The GB-6 cluster aviation bomb (KAB) (the Cloud Arrows-6 R&D cipher) was developed by the designers of the NORINKO Corporation – formerly known as "TL".
The munition has a square-section housing made of composite materials coated with a composition that absorbs the radar signal. The reason for the development of this CAB was the operations of the US Air Force in Yugoslavia (1999) and Iraq (2002). It took Chinese specialists more than 10 years just to develop a prototype and test it on ground stands.
According to available data, the GB-6 cluster aviation bomb (first presented at an exhibition in Zhuhai, in November 2012) has a length of 4.1 m, a diameter of 0.3 m, an X-shaped tail and a folding main tail with a span of up to 2.3 m.
The GB-6 cluster aviation bomb. The general view.
The tests were conducted using the Jian-8F interceptor fighter, and in the period from April 2019 to October 2022 using the Jian-16 fighter-bomber . The GB-6 basic modification test program ended in 2022.
It should be noted that in the first modification, the GB-6 had neither a compact turbofan engine nor solid-fuel rocket boosters. According to Chinese gunsmiths, the use of rocket boosters looks the most optimal, since this allows you to keep the cost of the final product at an attractive level, both for the PLA Air Force and for external buyers.
It is reliably known that in 2018, after receiving information about the work of Russian designers on the X-69 type air-launched cruise missile, it was decided to create a modification of the considered KAB under the designation GB-6A with an extended range. Currently, test launches are continuing in the target areas of the landfill belonging to the Dingxin Air Base, the permanent deployment point of the 7th Test Squadron of the PLA Air Force.
KAB GB-6 submunitions
According to available data, the total curb weight of GB-6 is 680 kg. The mass of submunitions is up to 500 kg. The area of the target being hit is 6000 sq.m.
As submunitions, they can be used:
- anti-personnel mines (the first promising area of activity for developers of submunitions);
- anti-tank shaped charges with parachutes (the second promising direction in the work of specialists in submunitions);
- concrete-piercing ammunition for destroying runways with dimensions of 60x2000 m;
- volumetric charges;
- charges with graphene for disabling radar, radio stations and other enemy electronic equipment.
Guidance of the GB-6 cluster aerial bomb is carried out using an inertial module and a receiver of signals from GPS/Beidou/GLONASS satellite navigation systems. The accuracy of reaching the submunition drop point ranges from 10 to 35 m, depending on the speed of the spacecraft. When dropped from an altitude of 12,000 m, the planning range is 110 km, and from an altitude of 10,000 m it reaches 80 km. The maximum permissible height of GB-6 application is 16,000 m.
The updated modification under the designation GB-6A (introduced in 2016) with two solid-fuel rocket boosters has a flight range of 200 km and can be used by both J-10B and C fighters and J-16 fighter-bombers. It is possible to use Hun-6K bombers .
The first accelerator is triggered at the initial part of the trajectory to give the necessary initial speed and reduce the time in flight. The second is activated to reduce the time spent in the range of the enemy's air defense radar. Currently, work is underway to increase the launch range to 280 km. The gap between Chinese developers and Russian specialists in the design of KAB is at least five years.
The export modification under the designation GB-500C is intended primarily for JF-17 fighters of the Pakistan Air Force and provides the use of BLU-108 submunitions (manufactured by the United States), since significant stocks of such have been accumulated due to the supply of CBU-105 anti-tank aircraft bombs.
Based on the materials of Chinese specialized publications
