Mk 118 Rockeye submunition

The Mk 118 Rockeye is a US high-explosive anti-tank submunition carried inside Mk 20, CBU-99, and CBU-100 Rockeye cluster bombs. Each Rockeye dispenser scatters hundreds of fin-stabilized bomblets over an area target, leaving unexploded ordnance risks when submunitions fail to function. In the Sinai Insurgency, Amnesty International identified an unexploded Mk 118 in Egyptian military footage from North Sinai and assessed it as evidence of Egyptian Air Force cluster-munition use during Operation Sinai 2018.

Sinai InsurgencyEgyptian government

Conflict side: Egyptian government
Built by: U.S. defense contractors
Built in: United States

Mk 118 Rockeye submunition, HEAT cluster submunition, Munitions

Image source: Crane Army Rocks Cluster Bomb Demilitarization Image 4

Profile

Type: HEAT cluster submunition
Conflict side: Egyptian government
Origin: United States
Service note: Developed in 1968 and documented in Egyptian service during the Sinai Insurgency

cluster munition heat air-launched anti-tankunexploded ordnance

Service History

In service: Air-dropped Rockeye-family cluster-bomb payload
Used by: Egyptian Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps
Wars: Sinai Insurgency, Vietnam War, Gulf War

Production History

Designer: U.S. Navy weapons program
Designed: 1968
Built by: U.S. defense contractors
Built in: United States
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
Variants: Mk 118 Mod 0, Mk 118 Mod 1

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
Dispersal footprint: About 4,800 square meters when ejected at 150 m, according to cluster-munition technical guidance

Conflict Usage

Sinai Insurgency: Side: Egyptian governmentRole: Air-delivered cluster-bomb submunition in counterinsurgency strikesstrike anti-tank
Amnesty International assessed Egyptian military footage from North Sinai in February 2018 as showing an unexploded US-made Mk 118 submunition recently deployed by Egyptian Air Force aircraft, while the Cluster Munition Monitor later summarized the same allegation and additional Mk 118 remnants recovered in North Sinai.

Mk 118 Rockeye submunition Images

Mk 118 Rockeye submunition, HEAT cluster submunition, Munitions - view 1 — Source: Crane Army Rocks Cluster Bomb Demilitarization Image 4

Mk 118 Rockeye submunition, HEAT cluster submunition, Munitions - view 2 — Source: Crane Army Rocks Cluster Bomb Demilitarization Image 4

Mk 118 Rockeye submunition, HEAT cluster submunition, Munitions - view 3 — Source: Crane Army Rocks Cluster Bomb Demilitarization Image 4

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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, and approximate dispersal area. | Accessed: 2026-06-22 Mk 118 Rockeye SubmunitionPublisher: CAT-UXO | Note: Supports Mk 118 identification as a US HEAT, aerially dispersed, fin-stabilized Rockeye submunition. | Accessed: 2026-06-22 Egypt: Use of Banned Cluster Bombs in North Sinai ConfirmedPublisher: Amnesty International | Note: Supports 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: 2026-06-22 Egypt Cluster Munition Ban PolicyPublisher: The Monitor | Note: Supports 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: 2026-06-22 Crane 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: 2026-06-22 Crane 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: 2026-06-22 MK20 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: 2026-06-22