SDB II Scores Hits in Flight Tests

and if really, really don't like the site, there's always the JSOW-A with the nasty BLU-97s. Not sure whether the JSOW-A are integrated but the F-35 is supposed to be able to internally carry JSOWs. ER version for legacies which can launch way outside of the S-series envelope.

There was actually someone on here awhile back saying this wouldn't be a threat to a modern AA gun system since it would just shoot down all 144 submunitions.

You need 9 BLU-97s per 1000 sq ft. for a .85 probability of hit (not kill) with the shape charge on a vehicle that's 200 sq ft.
JSOW-A was never flown on trajectories to achieve that density. And if you actually have to accommodate the possibility
that a mobile target might relocate the submunition density is really quite low or the weapons expenditure is
ridiculous.

How do you know the defense is more likely to do anything a certain way? Are there examples of an IADS defending a high value target choosing to not engage a potentially devastating incoming missile with their best weapons as soon as the incoming threat is spotted?

GWI: the Iraqis spotted TLAM pretty early but only engaged it with MANPADS because the intended
target area (Baghdad) was predictable.

GWI: the Iraqis spotted TLAM pretty early but only engaged it with MANPADS because the intended
target area (Baghdad) was predictable.

Well I'm not aware that Iraq possessed anything more suitable than MANPADS and AAA against low flying cruise missile in 91, both in terms of capability and availability, so that one can actually catch TLAM within engagement enveloped. But if there's any more detail you can share by all means do so.

Production of one of the F-35′s most anticipated bombs has been on hold for almost a year [read at URL best]
12 Jun 2020 Valerie Insinna

"WASHINGTON — Deliveries of a new precision-guided bomb under development by Raytheon for the F-35 and other fighter jets have been at a standstill for about a year as the company struggles to correct a technical problem involving a key component. A fix for the issue, which brought production of the Small Diameter Bomb II to a halt in July 2019, could be approved by the government as soon as July, said Air Force spokesman Capt. Jake Bailey in response to questions by Defense News.

However, a June report by the Government Accountability Office pointed out that continued technical issues have already caused a delay in fielding the munition, with Raytheon forced to redesign a key component and retrofit all 598 bombs already delivered to the Air Force and Navy....

...This latest stoppage in production was prompted by internal audits by Raytheon, which found that the clips used to hold the bomb’s fins in place “suffered vibration fatigue over long flight hours,” Bailey said. The clips serve “as the backup fin storage device” used to keep the fins in place in case other components fail, noted Bailey, who added that there have been no incidents during tests involving the SDB II fins inadvertently deploying.

However, the GAO wrote that the premature deployment of the fins, which help guide the bomb in flight, could damage the weapon as well as cause a safety hazard for the aircraft carrying it. “While this problem could affect all aircraft carrying the bomb, officials said the greatest impact is to the F-35, because the bomb is carried in the aircraft’s internal weapons bay and could cause serious damage if the fins deploy while the bomb is in the bay,” the GAO stated....

...Raytheon plans on mitigating the issue with a newly designed clip that reduces the vibration of the fins, and will completely pay for developing the fix and retrofitting it on the bombs that have already been delivered, the GAO said. The Air Force confirmed that testing of the new device has already been completed and is going through final reviews....

...“The fin clip failure is the sole reason production was partially halted; once final government approval is obtained, ‘all up round’ production can resume,” Bailey said, using a phrase that describes a fully assembled weapon. The Air Force estimates that retrofits will be completed by August, as Raytheon’s supplier has already begun manufacturing the replacement component, which are easily installed on the outside of the weapon....

...The issue with SDB II’s fins is just one of several technical problems with which Raytheon is grappling. The program completed operational tests in 2019, but hardware and software changes are needed after 11 failures were reported. Two hardware fixes have already been put in place, and eight failures were related to software problems that will be addressed in future updates, the GAO said.

The sole outstanding issue involves an anomaly with SDB II’s guidance system. Fixing it could require Raytheon to redesign the component and conduct retrofits on all bombs already delivered, according to GAO. A review board of the problem is in the “final stages of analysis,” Bailey said. The Air Force and Raytheon plan to establish whether a replacement component is necessary no later than June 30.

Although the weapon has not even been officially fielded, some components are already becoming obsolete. A Raytheon subcontractor that makes circuit cards used in the guidance system is expected to stop producing those components years sooner than anticipated. As a result, that the Defense Department may have to order all circuit cards needed for the program of record before December, according to the GAO....

...According to a Raytheon news release, the Navy recently completed the first guided release of SDB II from a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet." [best read it all at source]

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06 ... st-a-year/

Raytheon Smart Weapon Completes First Guided Release from Navy Super Hornet
16 Jun 2020 Seapower Staff

"The F-15E Eagle is the first platform to add StormBreaker; it’s also being integrated on the F-35 joint strike fighter.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Raytheon’s Missiles & Defense business recently carried out the first guided release of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker smart weapon from an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which will become the second fighter to utilize the weapon when the program reaches initial operational capability later this year, the company said....

...StormBreaker, formerly known as Small-Diameter Bomb II, features a tri-mode seeker that uses imaging infrared and millimeter wave radar in its normal mode. The weapon can also deploy its semi-active laser or GPS guidance to hit targets. The smart weapon gives operators the ability in combat to hit moving targets in some of the worst weather conditions. The winged munition autonomously detects and classifies moving targets in poor visibility situations caused by darkness, bad weather, smoke or dust kicked up by helicopters.

The weapon’s seeker works in three modes:
---- • Millimeter wave radar detects and tracks targets through weather.
---- • Imaging infrared provides enhanced target discrimination.
---- • Semi-active laser enables the weapon to track an airborne laser designator or one on the ground.

The tri-mode seeker shares targeting information among all three modes, enabling StormBreaker to engage fixed or moving targets at any time of day and in all weather conditions.

StormBreaker’s small size enables the use of fewer aircraft to take out the same number of targets as larger weapons that require multiple jets. The weapon can also fly more than 45 miles to strike mobile targets, reducing the amount of time that aircrews spend in harm’s way...."

Photo: "StormBreaker has a tri-mode seeker that enables pilots to hit moving targets in adverse weather or low visibility. Raytheon" https://seapowermagazine.org/wp-content ... reaker.jpg

Source: https://seapowermagazine.org/raytheon-s ... er-hornet/

Storm Breaker sounds too much like Storm Shadow.

I much prefer using SDB II

Storm Breaker sounds too much like Storm Shadow.

I much prefer using SDB II

Yeah, me too.

Not only 'StormBreaker' sounds a bit like Storm Shadow but IMO it also sounds 'goofy'.

SDB1 is also a better bunker buster than SDB2.

Boing is also developing a LGB version of SDB1 that will allow pinpoint and moving target modes while still keeping the low cost and better penetration of SDB1. It is going to use the low-cost seeker from LJDAM.



http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-d ... -contract/

Correct. People also seem to forget that 250lb bombs can kill most anything that isn't a hardened bunker/building. Instead of 1 2,000lb bomb, you get 4 250lb bomb with exceptionally good accuracy.

I presume you mean SDB 2 which isn't limited to GPS? Depending on the target they could also have lasers for blinding optics and EW vehicles. Those could make it difficult for SDB2 to see it's target.

Guidance system for GBU-53/B
Millimeter wave Active radar homing / Semi-active laser guidance / Infrared homing (using an uncooled imaging infrared camera) / GPS coupled Inertial guidance / Data-link

Good luck stopping all those modes of guidance on each munition, meanwhile to stop TOR you only need to jam the host vehicles radar. Again, this is in the F-35s favor.

An IR laser should be able to kill the IR sensor, but everything else is relatively hard and defeating inertial guidance is basically impossible.

An IR laser should be able to kill the IR sensor, but everything else is relatively hard and defeating inertial guidance is basically impossible.

For that - an IR laser to 'blind' the IR sensor (I doubt it can 'kill' it) - the enemy must first detect the incoming SDBII something which is extremely difficult since the weapon has a Low/Very Low RCS and besides that and since it's a gliding weapon its IR signature should also be extremely low.
Then even if the enemy somehow manages to detect an incoming SDBII it must be able to precisely aim that laser at the incoming SDBII something which is also hard to accomplish since the weapon is small with a very small diameter (the weapon isn't called the Small Diameter Bomb for nothing ). So and due to this, perhaps the best that an enemy can/could achieve would be to temporarily blind the SDBII IR sensor and for this purpose, perhaps Large Flares or even an IR Dazzler could be more effective for this purpose than a Laser?
Moreover, I imagine that in order for a 'blinding Laser' to be able to blind the incoming SDBII then this must be mounted on the target or at least on a vehicle or something else right next to the target something which should be extremely hard to guarantee on the actual battlefield.

Then of course (and like you hinted) the weapon has several sensors integrated with it such as a Millimetre-Wave Active Radar seeker, GPS and like you said INS. And also a Laser seeker but this isn't used for autonomous guidance so I'll leave it out.
And from what I read, all these sensors in the SDBII work together and seem to create something like a sensor fusion so even if you manage to temporarily blind one of the sensors such as the IR sensor or the Active Radar seeker (using Chaff or ECM for instance) then you'll have all other sensors (such as GPS/INS) that are still able to create an accurate position/picture of the target.

An IR laser should be able to kill the IR sensor, but everything else is relatively hard and defeating inertial guidance is basically impossible.

Then of course (and like you hinted) the weapon has several sensors integrated with it such as a Millimetre-Wave Active Radar seeker, GPS and like you said INS.

Don't forget the data link either, it means this weapon (and all others so linked) can use off-board targeting sensors for corrective update bursts, so would rarely come down to INS guidance. And of course F-35 data-fusion for targets is plugged into ... you know ... everything. So good luck with shutting down the datalink upon an unseen weapon before the weapon's flight reaches its terminus.

Stealth, eh?

Production of one of the F-35′s most anticipated bombs has been on hold for almost a year [read at URL best]
12 Jun 2020 Valerie Insinna

... Although the weapon has not even been officially fielded, some components are already becoming obsolete. A Raytheon subcontractor that makes circuit cards used in the guidance system is expected to stop producing those components years sooner than anticipated. As a result, that the Defense Department may have to order all circuit cards needed for the program of record before December, according to the GAO ....

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06 ... st-a-year/

A different metallurgical brew is probably all the re-design needed.

But a company that stops making a profitable card for a new front-line battle weapon in high demand, in a time of rising geopolitical tension, territorial dispute, ideological polarization and rising customer mil budgets and a focus on strike and attack weapons? This sounds like a subcontractor with accounting and management problems that go well beyond technical obsolescence. Is SDBII obsolete? It's an affordable new leading-edge weapon.

/BS

Sounds more like DMS (diminishing manufacturing sources) than obsolescence.

I presume you mean SDB 2 which isn't limited to GPS? Depending on the target they could also have lasers for blinding optics and EW vehicles. Those could make it difficult for SDB2 to see it's target.

Guidance system for GBU-53/B
Millimeter wave Active radar homing / Semi-active laser guidance / Infrared homing (using an uncooled imaging infrared camera) / GPS coupled Inertial guidance / Data-link

Good luck stopping all those modes of guidance on each munition, meanwhile to stop TOR you only need to jam the host vehicles radar. Again, this is in the F-35s favor.

An IR laser should be able to kill the IR sensor, but everything else is relatively hard and defeating inertial guidance is basically impossible.

Modern FPAs are pretty much immune to laser kill assuming you are facing an in-band laser.
The out-of-band laser will need to overcome some very good, very laser resistant modern coatings.

Since out-of-band lasers in the class than can actually damage SDB II are, AFAIK, all on-board high-value targets the
natural response to being lased would be to home-on-jam unless the laser is truly powerful enough to uniformly
saturate the FPA (i.e. there's no obvious laser source in the image).