Iraqi Freedom USMC Weapons Loadouts

[Crease]

I'm listening to Battlefield Fallujah podcast and heard mention of an F/A-18D from VMFA(AW)-242 providing CAS with GBU-12s.  Does anyone know of a good reference for OIF USMC aviation weapons loadouts used in the conflict?  (Particularly Hornets and Harriers). Didn't find anything useful on a quick google search. @Dave Roof?

[usmcski6502]

Hi Crease!

 

I was the Aviation Ordnance Officer for VMFA(AW)-332 in Iraq from 2005-2006. We relieved -224, who had subsequently relieved-242. Our Standard Combat Load then was a centerline Litening Pod (St. 5), AIM-9s on Stations 1 and 9, drop tanks on Stations 3 and 7, and a GPS weapon and laser guided weapon on the outboard stations. That is to say, we had a JDAM (GBU-38, -31 or -32) on one wing station and a laser-guided munition (GBU-12 or Laser Maverick) on the opposing wing station. That way, if weather prevented our use of laser-guided munitions, we could default to GPS-guided bombs (JDAMs). Never loaded AMRAAMS or Sparrows in-country. Hope this helps!

 

Semper,

 

Ski

 

[Crease]

That certainly does help. Thank you and Semper Fi!

[usmcski6502]

No problem, good luck on the build!

 

Semper Fly,

 

Ski

[Collin]

On 10/18/2025 at 4:44 AM, usmcski6502 said:

Hi Crease!

 

I was the Aviation Ordnance Officer for VMFA(AW)-332 in Iraq from 2005-2006. We relieved -224, who had subsequently relieved-242. Our Standard Combat Load then was a centerline Litening Pod (St. 5), AIM-9s on Stations 1 and 9, drop tanks on Stations 3 and 7, and a GPS weapon and laser guided weapon on the outboard stations. That is to say, we had a JDAM (GBU-38, -31 or -32) on one wing station and a laser-guided munition (GBU-12 or Laser Maverick) on the opposing wing station. That way, if weather prevented our use of laser-guided munitions, we could default to GPS-guided bombs (JDAMs). Never loaded AMRAAMS or Sparrows in-country. Hope this helps!

 

Semper,

 

Ski

 

Interesting...some of your ordnance went to service some of my "targets"....we did have a time in there were GBU-12's were duding a bit.  LMAV was always my fav to have on station.  I preferred USMC assets out of Al Asad vice F-16's out of Balad.  CAS was your business.  

[usmcski6502]

On 10/20/2025 at 10:13 AM, Collin said:

Interesting...some of your ordnance went to service some of my "targets"....we did have a time in there were GBU-12's were duding a bit.  LMAV was always my fav to have on station.  I preferred USMC assets out of Al Asad vice F-16's out of Balad.  CAS was your business.  

Yep, duds were the bane of my existence as the Squadron OrdO. I went so far as to working the entire flight schedule every day to sort out any potential issues we might have during ordnance deliveries, vice just working days. Reviewed hours upon hours of BDA footage post-flights to determine if we had a high-order or low-order detonation or to try to identify any duds. As you alluded to, it was mainly LGBs; our JDAMs seemed to do fine. The aircraft were working just fine, we ended up sorting out the LGB dud issue later. Always loved it when our pilots Rifled an LMAV with good effects on target!

 

Semper,

 

Ski

[Grindcore]

This book might be a good starting point.

 

US Marine Corps and RAAF Hornet Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Combat Aircraft, 56): Holmes, Tony, Davey, Chris: 9781841768472: Amazon.com: Books

 

After that you can start going down the reference book rabbit hole!!  A lot of the good decal sheets give you loadouts as well, just get ready to start adding to your Hornet stash.

 

Edited November 3, 2025 by Grindcore

[usmcski6502]

On 10/17/2025 at 10:47 AM, Crease said:

I'm listening to Battlefield Fallujah podcast and heard mention of an F/A-18D from VMFA(AW)-242 providing CAS with GBU-12s.  Does anyone know of a good reference for OIF USMC aviation weapons loadouts used in the conflict?  (Particularly Hornets and Harriers). Didn't find anything useful on a quick google search. @Dave Roof?

Hey Crease,

 

If you’re looking for variety, we flew dual-LAU-10s on a BRU-33A/A CVER on either St.2 or 8 for a few weeks. We even flew Inert GBU-32s on a few missions to disable a pontoon bridge and render it impassable to vehicular traffic, but not destroy it. Not a very sexy combat load, for sure.

 

Ski

[junkman3353]

18 hours ago, usmcski6502 said:

Hey Crease,

 

If you’re looking for variety, we flew dual-LAU-10s on a BRU-33A/A CVER on either St.2 or 8 for a few weeks. We even flew Inert GBU-32s on a few missions to disable a pontoon bridge and render it impassable to vehicular traffic, but not destroy it. Not a very sexy combat load, for sure.

 

Ski

Was that the laser guided-concrete filled bomb mentioned then as a means to disable Iraqi tanks parked next to sensitive buildings (say a mosque) without damaging the building?

[usmcski6502]

6 hours ago, junkman3353 said:

Was that the laser guided-concrete filled bomb mentioned then as a means to disable Iraqi tanks parked next to sensitive buildings (say a mosque) without damaging the building?

No, we were there in 2005-2006, after the Second Battle of Fallujah. Much of our missions were in support of the operations in Ramadi, Haditha, Hit, Rawah and Husaybah. I wish we had APKWS back then! Think of it as a poor man’s Hellfire with less collateral damage.

[Crease]

Good timing as I had just ordered that book and it’s now on the shelf. Thanks!

Edited November 5, 2025 by Crease