2003 Iraq War

GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition in the 2003 Iraq War

U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft used the 500-pound GBU-38 JDAM in Iraq from at least the 2004 Battle of Fallujah through later Operation Iraqi Freedom close-air-support and interdiction missions.

Weapon profileGBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition
SideUnited States and coalition forcesRoleInterdiction
GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, 500-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb, Munitions - 2003 Iraq War
Image source: Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU-31/32/38

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
U.S. forces used the GBU-38 in the 2003 Iraq War, including the Battle of Fallujah.

Sources: 187th Fighter Wing History

B-1B and F-16 aircraft used GBU-38s in 2007 Iraq missions against IED-related targets and weapons-cache infrastructure.

Sources: DVIDS Airpower Summary May 19, DVIDS Airpower Summary September 5, DVIDS Airpower Summary November 2

F-16 and Navy F/A-18 variants used GBU-38s in Iraq in late 2007 and early 2008 against structures, IEDs, enemy combatants, and rocket-launch or mortar-related targets.

Sources: Air Force Dec. 9 Airpower Summary, CENTCOM Airpower Summary December 21, AFCENT Airpower Summary January 3, Air Force Jan. 17 Airpower Summary

F-16C aircraft still used GBU-38s in Iraq in 2009 against a rocket and mortar firing site used against a coalition base.

Sources: DVIDS Airpower Summary March 4

Timeline

GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition In 2003 Iraq War

  1. First combat use during Operation Iraqi Freedom

    The 187th Fighter Wing deployed to Al Udeid for Operation Iraqi Freedom and recorded the first U.S. military combat use of the GBU-38, with employment in the Battle of Fallujah.

    Sources: 187th Fighter Wing History

  2. B-1B strike on IED manufacturing site in Baghdad

    A DVIDS airpower summary reported a B-1 dropping GBU-38s on a Baghdad building used to manufacture IEDs.

    Sources: DVIDS Airpower Summary May 19

  3. Baqubah and Salman Pak IED strikes

    A B-1B dropped GBU-38s on road IEDs in Baqubah, and an F-16 used a GBU-38 to destroy a roadside IED in Salman Pak.

    Sources: DVIDS Airpower Summary September 5

  4. F-16 and F/A-18F GBU-38 missions in Iraq

    AFCENT reported F-16 GBU-38 strikes in Baqubah and Baghdad and Navy F/A-18F GBU-38 strikes against enemy combatants and IED emplacers.

    Sources: AFCENT Airpower Summary January 3

  5. F-16C strike on rocket and mortar firing position

    DVIDS reported Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcons dropping GBU-38s and a GBU-12 on a position used to launch rockets and mortars against a coalition base in Iraq.

    Sources: DVIDS Airpower Summary March 4

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The GBU-38 is directly documented in the 2003 Iraq War by official U.S. military sources. The Alabama Air National Guard's 187th Fighter Wing history states that its September 2004 Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment marked the first combat use of the GBU-38 by the U.S. military and that the weapon was employed in the Battle of Fallujah.

Later daily airpower summaries show routine Iraq employment. On September 5, 2007, a B-1B Lancer dropped GBU-38s on improvised explosive devices on a road in Baqubah, and an F-16 destroyed a roadside IED with a GBU-38 in Salman Pak. On January 3, 2008, AFCENT reported F-16s using GBU-38s against a structure, enemy combatants, and a house-borne IED in Baqubah and Baghdad, while Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets used GBU-38s against enemy combatants and IED emplacers in the Baghdad area.

Sources: 187th Fighter Wing History, DVIDS Airpower Summary September 5, AFCENT Airpower Summary January 3

Timeline

The available official record places the GBU-38 in Iraq first with the 187th Fighter Wing's 2004 Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment and then in repeated airpower-summary entries during the later insurgency phase. The documented targets were mostly fixed or position-like targets, including IEDs, IED manufacturing sites, weapons caches, enemy compounds, structures, firing sites, and rocket or mortar launch positions.

By late 2007 and early 2008, the aircraft named in public summaries included U.S. Air Force B-1B and F-16 aircraft and U.S. Navy F/A-18 variants. A March 2009 DVIDS summary still reported F-16C Fighting Falcons dropping GBU-38s in Iraq against a rocket and mortar firing position used against a coalition base.

Sources: 187th Fighter Wing History, DVIDS Airpower Summary May 19, DVIDS Airpower Summary September 5, Air Force Dec. 9 Airpower Summary, Air Force Jan. 17 Airpower Summary, DVIDS Airpower Summary March 4

Operational role

In Iraq, the GBU-38 served as a 500-pound GPS/INS-guided air-to-surface weapon for fixed-coordinate precision strikes from fighter, bomber, and carrier aircraft. The Air Force fact sheet describes the JDAM family as a guidance tail kit that converts unguided bombs into adverse-weather precision munitions and lists the GBU-38 as the 500-pound Mk 82 class member.

The Iraq summaries show the munition used less as a strategic opening-war weapon and more as a tactical precision bomb for interdiction and close air support during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Reported missions included strikes on IED networks around Baghdad and Baqubah, weapons caches in Baghdad and Samarra, enemy structures in Bayji and Baqubah, and rocket or mortar firing positions threatening coalition bases.

Sources: Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU-31/32/38, DVIDS Airpower Summary November 2, Air Force Dec. 9 Airpower Summary, CENTCOM Airpower Summary December 21, DVIDS Airpower Summary March 4

Related Weapons by Role

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Sources