The US Air Force is working on a next-generation precision attack munition called the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). Work will be in three phases starting with a near-precision GPS satellite/inertial navigation guided fixed-target weapon with a 110km (60nm) range and weighing 75-125kg (165-275lb).
The second phase, involving a variant of the Phase 1, would add a terminal seeker, such as a laser radar or millimetre wave, for increased accuracy against fixed and moving targets. The third stage would yield a different weapon - similar to the Lockheed Martin Low Cost Autonomous Attack System (LOCAAS) - with wide area search capability.
Terry Little, the USAF's SDB programme manager, says phase three "is independent of the SDB effort".
The USAF plans to award two SDB two-year preliminary design contracts late this year. A contractor would then be chosen for engineering and manufacturing development, flight testing and production of more than 100,000 SDBs.
The initial weapon would enter service by 2007. Phase three would not begin before fiscal year 2004-05, adds Little, and would be competitive, with Lockheed Martin expected to submit a bid. LOCAAS is in development and enters flight testing later this year.
Little says a Northrop Grumman B-2 could carry 200 SDBs on new bomb racks. The weapon would also be deployed on the Boeing F-15E and Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor.
An analysis of alternatives (AoA) defined the need to maximise the quantity of SDBs carried by an aircraft to cut down on sorties, and concluded SDBs would provide new capability against relocatable targets and reduce collateral damage.
The SDB grows out of work at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate at Eglin AFB, Florida. The USAF is fielding an interim small precision attack weapon, a Mk82 227kg bomb with a GPS satellite navigation guidance kit.
Source: Flight International
