Bomb damage assessment

For nuclear weapons special techniques may be required due to the extensive damage caused and difficulty in approaching the site.

[2] In more recent conflicts, special operations forces (SOF) have taken part in BDA, both through physical presence, and conducting overflies with equipment such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV.

In the opening days of the air campaign of the 1991 Gulf War it was used to assess the damage to key Iraqi installations including its nuclear reactors.

[4] At the conclusion of the 2003 invasion of Iraq a joint team from the allied nations (including Britain, the United States and Australia) assessed the damage caused to almost 400 sites across the country to determine the effectiveness of weapon strikes.

After the end of hostilities in the 1991 Gulf War, the Battle Damage Assessment Working Group (BDAWG) was formed at the behest of MTIC, the Military Targeting Intelligence Committee.

Possible future techniques involve using lasers or particle beams in a manner similar to side scan sonar to map, in three dimensions, the condition of a target.

[needs update] This system is supposed to be capable of near real-time BDA by directly observing the interaction of the munition with the target.

[8] This flawed analysis resulted in incorrect or incomplete information being given to local commanders on the extent of the damage caused.