Direct hit for Raytheon's SDB II

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TUCSON, July 19 (UPI) -- The GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II being developed for the U.S. military was on target during a recent test in New Mexico using a U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter.

Raytheon said the bomb, which employs a tri-mode seeker and which is in a development and manufacturing phase, scored a direct hit on its moving target.

"SDB II is the first in the next generation of smart weapons that uses multi-mode seekers and fully networked enabled data links to engage moving targets in bad weather or battlefield obscurants in high-threat environments," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Air Warfare Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems.

"Raytheon is committed to this program's success because SDB II will give the warfighter a mission-flexible weapon capable of defeating threats such as swarming boats, mobile air defense systems or armored targets."

The SDB II can be employed in three primary attack modes, each with a subset mode, for a total of six engagement modes. Raytheon said a dual band, two-way weapon data link allows for post-launch control of the weapon by the launching aircraft, a Joint Terminal Attack Controller or a third party.

The weapon's tri-mode seeker fuses millimeter-wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared and semi-active laser sensors on a single gimbal.