LONDON, July 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company
(NYSE: RTN) and the U.S. Air Force have begun flight testing Small
Diameter Bomb II™ in two additional modes: Coordinate Attack and
Laser Illuminated Attack. SDB II features a highly advanced
tri-mode seeker, enabling the weapon to use imaging infrared,
millimeter wave and laser guidance to find targets on the
battlefield.
In the Coordinate Attack mode, SDB II employs its on-board GPS
system to attack high-value, fixed targets from close positions and
from standoff ranges of greater than 40 miles. In the laser mode,
SDB II utilizes its semi-active laser to track and eliminate
laser-illuminated targets.
"The most recent round of SDB II flight testing verifies the
weapon system's maturity. The program continues to progress toward
the next phases of government confidence testing and operational
testing," said Jim Sweetman,
Raytheon's SDB II program director. "No other weapon system in the
world employs an advanced tri-mode seeker to eliminate moving and
stationary targets in the battlespace."
During this recent round of testing, Raytheon and the Air Force
continued to refine SDB II's Normal Attack capability by executing
flight tests against fixed and moving targets in various tactical
scenarios. The Normal Attack mode uses the imaging infrared and
millimeter wave seeker modes, and classifies targets as wheeled,
tracked or boat.
Developmental testing will continue this summer with more Normal
Attack, Coordinated Attack and Laser Illuminated Attack flight
testing. The SDB II team will also conduct live fire tests of all
up rounds.
About SDB II
SDB II employs Raytheon's unprecedented
tri-mode seeker. The new seeker operates in three modes:
millimeter-wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared and semi-active
laser. These three modes enable the weapon to seek and destroy
targets, even in adverse weather conditions from standoff
ranges.
SDB II can strike targets from a range of more than 40 nautical
miles, with a dynamic warhead that can destroy both soft and
armored targets, while keeping collateral damage to a minimum
through a small explosive footprint. The highly accurate SDB II has
the flexibility to change targets after release through a secure
datalink that passes in-flight updates to the weapon.
The U.S. Department of Defense has validated SDB II as a weapon
that meets a critical warfighter need and has invested more than
$700 million in the SDB II
program.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of
$23 billion and 61,000 employees, is
a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil
government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of
innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art
electronics, mission systems
integration, C5I™ products and
services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in
more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. Visit us at www.raytheon.com
and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.
Media Contact
Farnborough
John B. Patterson
+1.520.794.4559
Tucson
Ashley Mehl
+1.520.794.51412
rmspr@raytheon.com
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SOURCE Raytheon Company