SDB II Scores Hits in Flight Tests

[neptune]

And here I thought that a powered SDB is all that Spear was.

...great minds think alike.....

[spazsinbad]

Raytheon Wins Small Contract For Huge Program: SDB II; Exports By 2018
19 Jun 2015 Colin Clark

"...Two things mark the SDB II as a particularly lethal weapon. It can fly 40 miles to its target. And it possesses a tri-mode seeker that — because its various sensors share and fuse data as they approach the target is effective on both stationary and moving targets — humans and vehicles (including armored) and buildings. My understanding is that it uses an uncooled tri-mode seeker with semiactive laser (SAL), uncooled imaging infrared and millimeter wave guidance. It can also use GPS.

How big might this program get? Just for the United States it could hit $5 billion. Add in all those allies and partners and you are looking at one huge market over time.

Here are the details on what the low rate contract [$31 million] buys in addition to the bombs themselves: 156 SDB II single weapon containers, eight SDB II weapon load crew trainers and conventional munitions maintenance trainers, four SDB II Lot 1 practical explosive ordnance disposal system trainers, and data.”"

PHOTO: http://breakingdefense.com/wp-content/u ... Bomb-2.jpg

Source: http://breakingdefense.com/2015/06/rayt ... gram-sdb2/

[popcorn]

....

[spazsinbad]

FARNBOROUGH: Raytheon and USAF begin SDB II tri-mode seeker flight tests
11 Jul 2016 Leigh Giangreco

"Raytheon and the US Air Force have started flight testing of the Small Diameter Bomb II’s coordinated attack capability, which uses GPS and anti-jamming to attack static targets from at least 40 miles away.

Recent flight tests also employed the SDB II’s normal attack capability, which fires on fixed and moving targets using infrared imaging and millimetre-wave seeker modes, according to Raytheon.

“Most people would look at SDB II and say technologically, the most complicated subsystem to address from a design [and] development perspective is the tri-mode seeker,” Mike Jarrett, vice-president of air warfare systems for Raytheon said at the Farnborough air show on 11 July. “We have fully qualified that seeker and we’ve demonstrated it in multiple flight tests in all the modes of operation quite successfully.”

Raytheon has also corrected a cabling issue with SDB II, after the bomb failed to detonate in a live fire testing event last September. The programme is moving ahead and should achieve initial operational capability by 2018, Jarrett says.

“In a live fire test, you go through the forensic evidence, which the ordnance folks are very good in the development programme about retrieving hardware from a flight test,” Jarrett says. “[They] made a conclusion on the most likely cause and we’re moving on.”

Raytheon also completed design verification tests for its corrosive environment correction on the weapon. The company must still wait for a formal qualification, which will determine the lot 2 contract award. Raytheon expects to complete qualification within the third quarter of the calendar year, Jarrett says.

The SDB II will be fielded on the Lockheed Martin F-35's B and C variants, and weapon integration also will be completed on the US Air Force’s Boeing F-15E. The bomb could potentially later be fielded on the Boeing F/A-18, Lockheed AC-130, F-16, F-22 and F-35A, the Fairchild Republic A-10 and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' MQ-9.

The standoff-range weapon persists through bad weather, which Raytheon has touted as an advantage over laser guidance systems, which can be degraded by fog and other adverse conditions. The bomb is also designed to identify and prosecute mobile targets in a shorter time.

Schedule delays have plagued the SDB II, including a shift in the required assets available (RAA) schedule that pushed back initial operational capability. Raytheon’s RAA date moved from March 2018 to July 2018 to allow for the live fire failure investigation and give more time for additional developing testing, a March selected acquisition report from the Department of Defense."

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... de-427228/

[popcorn]

FARNBOROUGH: Raytheon and USAF begin SDB II tri-mode seeker flight tests
11 Jul 2016 Leigh Giangreco

"Raytheon and the US Air Force have started flight testing of the Small Diameter Bomb II’s coordinated attack capability, which uses GPS and anti-jamming to attack static targets from at least 40 miles away.

2 flight tests also employed the SDB II’s normal attack capability, which fires on fixed and moving targets using infrared imaging and millimetre-wave seeker modes, according to Raytheon.

“Most people would look at SDB II and say technologically, the most complicated subsystem to address from a design [and] development perspective is the tri-mode seeker,” Mike Jarrett, vice-president of air warfare systems for Raytheon said at the Farnborough air show on 11 July. “We have fully qualified that seeker and we’ve demonstrated it in multiple flight tests in all the modes of operation quite successfully.”

Raytheon has also corrected a cabling issue with SDB II, after the bomb failed to detonate in a live fire testing event last September. The programme is moving ahead and should achieve initial operational capability by 2018, Jarrett says.

“In a live fire test, you go through the forensic evidence, which the ordnance folks are very good in the development programme about retrieving hardware from a flight test,” Jarrett says. “[They] made a conclusion on the most likely cause and we’re moving on.”

Raytheon also completed design verification tests for its corrosive environment correction on the weapon. The company must still wait for a formal qualification, which will determine the lot 2 contract award. Raytheon expects to complete qualification within the third quarter of the calendar year, Jarrett says.

The SDB II will be fielded on the Lockheed Martin F-35's B and C variants, and weapon integration also will be completed on the US Air Force’s Boeing F-15E. The bomb could potentially later be fielded on the Boeing F/A-18, Lockheed AC-130, F-16, F-22 and F-35A, the Fairchild Republic A-10 and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' MQ-9.

The standoff-range weapon persists through bad weather, which Raytheon has touted as an advantage over laser guidance systems, which can be degraded by fog and other adverse conditions. The bomb is also designed to identify and prosecute mobile targets in a shorter time.

Schedule delays have plagued the SDB II, including a shift in the required assets available (RAA) schedule that pushed back initial operational capability. Raytheon’s RAA date moved from March 2018 to July 2018 to allow for the live fire failure investigation and give more time for additional developing testing, a March selected acquisition report from the Department of Defense."

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... de-427228/

This should read Coordinate Attack Capability ie. utilizes GPS coordinates. No intelligent swarming...yet.

[spazsinbad]

Marine Corps Aviation Chief Ranks SDB II as F-35 Upgrade Priority
14 Jul 2016 Valerie Insinna

"FARNBOROUGH, England — The US Defense Department is hammering out the final details of its Block 4 upgrade plan for the F-35 joint strike fighter, but the Marine Corps has made clear that Raytheon’s Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) is at the top of its wish list.

Asked by journalists at the Royal International Air Tattoo what he’d most like to see in the modernization program, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, characterized the SDB II as the most critical system.

“That's a fantastic weapon,” he said July 8. “I want to get it on there and really increase the capability of the airplane."

Days later at Farnborough International Airshow, Davis’ executive assistant, Col. William Lieblein, reiterated the service's desire for the SDB II. The service also wants to incorporate full-motion video onboard the F-35 and improve the electro-optical targeting system with forward-looking infrared, he said.

The F-35 will be initially equipped with the first iteration of the weapon, but the follow-on version includes a tri-mode seeker that uses infrared, millimeter wave and laser guidance to identify and destroy targets.

Raytheon and the Air Force recently started up a new round of SDB II flight tests of the weapon’s coordinate attack and laser modes, the company announced Monday. When coordinate attack mode is engaged, the SDB II’s GPS system will direct it to fixed targets at distances of more than 40 miles, while the latter mode uses a semi-active laser to illuminate targets...." [then stuff about the BLOCK 4 upgrades with all weapons in first two blocks will be posted elsewhere here]

viewtopic.php?f=62&t=27390&p=347392&hilit=Insinna#p347392 [BLOCK 4 UPGRADE INFO]

Source: http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /87070442/

[popcorn]

Re my previous post, I may have spoken too soon. It would seem that SDB (I or II or both maybe?) have the ability to talk to each other.

Add edit: or I could be wrong and "could allow" is not a confirmation of capability but rather a sttement of potential inherent with the advanced tech. If the former, then probably limited to SDB-2 due to presence of a 2-way data link.

http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/t ... ategy.aspx


State of AF: Modernizing for next offset strategy

...
Lastly, network-enabled semi-autonomous technology, found in weapons like the small diameter bomb, could allow weapons to talk and share data with each other.

[mixelflick]

Do I read this correctly... SDB II will not be incorporated into the F-35A? "The SDB II will be integrated on the F-35 B and C" (paraphrasing).

If so, that seems strange..

[Dragon029]

Do I read this correctly... SDB II will not be incorporated into the F-35A? "The SDB II will be integrated on the F-35 B and C" (paraphrasing).

If so, that seems strange..

The F-35A is definitely getting the SDB II.

[durahawk]

Do I read this correctly... SDB II will not be incorporated into the F-35A? "The SDB II will be integrated on the F-35 B and C" (paraphrasing).

If so, that seems strange..

The F-35A is definitely getting the SDB II.

I think the approach all around is to implement it first on the Strike Eagle and F-18E/F, perhaps the thinking is that during the initial years the inventory of the munition will be so low anyway that it makes more sense to focus on the other priorities for the F-35. In any case, it appears to not be as much of a priority for the USAF so they are letting the Marines take the lead with integration and reaping the benefits afterwards.

I have to admit though, I find the USAF's Laissez-faire approach to implementing the weapon to be puzzling given it would seem that the SDB-II is a weapon ready made for the limited space of the F-35's internal bays. I would think having an expanded magazine to prosecute moving targets in denied environments would be something the brass would want to pursue more aggressively in the development timeline.

The SASC briefly addressed the SDB II integration timeline for the F-35 (with regards to the retirement of the A-10 of course, as Senator Kelly Ayotte was asking the question) this April. The response was that it is an Early Block 4 capability in the 2022 timeframe. (Around the 1hr 02 min mark)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?408688-1/ ... er-program

[Dragon029]

As I understand it, all three variants are getting the SDB II at the same time as part of Block 4.1. Given that the F-35A bay is essentially identical to the C variant's, I don't see integration with the A variant being something that would be deferred, especially given it's user-base size.

[SpudmanWP]

Keep in mind that post Block 4.x, weapon integration will be much easier, faster, and cheaper on the F-35 thanks to UAI.

Because of this, you will see weapons get "integrated" whenever they are ready and not part of a Block, as long as that weapon has UAI "drivers" IIRC SDB2 will have "drivers" by then and it will integrate via UAI and not the traditional "hardcoded" manner.

[spazsinbad]

"A model of the small diameter bomb II in the F-35 weapons bay. (Yasmin Tadjdeh) http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ ... _9027.ashx

[count_to_10]

"A model of the small diameter bomb II in the F-35 weapons bay. (Yasmin Tadjdeh) http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ ... _9027.ashx

Something looks really wrong with that. Like the edges of the bay and door don't even remotely line up. Am I seeing that right, or is there some kind of optical illusion tricking my eyes?

[spazsinbad]

There is a ZOOM Lens effect so that the foreground appears larger than background (inside the bay).