UK-based Flight Refuelling (Stand W560) is showing its latest bomb carrier for the first time at Dubai 2003.
The carrier, which uses a pneumatic system rather than pyrotechnic cartridges to eject ordnance, can carry two 225kg (500lb) or 454kg (1,000lb) Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) or three of the new Small Diameter Bombs.
"The idea is that we can carry a whole range of the new-generation of precision guided bombs," says Richard Fletcher, Flight Refuelling's business director. "To keep air forces' inventory of hardware down, it can also carry six practice bombs.
"It builds on the technology on the Small Diameter Bomb carriage system; our partner company, Sargent-Fletcher, are teamed with Boeing for the Small Diameter Bomb system.
"The new carrier uses an ultra high-pressure air generator they developed for seeker cooling but we're using that as a source of compressed air to eject the stores. Other people use pneumatic systems but ours is unique in that it uses an onboard compressor; others use stored gas."
Pneumatic ejection systems offer cost savings for air arms, says Fletcher, as they eliminate the pyrotechnic cartridges used by traditional systems to eject the stores, thus eliminating the costs of both their purchases and maintenance.
Source: Flight Daily News
