Small Tactical Munition on target

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TUCSON, April 3 (UPI) -- Raytheon's small tactical munition for unmanned aerial vehicles completed its first guided flight test, scoring a direct hit on its target.

The bomb weighs 13.5 pounds and uses GPS/INS and a semi-active laser for guidance. It is 22 inches in length.

"STM Phase II is ideally suited to weaponize Shadow-class unmanned aircraft systems and counterinsurgency aircraft because STM is a mature, precise and affordable weapon," said Thomas R. Bussing, vice president of Advanced Missiles and Unmanned Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems.

"STM gives warfighters flexibility because it enables them to engage moving and static targets with minimal collateral damage."

The test was conducted at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, using a Raytheon Cobra unmanned aircraft system.

Raytheon said the SMT Phase II weapon is shorter than the original version and has fins and wings that fold, allowing two of the bombs to be placed in the military's common launch tube.