Fri, Jan 25, 2013
USAF, Raytheon Test Shows SDB II Is Compatible With F-35
A fit check of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft has been successfully completed by the USAF and Raytheon Company. During the test, four SDB II shapes were loaded into an F-35 weapon bay alongside an Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile. Sweeps of the inboard and outboard bay doors verified there was adequate clearance between the two weapons.
"Completion of the fit check is critical because it further validates SDB II's compatibility with the F-35 and keeps SDB II on track for a smooth transition to production," said Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems' vice president of Air Warfare Systems. "Once fielded, SDB II will provide the warfighter with an unprecedented capability to precisely strike moving targets in adverse weather conditions and through battlefield obscurants."
SDB II is designed to be carried by a host of 4th- and 5th-generation aircraft, including the U.S. Air Force F-15E; the U.S. Marine Corps variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, F-35B; and the U.S. Navy F-35C. The GBU-53/B is also compatible with the Air Force F-35A, F/A-22 and F-16C/D, as well as the Navy F/A-18E/F.
SDB II can hit targets from a range of greater than 40 nautical miles. It has a powerful warhead capable of destroying armored targets, yet keeps collateral damage to a minimum through a small explosive footprint. It is highly accurate and offers warfighters the flexibility to change targets, due to a datalink that passes mid-flight updates to the weapon.
(F-35C pictured in file photo)
More News
An Amazing Experience Awaits The Chosen Few... Oshkosh, to us, seems the perfect place to get started on watching aviation recover the past couple of years... and so ANN is putting>[...]
“NBAA has a tremendous responsibility to the business aviation industry, and we are constantly collaborating with them. Our flight departments, professionals and aircraft own>[...]
Dead Reckoning Dead reckoning, as applied to flying, is the navigation of an airplane solely by means of computations based on airspeed, course, heading, wind direction, and speed,>[...]
Aero Linx: Vertical Aviation Safety Team (VAST) We are a public–private initiative to enhance worldwide flight operations safety in all segments of the vertical flight indust>[...]
We're Everywhere... Thanks To You! Even with the vast resources and incredibly far-reaching scope of the Aero-News Network, every now and then a story that should be reported on sl>[...]