- Side
- United States and South Vietnam
GICHD describes the Mk 118 Rockeye as a dual-purpose anti-armor submunition first used during the Vietnam War, and Human Rights Watch separately notes large-scale Rockeye use in that war.
Munitions
Mk 118 Rockeye submunition
Also known as
- Mk 118 Rockeye
- MK-118 Rockeye
- Mk 118 antitank bomblet
- Mk 118 Mod 0
- Mk 118 Mod 1
- Rockeye bomblet
- Rockeye submunition
The Mk 118 Rockeye is a U.S. high-explosive anti-tank submunition carried in Rockeye-family cluster bombs, including Mk 20, CBU-99, and CBU-100 configurations that release 247 bomblets over an area target. Its shaped-charge warhead and folding fins made it an anti-armor bomblet, while failed functioning creates unexploded-ordnance hazards after a strike. The submunition is documented through Rockeye use in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Kosovo, the 2003 Iraq War, and North Sinai, where Amnesty International linked an unexploded Mk 118 to Egyptian Air Force cluster-munition use during Operation Sinai 2018.
Role in Conflicts
- Side
- Coalition forces
U.S. Marine Corps history lists 27,987 Mk-20 Rockeyes expended from 17 January to 28 February 1991, while Human Rights Watch identifies Rockeye CBU-99/CBU-100 bombs as carrying 247 Mk 118 submunitions and records M118/Rockeye duds cleared in Kuwait after the war.
Role details- Side
- NATO
GICHD states that allied forces dropped BLU-97, BL755, and Mk 118 Rockeye submunitions on Kosovo in May and June 1999, and the U.S. Department of Defense after-action report lists Rockeye CBU-99 among Operation Allied Force direct-attack weapons.
Human Rights Watch reported that U.S. forces used 182 Vietnam-era CBU-99 Rockeye cluster bombs in the 2003 Iraq air war, each containing 247 Mk 118 submunitions.
Role details
Amnesty International assessed Egyptian military footage released on 21 February 2018 as showing an unexploded US-made Mk 118 submunition recently deployed by Egyptian Air Force aircraft in North Sinai; The Monitor later summarized the allegation and additional Mk 118 remnants recovered in North Sinai.
Profile / Specs
Profile
- Origin
- United States
- Built by
- U.S. defense contractors
- Type
- HEAT cluster submunition
- Service note
- Developed in 1968 and documented in Egyptian service during the 2011 Sinai Insurgency
- Designer
- U.S. Navy weapons program
- Designed
- 1968
- Unit cost
- Not publicly established
- Produced
- Cold War production; Rockeye stockpiles remained in service or storage after production
- Number built
- Not publicly established; each Rockeye dispenser carries 247 Mk 118 submunitions
Specifications
- Munition class
- High-explosive anti-tank cluster submunition
- Delivery system
- Mk 20, CBU-99, and CBU-100 Rockeye cluster bombs
- Submunitions per dispenser
- 247 Mk 118 bomblets
- Length
- 316 mm
- Weight
- About 600 g per submunition
- Warhead
- About 183 g shaped charge with fragmentation effect
- Fuzing
- Mk 1 Mod 0 or Mk 1 Mod 1 bomblet fuzing system, depending on submunition mod
- Dispersal footprint
- About 4,800 square meters when ejected at 150 m, according to cluster-munition technical guidance
Parent Cluster Bombs
The Mk 118 is documented as the bomblet load inside Rockeye-family cluster bombs rather than as a stand-alone air-dropped weapon.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Air-dropped cluster bomb | Navy ordnance configuration tables list Mk 20, CBU-99, and CBU-100 Rockeye configurations with 247 Mk 118 bomblets; the catalog treats those service designations under the published Mk 20 Rockeye II family record. Sources: A Guide to Cluster Munitions, Navy Aviation Ordnanceman Bomb Cluster Configurations, Navy Aviation Ordnanceman Bombs, Fuzes, and Associated Components |
Bomblet And Dispenser Function
The Mk 118 was designed as the effect mechanism inside the Rockeye dispenser. After aircraft release, the dispenser fuze and case-opening charges scatter the bomblets; each Mk 118 then arms separately and uses a shaped-charge warhead against hard targets.
Mod 0
Mk 1 Mod 0 fuzing system, listed in Mk 20 Mod 2/3 and CBU-99/CBU-100 Rockeye configurations.
Mod 1
Mk 1 Mod 1 fuzing system, listed in Mk 20 Mod 4/6 Rockeye configurations.
Target Effect
The bomblet is described for armor and hard-target attack, with an impact sequence that initiates the shaped-charge warhead.
Timeline
Mk 118 Rockeye submunition Key Events
Rockeye family fielded
Cluster-munition guidance and Rockeye references place the Mk 118/Rockeye family in service from 1968 as an air-delivered anti-armor cluster munition.
Sources: A Guide to Cluster Munitions, MK-20 Rockeye - GlobalSecurity.org
Egyptian military video shows a Mk 118 remnant
Amnesty International analyzed Egyptian military footage released that day and identified an unexploded US-made Mk 118 submunition in North Sinai.
Sources: Egypt: Use of Banned Cluster Bombs in North Sinai Confirmed
Amnesty publishes North Sinai assessment
Amnesty International publicly assessed the Mk 118 remnant as evidence of recent Egyptian Air Force cluster-munition use during Operation Sinai 2018.
Sources: Egypt: Use of Banned Cluster Bombs in North Sinai Confirmed
Media
Mk 118 Rockeye submunition Videos
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
A Guide to Cluster MunitionsPublisher: Cluster Munition Coalition | Note: Supports Mk 118 background, 1968 development context, Mk 7/Rockeye dispenser payload count, length, weight, shaped-charge mass, approximate dispersal area, 1955 Vietnam War use, and 1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force use. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Mk 118 Rockeye SubmunitionPublisher: CAT-UXO | Note: Supports Mk 118 identification as a US HEAT, aerially dispersed, fin-stabilized Rockeye submunition. | Accessed: 2026-07-01MK-20 Rockeye - GlobalSecurity.orgPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports Rockeye fielding date, Mk 20 dispenser context, 247 bomblet payload, anti-armor role, bomblet warhead detail, and Rockeye-family area coverage. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Navy Aviation Ordnanceman Bomb Cluster ConfigurationsPublisher: Integrated Publishing | Note: Supports Mk 20, CBU-99, and CBU-100 Rockeye configuration rows, 247 Mk 118 payloads, and Mod 0/Mod 1 loading distinctions. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Navy Aviation Ordnanceman Bombs, Fuzes, and Associated ComponentsPublisher: Integrated Publishing | Note: Supports Mk 118 Mod 0 and Mod 1 distinction, Mk 20 Mod 3 and Mod 6 loading, bomblet fuzing, dispenser function, and shaped-charge target effect. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Egypt: Use of Banned Cluster Bombs in North Sinai ConfirmedPublisher: Amnesty International | Note: Supports 2011 Sinai Insurgency direct use: Amnesty says the Mk 118 shown in Egyptian military footage was used by the Egyptian Air Force in recent North Sinai operations. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Cluster Munitions a Foreseeable Hazard in IraqPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports 1990 Gulf War direct use by identifying Rockeye CBU-99/CBU-100 bombs with 247 Mk 118 submunitions as used extensively in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and noting M118/Rockeye duds cleared in Kuwait; also supports 1955 Vietnam War direct use by noting large-scale Rockeye use in Vietnam. | Accessed: 2026-07-01U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf 1990-1991Publisher: U.S. Marine Corps History and Museums Division | Note: Supports 1990 Gulf War direct use by listing Mk-20 Rockeye expenditures by U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft during Desert Storm and describing Marine Rockeye drops. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Kosovo Operation Allied Force After-Action ReportPublisher: U.S. Department of Defense | Note: Supports 1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force direct use context by listing Rockeye CBU-99 among direct-attack weapons used in the campaign. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Off Target Iraq Air War Cluster BombsPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports 2003 Iraq War direct use by reporting U.S. use of 182 CBU-99 Rockeye bombs, each containing 247 Mk 118 submunitions, during the 2003 Iraq air war. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Egypt Cluster Munition Ban PolicyPublisher: The Monitor | Note: Supports 2011 Sinai Insurgency direct use context: summarizes allegations that Mk 118 submunitions were used by Egyptian forces in northern Sinai and notes later recovered Mk 118 remnants. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Crane Army Rocks Cluster Bomb Demilitarization Image 4Publisher: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service | Note: Public-domain U.S. Army image showing Rockeye Cluster Bomb Units and exposed bomblets during demilitarization. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Crane Army Rocks Cluster Bomb Demilitarization Image 3Publisher: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service | Note: Public-domain U.S. Army image from the same Rockeye demilitarization series used for gallery context. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Rockeye Cluster Bomb After Drop with BombletsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain U.S. Navy image showing a CBU Mk 20 Rockeye II after opening and dispensing bomblets. | Accessed: 2026-07-01MK20 Rockeye II Cluster BombPublisher: National Museum of the United States Air Force | Note: Public-domain U.S. Air Force museum image showing a Mk 20 Rockeye II cluster bomb, the parent munition for Mk 118 submunitions. | Accessed: 2026-07-01