BLU-80/B Bigeye bomb

The BLU-80/B BIGEYE bomb was a developmental U.S. air-launched binary chemical weapon. The BIGEYE was a 500-pound (230 kg) class glide bomb with a radar altimeter fuze intended to disperse the binary generated nerve agent VX, made in flight from the non-lethal chemical components "QL" and sulfur only after aircraft release. The BLU-80-B was designed under the auspices of the U.S. Navy as a safe chemical weapons alternative in response to chemical weapons (CW) threats from the USSR and other actors. BIGEYE was a genuine tri-service program led by the U.S. Navy with significant U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force participation. Initially approved in the 1950s, the program persisted into the 1990s.