Raytheon and the Air Force completed a series of flight tests for the Small Diameter Bomb II that culminated in hitting ground targets moving at operationally representative speeds, announced the company. “These tests showcase the game-changing capability of Raytheon’s tri-mode seeker to detect, track, and engage moving targets in adverse weather,” said John O’Brien, the company’s SDB II program director, in the company’s Oct. 29 release. He said “these successes” demonstrated Raytheon’s “readiness to progress the SDB II program to the system verification review and milestone C.” Passing a milestone C review would clear the SDB II program to initiate weapon production. SDB II is designed to hit stationary and moving ground targets from standoff ranges of more than 40 nautical miles. (See also SDB II Fit Check on F-35.)
As the Air Force readied for its June 21-22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the service was also putting its Agile Combat Employment strategy into action, dispersing combat aircraft and Airmen from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in preparation for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack. Some defense experts say…
