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PICTURE SHOWS: A B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron flies with eight PDU-5/B leaflet bombs connected to an external Heavy Stores Adapter Beam. ... The U.S. military has announced they have been testing dropping leaflet bombs using B-52 Stratofortress bombers. The Air Force want to use the huge aircraft in so-called psychological operations where leaflets with messages are often dropped from aircraft in order to reach a wide area. Testers from the 419th Flight Test Squadron flew practice missions over California's Edwards Air Force Base in late June to see if B-52s can accomplish the task. The squadron recently completed two successful sorties where a B-52 released eight PDU-5/B leaflet bombs over the Point Mugu Sea Test Range and eight more over the Precision Impact Range Area. The U.S.A.F. explained in a statement: "An important part of U.S. military operations overseas is communicating with the local population. This can be done in a number of ways including something as simple as distributing leaflets." ??sWe are primarily looking to see safe separation from the external Heavy Stores Adapter Beam,??? said Kevin Thorn, 419th FLTS B-52 air vehicle manager. ??sWe are ensuring that the bombs do not contact the aircraft, and/or each other, creating an unsafe condition. Additionally we are tracking the reliability of the bomb functioning.??? The PDU-5/B is a new-use or variant of an older Cluster Bomb Unit. The original designation for the weapon was the MK 20 Rockeye II, SUU-76B/B, and/or CBU-99/100. The designator changes depending on the type of filler used in the bomb, said Thorn. Having leaflets as a filler designates the bomb as a PDU-5/B. The dispenser bomb can be dropped from helicopters and fighter jets, and now the 419th is trying to see if the B-52 fleet can be used as well. ??sThe PDU-5/B is just another tool that the B-52 uses in its vast and reliable tool box,??? said Earl Johnson, B-52 PDU-5/B project manager. ??