F16 weapons

[JuliMonkey]

I havent flown any US aircraft before the F16 so I am not familiar with all those weapon names like CBU GBU and so on. Is there any video or thread which shows all weapons and explains what they do and what they are usually used for?

[Tippis]

Not a video, and the descriptions aren't exactly exhaustive, but it's a start: https://www.airgoons.com/w/DCS_Reference/Stores_List

[Exorcet]

The weapon names are generally acronyms that tell you what the weapon is:

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_United_States_Tri-Service_missile_and_drone_designation_system

 

 

So for example AIM-120B is

Air Intercept Missile number (or type) 120 version B

 

The F-16 quick access guide also has weapon information, as does the in game encyclopedia.

 

 

 

AIM = Air Intercept Missile (Air to Air Missile)

AIM-120 is a medium range active radar guided Missile

A being the original version, B a slight upgrade, and C a significant range increase.

 

AIM-9 is a short range infrared guided missile for dogfights

 

P is a less capable version, with L and M being standard, and X being an advanced version.

AGM = Air to Ground Missile

AGM-65 Maverick is a short range general purpose guided missile. It has different versions with IR, optical, and laser guidance (laser not used on F-16) and different warheads for soft or armored targets.

 

 

AGM-88 HARM is a long range anti radar missile for use against SAM's.

 

 

AGM-154 is a long range guided glide bomb. It's slow but very long range and hard to detect.

 

CBU = Cluster Bomb Unit

There are various models mostly differing by how "smart" the submunitions are.

GBU = Guided Bomb Unit

There are two primary types, laser guided (LGB) and GPS guided. The former needs a unit to mark its target with a laser, the unit can be the F-16 or another unit. GPS bombs are slightly less accurate but don't need designation, they take GPS coordinates instead. Based on the Mk General Purpose bomb series, but under different names.

Mk General purpose bomb series

Bombs separated into total weight classes with no guidance

 

Mk81 - 250 lb

Mk82 - 500 lb

Mk83 - 1000 lb

Mk84 - 2000 lb

[JuliMonkey]

Thank you guys! This helped a lot to have a rough overview!