Small Diameter Bomb to Enhance Fighter Pilots Capabilities

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Poor weather and battlefield obscurants continue to endanger warfighters and fighter pilots as adversaries rely on these conditions to escape attacks. This has established the requirement for an all-weather solution that enhances warfighters’ capabilities when visibility is limited. Now, warfighters will gain the ability to hit moving targets in all-weather conditions. Raytheon has completed developmental testing on the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) II, a program for the U.S. Air Force, which is a key step toward bringing this new capability to fighter pilots.

The weapon gives pilots the ability to destroy moving targets on the battlefield. Its seeker detects, classifies, tracks and destroys targets, even in adverse weather conditions from standoff ranges.

“We call SDB II a game changer because the weapon doesn’t just hit GPS coordinates; it finds and engages targets,” said Mike Jarrett, Raytheon Air Warfare Systems vice president. “SDB II can eliminate a wider range of targets with fewer aircraft, reducing the pilot’s time in harm’s way.”

The seeker works in three modes to provide maximum operational flexibility: millimeter wave radar to detect and track targets through weather, imaging infrared for enhanced target discrimination and semi-active laser that enables the weapon to track an airborne laser designator or one on the ground, according to the company website. This powerful, integrated seeker seamlessly shares targeting information among all three modes, enabling the weapon to engage fixed or moving targets at any time of day. The SDB II bomb’s tri-mode seeker can also peer through battlefield dust and debris, giving the warfighter a capability that’s unaffected by conditions on the ground or in the air.

The weapon’s small size enables the use of fewer aircraft to take out the same number of targets as previous, larger weapons that required multiple jets.

Government confidence testing, a prerequisite for operational testing, is scheduled to be completed this year, according to defenseworld.net.

During developmental testing, pilots dropped 44 SDB II bombs and tested them in all modes of operation. The weapon destroyed maneuvering targets in adverse weather and demonstrated third-party control through a datalink. It also chose the correct target from among decoys and proved compatibility with the F-15E Strike Eagle.

Early SDB II integration work has begun on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.