Bombkapsel m/90, Mj|lner                        1993 Feb 12
Urban Fredriksson urf@icl.se

The Swedish Air Force has now started to purchase a gliding
bomblet dispenser weapon system (DWS 39) for Gripen and Viggen.
Its official designation is Bombkapsel m/90, but is also known as
Mjo"lner. As it is designed by MBB, some details are similar to
their MW1.

The Swedish Air Force wanted a weapon that could be released at
high speed and very low altitude _very_ close to the target, as
well as having a stand off range in cases where target position
is known.

Dispensers such as MW1 and JP 233 _always_ require you to overfly
the target. Foreign stand off dispensers under development are
all to be powered, and none is made to be released at very close
ranges.

General configuration:     The nose is much more pointed, 22% of total
           __    _         length. Submunitions section 68%, electonics
  ________/__|__/_|  \|_/  section 6%, tailcone 22%. The wing is precisely
 /                |   | |  in line with top of box.
 \________________|   |_|
          \__|  \_|  /| \           24 sideways firing launch  .o.o.o.o.o.o
  ________....___--  Length 340 cm  tubes, in this pattern:    o.o.o.o.o.o.
 <_______________ |  Span    90 cm  Diameter 12 cm, each(?) with 3
                 --  Width   60 cm  submunitions.
      Weight 600 kg  Height  30 cm  (Almost all data my estimation only!)

Two types of submunitions are carried, one the MJ1, a 4.0 kg air
bursting warhead against soft targets; the other, MJ2 of 18 kg a
proximity fuzed anti-armour warhead, also useful against
semihard targets. Among the important ones mentioned are troops,
bridge building equipment, (armoured) helicopters, aircraft and
vehicles including APC's. Primarily it will be used against air
delivered and other key units during an invasion.

Air defence will have difficulties, as a large number of small
targets will arrive from different directions in a very short
time space.

Immediately after ejection, submunitions are retarded by small
chutes making impact point practically independent of speed and
release altitude thus making computation easier for the
dispenser.

The dispenser can be launched from very low altitude (<50 m ?)
when the target "is almost under the aircraft's nose".*  When
launched at 50 m altitude and Mach 0.9, it it can travel more
than 10 km in the direction the aircraft is flying, or 5 km to
the side of the aircraft's path.

* I don't see any reason why you couldn't launch when you've
already overflown the target, as the dispenser could make a turn
and come back.

(Source: Several issues of the Sw. AF magazine FlygvapenNytt and
the Feb 1993 Air International)