armor-piercing bomb

weapon

Also known as: antiarmour bomb

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Last updated

July 16, 2026

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An armor-piercing bomb is a type of munition designed to penetrate hardened targets. It is characterized by a thick casing and a pointed tip, enabling it to pierce structures like warships and bunkers. These bombs are a subset of conventional bombs, which are devices carrying an explosive charge detonated by a fuse.1

Unlike artillery shells or missiles, bombs rely solely on gravity for propulsion after being released from an aircraft. Common bomb types include blast, fragmentation, general purpose, incendiary, and armor-piercing. Modern advancements have led to guided bombs, such as "bunker busters," which use laser guidance for high-altitude precision strikes and feature delayed fuses to detonate after penetration.123

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bomb
Conventional bomb types
Armour-piercing bombs (also known as “bunker busters”) have a thick case and a pointed tip and are used to penetrate armored or hardened targets such as warships and bunkers. Bombs of the aforementioned types generally range in size from 100 to 3,000 pounds (45 to…
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Armour-piercing bombs (also known as “bunker busters”) have a thick case and a pointed tip and are used to penetrate armored or hardened targets such as warships and bunkers. Bombs of the aforementioned types generally range in size from 100 to 3,000 pounds (45 to…
Read More