by Marina Malenic
Raytheon [RTN] has completed a series of 21 captive carry flight tests of its proposed solution for the Air Force’s next major precision attack munition program, paving the way for guided test shots of its advanced tri-mode seeker, company representatives said yesterday.
Raytheon engineers tested their version of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) II guidance receiver navigator on an Army UH-1 helicopter last month. According to company officials, using the UH-1 allowed them to conduct more seeker data passes at a lower cost to the government on all required targets than would have been possible with a jet aircraft. Using the helicopter also allowed engineers to thoroughly evaluate the GBU-53/B’s terminal approach to targets.
Boeing [BA] is the incumbent on the legacy SDB program and is expected to compete against Raytheon with its subcontractor, Lockheed Martin. The Pentagon is expected to release a final request for proposals any day now, and the companies will be given 30 days from the release date to submit their bids.
According to an industry source, an initial firm, fixed-price Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract and the first five production lots of SDB II are expected to be worth approximately $1 billion.
J.R. Smith, Raytheon’s business development manager for the program, tells Defense Daily that development of the seeker–which is required to contain millimeter wave radar, imaging infrared and semi-active laser capabilities within a seven-inch diameter electronics package fitted into the nose of the munition –will be the most difficult technical challenge for the competitors.
“The tough part’s the seeker,” Smith explained in an interview yesterday. “It’s comparatively straightforward and simple to put together a weapon that glides. A lot of people can do that.”
He added that fitting components for all three seeker modes into same package, all feeding data into the same processors, has never been achieved for any munition in the current U.S. inventory.
Raytheon is developing a unique technology that does not contain a cooling unit within the sensor package. Smith says this feature makes the weapon easier to stockpile and maintain, and allows more space in the nose of the bomb for vital sensor components.
Raytheon’s tri-mode seeker is based on its prior work on the dual-mode Precision Attack Munition (PAM) and the follow-on tri-mode iPAM for the Army. The technology will also be contained in the company’s offering for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile being solicited by the Army and Navy, according to Smith.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] is developing the seeker for the Boeing SDB II offering.
Smith also emphasized that the requirements for a tri-mode seeker package in the SDB II competition will make this a ground-breaking technology. It is being designed to attack moving targets in all weather conditions.
“They really should call it something else,” Smith said. “Because this is nothing like SDB I. “
Raytheon has designed a new bomb body for the program, but Smith said it does have many commonalities with proven programs such as the Joint Standoff Weapon used by the Air Force and Navy.
“It is a very maneuverable airframe,” he said.
Boeing officials have said that they are using the legacy SDB body for their new product.
Both competitors have participated in a risk-reduction phase to mature several critical technologies for the weapon.
Threshold aircraft for the program are the F-15E for the Air Force and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) for the Navy. Integration on the F-22A, B-1, B-2, F-117, F-16, B-52 and the Predator B would come later.