standard JDAM family range up to about 15 miles
- Guidance kit family
- KMU-559-series 1,000-pound JDAM guidance kit
- Related designation
- GBU-32 covers the adjacent 1,000-pound Mk 83 JDAM path and later Navy 1,000-pound JDAM naming
Variants
The GBU-35 label belongs to the 1,000-pound JDAM designation split. It identifies the BLU-110 warhead path that Designation Systems says the Navy later folded into the broader GBU-32(V)2/B naming practice.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
![]() | 1,000-pound JDAM family member | The GBU-32 family covers 1,000-pound Mk 83 and, in Navy usage, BLU-110 configurations after the separate GBU-35 name was no longer used. Sources: Designation Systems JDAM page, Wikipedia JDAM article |
![]() | Laser JDAM designation in the same weight class | Designation Systems lists GBU-55(V)/B as the reserved Laser JDAM designation for the 1,000-pound GBU-32 class. Sources: Designation Systems JDAM page |
Bomb Body Compatibility
The GBU-35 designation sits in the same 1,000-pound JDAM weight class as the GBU-32 but is tied to the BLU-110/B bomb body.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
![]() | Bomb body class | The local bomb-body entry covers the Mk 83 / BLU-110 1,000-pound class that sits under the JDAM-family weapons in this weight band. Sources: Air Force JDAM Fact Sheet, Designation Systems JDAM page |
![]() | 1,000-pound JDAM | The GBU-32 and GBU-35 names describe adjacent 1,000-pound JDAM designations, with the GBU-35 label tied to BLU-110 and later Navy usage folded into GBU-32(V)2/B. Sources: Designation Systems JDAM page, Wikipedia JDAM article |
Carrier Aircraft
Public sources describe the Navy's 1,000-pound GBU-32 and GBU-35 JDAMs around the F/A-18 carrier strike ecosystem.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
![]() | Carrier strike fighter | Air Power Australia identifies the F/A-18C/D/E/F as the primary near-term delivery platform for naval GBU-32 and GBU-35 JDAMs. Sources: Air Power Australia JDAM Matures |
![]() | Carrier strike fighter | Air Power Australia includes the F/A-18E/F in the Navy delivery-platform discussion for GBU-32 and GBU-35 1,000-pound JDAMs. Sources: Air Power Australia JDAM Matures |
Designation Notes
The GBU-35 name is best read as a narrow Navy designation inside the 1,000-pound JDAM class, not as a separate guidance concept from JDAM.
| Designation element | Meaning on this page | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| GBU-35(V)1/B | Navy BLU-110 JDAM designation | Older designation material lists the BLU-110 1,000-pound configuration separately from the Mk 83-based GBU-32. |
| BLU-110/B | Thermally insensitive 1,000-pound bomb body | The bomb body is externally similar to the Mk 83 but uses PBXN-109 explosive and Navy protective coating variants. |
| GBU-32(V)2/B | Later Navy umbrella naming | Designation Systems says the Navy later referred to 1,000-pound JDAMs as GBU-32(V)2/B regardless of whether the bomb body was Mk 83 or BLU-110. |
Timeline
GBU-35 BLU-110 Joint Direct Attack Munition Key Events
First production JDAM delivered
Boeing delivered the first production JDAM to the Department of Defense at its St. Charles facility, establishing the production base for later JDAM-family weapons.
GBU-35 Iraq use quantified
Human Rights Watch's Off Target report listed 675 GBU-35 JDAMs in its table of guided air-delivered weapons used during the 2003 Iraq campaign.
Media
GBU-35 BLU-110 Joint Direct Attack Munition Images
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