A GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II scored a direct hit against a moving target for the first time in a test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., announced manufacturer Raytheon on July 19. An F-15E flying from Holloman AFB, N.M., successfully deployed the weapon in the July 17 test, according to the company. The bomb’s tri-mode seeker acquired, tracked, and guided the bomb to the target. The sophisticated seeker allows the bomb to “engage moving targets in bad weather or battlefield obscurants in high threat environments,” explained Harry Schulte, Raytheon’s missile systems vice president. The weapons’ small warhead is extremely useful in “defeating threats, such as swarming boats, mobile air defense systems, or armored targets,” while limiting collateral damage, he added. The weapon, currently under development for the Air Force, is capable of reaching targets from stand-off range.
The Air Force wants a new, affordable, air-launched standoff cruise missile ready to field in 2033. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center announced April 6 it will hold an industry day event to conduct market research on the Standoff Attack Weapon, or SoAW, on June 17 at Eglin Air…