Air Force and Raytheon officials completed a fit check of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II on the F-35 strike fighter at Eglin AFB, Fla., announced the company. Four SDB II shapes were loaded into an F-35 weapons bay next to an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, with sweeps of the inboard and outboard bay doors confirming adequate clearance between the two weapons, states Raytheon’s Jan. 22 release. “Completion of the fit check is critical because it further validates SDB II’s compatibility with the F-35 and keeps SDB II on track for a smooth transition to production,” said Harry Schulte, Raytheon’s vice president of air warfare systems. “Once fielded, SDB II will provide the warfighter with an unprecedented capability to precisely strike moving targets in adverse weather conditions and through battlefield obscurants,” he added. Among the Air Force platforms with which SDB II will be compatible are the F-15E, F-16C/D, F-22, and F-35, according to the company.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
