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M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (BDM)

The XM141 Bunker Defeat Munition (BDM) is a Modified NDI weapon system capable of defeating fortified positions (bunkers) constructed of earth and timber. TACOM-ARDEC has teamed with Talley Defense Systems (TDS), Mesa, Arizona to field a disposable version of the USMC’s Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW), called the SMAW-D. The BDM fires the same HE warhead as the USMC SMAW but weighs just 15 pounds and the launcher is disposable. The BDM SMAW-D includes a night sight mounting fixture, weighs 15.7 pounds and is 32 inches in length. The BDM system can also breach masonry walls and defeat lightly skinned armored vehicles at effective ranges of 15-500 meters.

In the statement of managers accompanying the conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160) (H. Rept. 103-357), the conferees agreed that the Army should pursue a limited, interim program for procurement of a bunker-defeat munition (BDM). The conferees also agreed that the Marine Corps' short-range anti-armor weapon (SRAW) and the Army's BDM were too similar to justify maintaining separate programs for the long-term. The conferees believed that a long-term solution to the problem should be sought which drew from the SRAW missile and from warhead technology developed in the Army's multi-purpose individual munition (MPIM) program.

Congress capped procurement at 6,000 rounds. Given the restricted procurement, BDM is only stocked for contingency use. BDM entered war stock during FY99.


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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m141.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Tuesday, February 22, 2000 11:22:25 AM