Air Force B-52 Bombers Are Dropping Laser-Guided Bombs For The First Time in Nearly a Decadebr br Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana - Laser-Guided Bomb Units, commonly referred to as LGB's, were dropped from the bomb bay of a B-52 Stratofortress for the first time in nearly a decade during an operational test performed by the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron here,br br The munitions used to be dropped from the bomb bay of the jet using a cluster bomb rack system, but the method raised safety concerns and the practice was eliminated. We've still been able to utilize LGB's underneath the wings of the B-52, but they don't do very well when carried externally because they are susceptible to icing and other weather conditions, said Lt. Col.