The CBU-107 Passive Attack Weapon (PAW) is an air-dropped guided bomb containing metal penetrator rods of various sizes.
It was designed to attack targets where an explosive effect may be undesirable, such as fuel storage tanks or chemical weapon stockpiles[1] in civilian areas.
The weapon is notable for the speed with which it was developed and fielded, a total of 98 days (with full production occurring by March 9th, 2003).
The penetrating rods range in size from several inches to over a foot long and can disable targets such as fuel tanks, antennas, or even a helicopter without necessarily harming nearby people inside thickly-walled buildings.
The effect of a PAW rod impacting is similar to that of an armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot penetrator fired from a tank gun; if they are released from a high enough altitude to reach terminal velocity, they release a large amount of heat in a confined area extremely fast that vaporizes and melts through the small area.