The Air Force on Monday chose Raytheon to supply the small diameter bomb increment II system and awarded the company a $451 million contact to start engineering and manufacturing development. The company bested a Boeing-Lockheed Martin team vying to build the new munition, which is an air-launched, precision-strike standoff weapon designed to take out moving and fixed targets in all weather conditions. “Raytheon proved we can provide the warfighter a low-risk, affordable solution that meets their needs,” said Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president, in the company’s release. Raytheon’s design is designated the GBU-53/B. It features a seeker with millimeter-wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared, and semiactive laser modes. Bomb deliveries are expected to begin in 2013. Air Force F-15Es and Marine Corps and Navy F-35s will be the initial platforms to carry SDB IIs. (See also DOD’s contract list for Aug. 9)
Dick Cheney’s Legacy with the Air Force
Nov. 6, 2025
Dick Cheney, who died Nov. 3 at 84, is best remembered by most Americans as among the most powerful Vice Presidents in history, a consummate Washington insider who had previously served in the Nixon administration, was Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford, a Congressman for a decade, and Secretary…
