Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors

12-Apr: Cluster Bombing the 'liberated' people of Iraq

Contrary to reports that the war is over the past few days has seen heightened activity at USAF Fairford airbase. Over the past four days we have logged 8, 5, 7 and 6 B-52s flying out fully armed. That's 26 over four days and 2 more out in the early hours of 12/April. In a particularly disturbing move we have been watching much higher numbers of cluster bombs being loaded on these departing planes.

Over the past two days there have been three new bomb convoys from Welford. This is the highest level of activity during the whole period of the war.

Sources inform us the US is using a new type of satellite guided cluster bomb an adaptation of the WCMD that includes a GPS positioning unit. A B-52 can carry 12 of these and they are programmed to fall in formation to spread their area denial bomblets over a larger area in a more efficient, and more deadly, manner.

Pictures from 8th April:

B-52 being armed with mixture of JDAM, Cluster Bombs and general purpose free fall bombs.

Detail of cluster bombs - B-52 already armed with JDAM.	Close-up of the cluster bombs - 8 on the munitions trolley.	Different type of cluster bombs - notice the double yellow rings.

Pictures from April 10th - 100s of cluster bombs:

Cluster bombs being unpacked in the weapons store.	They are loaded onto the waiting trolleys - notice the red ribbons which signify explosives.	Covered with blue tarpaulins before being moved.
Notice that cluster bombs are unpacked from the silver and green cases.	Here two cluster bombs can be seen in an open case.	Notice in the earlier images how many cases there are.
notice no explosives warning signs are visible	once inside the base the explosive signs are revealed	The bombs are then moved across the road - this is a different trolley probably carrying JDAM. Police prevented us getting around in time to photograph the cluster bombs being moved across the public highway.

click on a small pictrue to enlarge it - sory quality is not always great, but it was a dark and murky day.