Raytheon’s [RTN] Small Diameter Bomb II successfully hit a moving target during its first guided flight in a test in New Mexico earlier this week, the company said yesterday.
The SDB II, designated the GBU-53, used its tri-mode seeker to score a direct hit after being dropped by an Air Force F-15E at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.The SBD II is designed as a next generation of smart weapons to engage moving targets in poor weather conditions or to overcome other battlefield obstacles.
It is intended to unleash a powerful blast to destroy armored targets while minimizing collateral damage.
SDB II’s tri-mode speaker fuses millimeter-wave (MMW) radar, uncooled imaging infrared (IIR) and semi-active laser sensors on a single gimbal, which enables the weapon to seek and destroy targets in adverse conditions, Raytheon said.
The SBD is currently in the engineering and manufacturing development phase based on a $451-million contract awarded to Raytheon in August 2010. Raytheon was selected over a team formed by Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT]. The SDB II is a follow on to Boeing’s SDB I.