The Mk 82 is the U.S. Mark 80-series 500-pound low-drag general-purpose bomb. Developed in the 1950s to reduce drag, it has been documented from Vietnam and Desert Storm through NATO's Kosovo air campaign, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Yemen, Gaza, and Marawi, and it remains important as both a free-fall bomb and the body for guided derivatives such as GBU-12 and GBU-38 JDAM.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum coverage documents U.S. Air Force F-100D Super Sabres in Vietnam carrying two 500-pound Mk 82 Snakeye high-drag bombs for in-country close-air-support missions and shows a 1966 F-100D dropping a Snakeye bomb on a suspected Viet Cong position.
A U.S. Air Force Operation Desert Storm B-52 history lists 17,678 Mk-82 500-pound bombs dropped by B-52G units during the campaign and describes dual-fuzed Mk-82s used to break up battlefield barriers before the ground assault.
Role detailsA DVIDS-hosted U.S. Air Force image caption documents Mk-82 bombs being loaded onto a B-52H Stratofortress at RAF Fairford on 4 May 1999 for a NATO Operation Allied Force mission against targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Air Force Magazine's summary of CENTAF's Operation Iraqi Freedom airpower statistics lists 5,504 Mk 82 iron bombs among coalition munitions expended over Iraq from 19 March to 18 April 2003.
Role detailsHuman Rights Watch identified a US-supplied Mk-82 500-pound bomb body fitted with JDAM satellite guidance among remnants from a Saudi-led coalition strike on the Amran Cement Factory during the 2014 Yemen Civil War.
Role detailsThe Guardian reported on 2 July 2025 that ordnance experts identified fragments from the 30 June 2025 al-Baqa cafe strike in Gaza City as consistent with an MK-82 general-purpose bomb, while noting photo-based identification limits.
Role detailsPhilippine Air Force OV-10 aircraft used 500-pound Mk 82 bombs during 2017 Battle of Marawi airstrikes against IS-aligned militant positions; later ordnance-clearing reports also identified unexploded 500-pound general-purpose bombs dropped by Philippine Air Force jets over Ground Zero during the siege.
The Mk 82 is the low-drag member of the Mark 80 family. It uses a relatively light bomb body to carry a large explosive charge, then changes delivery behavior through fuzes, fins, retarding kits, or guidance packages.
The U.S. Army describes the MK80 series as aerodynamically designed, relatively light general-purpose bomb bodies used in most bombing operations.
Army acquisition material describes MK82 as a 500-pound bomb for soft, fragment-sensitive targets such as troops, petroleum/oil/lubricant sites, and radars, not hard targets or penetrations.
The family can use nose and tail fuzes, conical or retarding fins, and laser/GPS guidance airfoil kits; BLU-111 and BLU-129 retain the 500-pound class while changing filler or casing effects.
Mk 82 designations often combine the same 500-pound low-drag bomb body with different fin, fuze, and guidance-kit packages. Retarded-fin configurations support low-altitude delivery, while GBU-12 and GBU-38 records cover laser-guided and GPS/INS-guided uses of the same weight class.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| BSU-49/B air-inflatable retarded fin configuration | Ballute-style retarded tail option | The Air Force Armament Museum identifies BSU-49/B as an air-inflatable retarder configuration for Mk 82 low-altitude delivery. Sources: Mark 82 500 lb LDGP Bombs |
| Mk-15 Snakeye retarded fin configuration | High-drag folding-fin option | Museum and Smithsonian coverage connect Snakeye high-drag Mk 82 configurations to low-altitude delivery, including Vietnam-era F-100D close-air-support loads. Sources: Mark 82 500 lb LDGP Bombs, Tet Offensive: Vietnam and the Super Sabre |
| MAU-93/B conical fin configuration | Low-drag conical tail option | The Air Force Armament Museum lists MAU-93/B as the conical fin configuration for the Mk 82 family. Sources: Mark 82 500 lb LDGP Bombs |
| BLU-111 500-pound general-purpose bomb | Mk 82 Mod 2 derivative with different explosive filler | The U.S. Army identifies BLU-111 as identical to the MK82 MOD 2 except for explosive filler, with U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy as primary users. |
| BLU-129/B low-collateral-damage bomb | Low-fragmentation 500-pound derivative | The U.S. Army describes BLU-129/B as a 500-pound low-collateral-damage weapon with a carbon-fiber composite case, equivalent outer mold line and mass properties to a standard MK82 GP bomb, and compatibility with inventory laser/GPS/INS guidance kits and fuzes. |
 | Laser-guided 500-pound bomb | The Air Force Armament Museum identifies the Mk-82 as the warhead for GBU-12 and GBU-22 laser-guided bombs. Sources: Mark 82 500 lb LDGP Bombs |
 | GPS/INS-guided 500-pound JDAM | The Air Force JDAM fact sheet identifies the 500-pound GBU-38 payload as the BLU-111/MK-82 warhead class. |
 | Extended-range guided derivative | The JDAM-ER record covers the Mk-82-class extended-range JDAM derivative built around the 500-pound body and a deployable wing kit. Sources: Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU-31/32/38, Boeing JDAM-ER product card |
The Mk 82's carrier record spans light attack aircraft, trainers, fighters, and heavy bombers. Cataloged examples include direct armament tables, official loading imagery, and conflict-specific captions from Vietnam, Kosovo, Marawi, and modern aircraft brochures.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Multirole fighter | The primary U.S. Air Force image shows a Mark 82 bomb being carried by a bomb loader to an F-16 Fighting Falcon for loading. |
 | Long-range bomber | A DVIDS-hosted U.S. Air Force image caption documents Mk-82 bombs being loaded onto a B-52H Stratofortress at RAF Fairford for a NATO Operation Allied Force mission. Sources: Airman 1st Class Lillian Smith rolls a Mk-82 bomb to the end of the bomb trailer |
 | Observation and light attack aircraft | Aviation International News reported Philippine Air Force OV-10 aircraft dropping 500-pound Mk 82 bombs during Marawi missions. |
 | Lead-in fighter trainer | The Hawk 127 armament table lists Mk.82 227kg (500lb) conventional bombs as part of the Hawk's air-to-ground stores. Sources: A27 – BAE Systems Hawk – pp518-521 |
 | Long-range bomber | The Air Force B-1B fact sheet lists the Mk 82 500-pound bomb in the bomber's carried ordnance load. Sources: B-1B Lancer |
 | Light attack aircraft | Embraer's A-29 brochure explicitly lists the Mk 82 500-pound general-purpose bomb as an external store on the A-29 Super Tucano. Sources: A-29 Super Tucano brochure |
 | Multirole fighter | Boeing's Advanced F-15 weapons inventory lists GBU-38 Mk-82 JDAM in the aircraft's external carriage matrix. Sources: Advanced F-15 Weapons Inventory |
 | Carrier-based attack aircraft | The Mk 82 page identifies the weapon as the 500-pound low-drag general-purpose bomb, and the Skyhawk ordnance page explicitly shows A-4 Skyhawks loading Mk-82 bombs. |
 | Single-engine fighter and light attack aircraft | The Mk 82 entry identifies this weapon as a 500-pound low-drag general-purpose bomb, matching the bomb class cited in F-7NI armament coverage. Sources: Mark 82 500 lb LDGP Bombs |
 | Two-seat trainer/light attack aircraft | Aero's Skyfox brochure lists MK 82 bombs among the aircraft's western payload examples and shows a close-air-support configuration with two MK 82 bombs. Sources: L-39 SKYFOX brochure | Aero |
 | Advanced jet trainer / light strike aircraft | NET-MAQUETTES and TaiwanAirPower both list Mk 82 500 lb bombs among the AT-3's seen stores. Sources: AIDC AT-3 - Photos & Videos - NET-MAQUETTES, ROCAF AIDC AT-3 - TaiwanAirPower.org |
 | Attack and reconnaissance aircraft | The War Zone reports that AMX aircraft flew combat missions during Operation Allied Force and that standard armament included 500-pound Mk 82 freefall bombs and Opher-guided Mk 82 derivatives. Sources: Italy Says Arrivederci To Its Little AMX Attack Jets |
 | Light attack and armed reconnaissance aircraft | Textron Aviation Defense lists the AT-6 Wolverine as a carrier for Mk 82 500-pound general-purpose bombs on its supported-loads page. Sources: AT-6 Wolverine and Beechcraft T-6 Texan II | Textron Aviation Defense |
The same 500-pound body turns up in both laser-guided and GPS-guided bomb families, which is why the unguided Mk 82 remains a relevant baseline weapon.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 500-pound JDAM body | The Air Force fact sheet says JDAM uses the 500-pound BLU-111/MK-82 warhead, and it notes that Mk-82-family JDAM development began in late 1999. |
| Laser-guided Mk 82 | The Air Force Armament Museum identifies the Mk-82 as the warhead for GBU-12 and GBU-22 laser-guided bombs, which is the same basic body used by this guided Mk 82 family entry. Sources: Mark 82 500 lb LDGP Bombs |
The Mark 80 family was developed in the 1950s to reduce aerodynamic drag; the Mk 82 became the 500-pound low-drag member of the series.
Sources: Mark 82 500 lb LDGP Bombs
Smithsonian coverage shows a U.S. Air Force F-100D dropping a Snakeye bomb on a suspected Viet Cong position in 1966 and describes 500-pound Mk 82 Snakeye bombs in Vietnam close-air-support loads.
Sources: Tet Offensive: Vietnam and the Super Sabre
A U.S. Air Force B-52 history lists 17,678 Mk-82 500-pound bombs dropped by B-52G units during Operation Desert Storm, including dual-fuzed bombs used against battlefield barriers before the ground assault.
Sources: Operation Desert Storm B-52 Specific
The Air Force says the first JDAMs were delivered in 1997, and Mk 82-family development for JDAM began in late 1999.
Sources: Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU-31/32/38
A U.S. Air Force caption documents Mk-82 bombs being loaded onto a B-52H at RAF Fairford for a NATO Operation Allied Force mission against targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Sources: Airman 1st Class Lillian Smith rolls a Mk-82 bomb to the end of the bomb trailer
FY2003 Air Force procurement documentation lists the MK-82 500 lb GP bomb at about $1,606.50 per unit and places production at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.
Sources: MK-82 500 lb GP Bomb (E485)
Air Force Magazine summarized CENTAF's Operation Iraqi Freedom airpower statistics with 5,504 Mk 82 iron bombs listed among coalition munitions expended from March 19 through April 18, 2003.
Sources: The Gulf War II Air Campaign, by the Numbers
Reporting on the al-Baqa cafe strike in Gaza said bomb fragments matched an MK-82 body, showing the weapon's continued use in modern conflict.
Sources: Israeli military used 500lb bomb in strike on Gaza cafe, fragments reveal
