Boeing starts tests to integrate Small Diameter Bomb on
F-22, F-16 jet fighter-bombers
ST. LOUIS, 18 Dec. 2006. Engineers at the McDonnell Douglas
subsidiary of the Boeing Co. in St. Louis are starting tests to
integrate the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb on the U.S. Air Force
F/A-22 fighter bomber, as well as on the Block 30, 40, and 50
variants of the F-16 jet fighter.
Today the 250-pound smart bomb is fitted to the F-15E fighter
bomber. The F/A-22 currently can carry only 1,000 pound Joint
Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs, but eventually will be able to
carry eight Small Diameter Bombs.
Eventually Air Force experts plan to equip the B-2 long-range
strategic bomber to carry as many as 216 Small Diameter Bombs on
each mission.
McDonnell Douglas is doing the Small Diameter Bomb test work under
terms of a $13 million contract modification awarded Dec. 15. The
contract came from the Air Force 308th Armament Systems Wing at
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The contract calls for McDonnell Douglas to provide test assets in
support of aircraft and weapon integration of the Small Diameter
Bomb on the F-16 Block 30, F-16 Block 40/50, F-22A, and maintain
interoperability on the F-15E. The company also will test the
universal armament interface for the Small Diameter Bomber II
program. Work will be in St. Louis, and is to be finished in August
2008.
GBU-39 variant of the Small Diameter Bomb has guidance from the
satellite Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as from an
inertial gyro. The future GBU-40 variant will have a terminal
seeker with automatic target recognition capabilities for mobile
and relocatable targets.
The bomb measures 5.9 feet long and weighs 285 pounds, and is to
increases the number of weapons an aircraft can carry, as well as
reduce collateral damage. The bomb has a range of more than 60
miles, and can operate in bad weather.
The weapon was first deployed with the U.S. Air Force last
year.
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/280124/32/NEWS/none/none/Boeing-starts-tests-to-integrate-Small-Diameter-Bomb-on-F-22,-F-16-jet-fighter-bombers
Boeing Receives First Small Diameter Bomb Full-Rate
Production Order from U.S. Air Force
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 19, 2006 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] has been awarded an
$80 million U.S. Air Force full-rate production contract for the
Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB I) system.
The order calls for Boeing to deliver 1,600 weapons, 300 carriages
and other equipment to the Air Force by 2008. This is the first
full-rate production contract for the SDB I system.
Boeing will manufacture more than 24,000 SDB I weapons and 2,000
carriages for the Air Force, with deliveries planned beyond
2015.
The SDB I weapon system, which includes a four-bomb capacity
pneumatic carriage, is the first of a new generation of weapons
whose small size and robust performance greatly increase mission
capability while reducing collateral damage in the target
area.
"This action by the Air Force is the culmination of a gratifying
last few months for the SDB team," said Boeing SDB Program Manager
Dan Jaspering. "Not only was the weapon system declared operational
on schedule, it also was successfully deployed in combat. Now, with
a strong vote of confidence from our customer, the first full-rate
production contract has been awarded."
An all-weather, 250-pound class weapon system, SDB I quadruples the
number of weapons each aircraft can carry. At 71-inches long and
with a standoff range of 60 nautical miles, the weapon is
compatible with every U.S. fighter and bomber aircraft.
Boeing builds the GBU-39 weapon at its lean manufacturing facility
in St. Charles, Mo. Sargent Fletcher, Inc., of El Monte, Calif.,
builds the BRU-61 carriages.
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q4/061219a_nr.html
Small diameter bombs for our F-16C/Ds? 