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The Mark 77 bomb used by US fighter aircraft detonates with an impressive array of inferno when dropped in a cluster which is often done at airshows.

Questions

  • Is the Mark 77 bomb solely used by the US air force only, or has such ammunition been exported to other countries? Even the typical delivery platform, the F/A-18 Hornet has been exported to a few countries military. According to Wikipedia, it seems like there are no foreign operators of this munition. (given that this is older technology, there is no need to hide its mechanics, and that ammunition usually comes as a package deal with the aircraft)

  • Are there any Russian, Chinese or foreign manufactured equivalent bombs (guided or dumb) capable of that sort?

EDIT: I know of US's MOAB and Russia's FOAB, but I would like to know if other countries have conventional incendiary bombs

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    $\begingroup$ I always thought airshows simulated these sorts of things using ground-based pyrotechnics - nothing is actually dropped. Something about safety and not bombing the audience by accident. $\endgroup$
    – Dan Pichelman
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 14:38
  • $\begingroup$ Ok, but that still doesn't hides the Mk 77's capabilities in a real war or exercise $\endgroup$
    – Nederealm
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 14:46
  • $\begingroup$ @DanPichelman not to mention cost. $\endgroup$
    – Cpt Reynolds
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 14:47
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    $\begingroup$ Mark77 is a barrel of kerosene. Many nations recognized that dropping flaming stuff on people tends to kill or maim - For a list of (suspected) users besides the US: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napalm $\endgroup$
    – bukwyrm
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 14:56
  • $\begingroup$ citeam.org/new-evidence-of-russian-incendiary-bomb-use-in-syria/… $\endgroup$
    – bukwyrm
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 15:01

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I cannot find any info on the export status of the Mark 77 with a routine search, and plenty of reports of media attention to its use, which leads me to believe there is not a huge market for it among US allies due to the potential for negative press.

For your second question, the Russian equivalent are the ZAB-xxx series of bombs, where the acronym stands for incendiary airdropped bomb (Zazhigahtel'naya Aviabomba) and the number is the warhead weight in kilograms. It seems the most used version at the moment is the ZAB-500. Variations include the OZAB and OFZAB, where the O is for fragmentation (Oskolochnaya) and the F for high-explosive (Fugasnaya). I have not been able to find a link with info on the OZAB version.

ZAB-500 incendiary bombs at Park Patriot

Similar munitions sometimes come with an RBK (Razovaya Bombovaya Kasseta) prefix, meaning cluster dispenser, for example RBK-500-ZAB, which is a standardized RBK-500 cluster dispenser with over 100 ZAB-2.5 incendiary sub-munitions, for an approximate 500kg of combined warhead mass.

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