The operator illuminates a target with a laser designator and then the munition guides to a spot of laser energy reflected from the target. One way to deliver LGBs from low altitude is a loft attack. In this maneuver, the aircraft pulls up sharply at a predetermined point some miles from the target and the LGB is lofted upward and toward the target. However, if the LGB guidance system detects reflected laser energy from the target designator too soon after release, it tends to pull the LGW down below its required trajectory and the bomb will impact well short of the target.

This bomb is not nearly as delivery parameter sensitive as is the Paveway II LGB, nor is it affected by early laser designation. After a proper low altitude delivery, the LLLGB will maintain level flight while looking for reflected laser energy. If it does not detect reflected laser energy, it will maintain level flight to continue beyond the designated target, overflying friendly positions, to impact long, rather than short of the target.
Unlike the Paveway II LGB, the LLLGB can correct for relatively large deviations from planned release parameters in the primary delivery mode (low-altitude level delivery). It also has a larger delivery envelope for the dive, glide and loft modes than does the earlier LGB. The wide field of view and midcourse guidance modes programmed in the LLLGB allow for a "Point Shoot" delivery capability. This capability allows the pilot to attack the target by pointing the aircraft at the target and releasing the weapon after obtaining appropriate sight indications. The primary advantage of this capability is that accurate dive/tracking is not required to solve wind drift problems.
 

In the Gulf War all of the 1,181 GBU-24s were released by F-lllFs.
In 1996 the Navy conducted tests of the F-14A Tomcat with the GBU-24B/B Hard Target Penetrator Laser-Guided Bomb at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., as part of an air-to-ground development program to support clearance for use of the weapon in the fleet by F-14 Tomcats.

Key accomplishments in 1996 included demonstration of controlled weapon penetration and detonation depth using the Hard-Target Smart Fuse [HTSF] and successful integration of the GBU- 24/ HTSF with F-15E and F/A- 18 aircraft. The Hard-Target Smart Fuse, developed at the Wright lab, features an accelerometer that can be programmed to detonate the bomb at a precisely specified depth significantly enhancing munition lethality.

The Advanced Unitary Penetrator [AUP] hard target penetrator features an elongated narrow diameter case made of a tough nickel-cobalt steel alloy called Air Force 1410. The AUP bomb, designated the GBU-24 C/B (USAF) and GBU-24 D/B (Navy) is being developed by the USAF Wright Laboratory, and is designed to provide at least twice the penetration capability of existing BLU-109 2000-pound bombs. Penetration capability is directly proportional to the warhead's sectional density--its weight divided by its cross section. The AUP maximizes sectional density by reducing the explosive payload and using heavy metals in the warhead case. Lower explosive payload will diminish dispersion of NBC agents to help reduce collateral effects. The AUP will retain the carriage and flight characteristics of the BLU-109, and it will be compatible with the GBU-24, GBU-27, and GBU-15/AGM-130 series of precision-guided bombs. Thus, the AUP will be capable of delivery from a wider inventory of aircraft, including stealth platforms, than the BLU-113/GBU-28.