The Air Combat Command commander declared initial operational capability for the Guided Bomb Unit-39/B Small Diameter Bomb Oct. 2 and the weapon made its combat debut just three days later.
Gen. Ronald E. Keys made the IOC announcement six months ahead of schedule, only weeks after it was initially delivered to the warfighter in early September for Air and Space Expeditionary Force 3/4.
The GBU-39/B was flown into combat for the first time Oct. 5 by members of the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron based in Southwest Asia. A two-ship formation of
F-15E Strike Eagles carried the new air-to-ground bomb while providing close-air support for ground troops operating in Iraq.
Boeing, the GBU-39B manufacturer, describes the bomb as “the next generation of low-cost and low-collateral damage precision strike weapons for … employment from fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles.” The F-15E Strike Eagle is the only aircraft currently equipped to carry the SDB. However, future potential platforms include the F-16 Fighting Falcon, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
The SDB have high precision capabilities. They are lightweight and small which means increased aircraft payload. The bomb, a mere 250 pounds, has a smaller lethality radius, but its advanced technology makes the small blast a benefit, not a liability.
“SDB is a very precise coordinate-seeking weapon,” said Lt. Col. Mark Pierce, ACC Advanced Weapons Requirements Branch deputy chief. “Because of its precision, it doesn’t have to carry a lot of explosive material to achieve weapons effects against the specified target. Therefore … targets can be serviced without the excessive blast and fragmentation of a larger weapon. The result should be less collateral damage.”
Furthermore, its small size enables aircraft to carry more weapons, allowing commanders “to service more targets on a single pass.” Its mounting carriage, the BRU-61/A, fits four bombs on one weapon pylon.
It is also a versatile weapon. The SDB range is more than 50 nautical miles when launched at 40,000 feet at Mach .95. This enables an aircraft to launch SDBs to multiple targets, while beyond the range of many anti-aircraft systems. Additionally, it is an all-weather weapon, effective day or night and can be fired at targets in front of, to the sides, and behind the employing aircraft. It is effective on stationary targets within 1.2 meters. Typical targets include hardened aircraft bunkers, early-warning radar, stationary SCUD missile launchers, stationary artillery and more, said Colonel Pierce.
Because of the nature of the war on terrorism, warfighters need a weapon like this now, according to Colonel Pierce. That demand accelerated efforts to get the SDB to the field as soon as possible. Meeting this need approximately six months ahead of schedule is a feat lauded by the ACC commander.
“This milestone is the culmination of outstanding teamwork from the acquisition, industry, and test communities and delivers increased combat capability to the warfighter,” said General Keys.
Small diameter bomb makes combat debut
By: mobryan - 20th October 2006 at 00:23
The SDB range is more than 50 nautical miles when launched at 40,000 feet at Mach .95.
Quick question-
is that range from a straight and level drop, or ballistic “lob-toss” trajectory?
Matt
By: ELP - 16th October 2006 at 03:59
Sean, i guess your office is going to be crowded with co-workers soon. I can’t imagine the amount of intel personell needed to research, clear and assign targets for a single B-2 sortie with 142 SDB’s aboard… Sorry to spoil the hoorray-party for this GPS-guided-Mk81bis-bomb, but my guess is that the amount of intel necessary to effectively use VeryPGM is exceptionally higher than with any previous ordnance. For attacking a city, a primary-school atlas will do. For attacking a bridge or Chinese embassy, any COTS Falk-cityplan will equally give enough info to asses and clear a target. But for a bunker hidden under a civilian house – who is going to find THAT target? Let alone a few dozen of those targets for a single sortie.
And don’t forget: a 250lbs bomb coming down at 1000m/s does not penetrate as deeply as a 500lbs bomb coming down at 500m/s. The impulse might be equal, the lighter weapon will lose it’s energy quicker than the heavier one.
Hi Arthur,
My thoughts were that the penetration of the SDB is in fact more than a common 500 pounder. Where the SDB tip will penetrate as much as a BLU-109 ( forged pointy tip 2000 pounder ).
As for the intel work, well, lots of aircraft take off today with no targets and get them when they check in with JSTARS. Most of these PGMs have shown that we need less airframes to do a lot of common A2G jobs. 4 aircraft with a variety of todays cheap near all weather PGMs, can hit more targets effectively, compared to years ago, using a whole squadron of the same aircraft using dumb iron and a low mix of laser guided bombs. This is just one of many reasons the USAF is downsizing. Also where our last USAF boss Gen Jumper, considered lowering the order of JSF A models for this very reason alone.
Nice thing about the SDB is less workload from the munitions people. While the first batch of 24,000 of these is expensive per unit ( they had to pay to build a new factory ) at around 60K a piece….. and while the total cost of a JDAM is ( kit and dumb iron ) is around 20k, …. JDAMs and Paveways have to be assembled on site. Requiring a lot of workload/people. Where a parking lot is turned into a bomb assembly area. With the SDB, you just have to maintain the quad rack, pull the weapon out of the box, test it, and put it on the rack and put the rack on the aircraft. Even with GI death benefits for KIA soldiers to new highs in payouts to surviving family members, these PGMs when used to save ground troops from trouble, still come out being not too expensive, given the alternative.
By: SOC - 16th October 2006 at 03:46
Probably only 64 given the rotary rack carriage.
Arthur-it’s not necessarily as complicated as you’re making it out to be. Datalinking is key here, especially for time sensitive targets. Beyond that, the B-2 can self-designate, so the real fun usage is to fly around and just pick off targets. SAM site over there? Got it. Oh wait, there’s a mess of APCs over there? Done.
By: eagle - 14th October 2006 at 16:31
So how many SDBs can a B-2 carry? The current rack fits onto the rotary launcher giving a total of 64 SDBs. Any other options?
By: Arthur - 14th October 2006 at 12:52
Sean, i guess your office is going to be crowded with co-workers soon. I can’t imagine the amount of intel personell needed to research, clear and assign targets for a single B-2 sortie with 142 SDB’s aboard… Sorry to spoil the hoorray-party for this GPS-guided-Mk81bis-bomb, but my guess is that the amount of intel necessary to effectively use VeryPGM is exceptionally higher than with any previous ordnance. For attacking a city, a primary-school atlas will do. For attacking a bridge or Chinese embassy, any COTS Falk-cityplan will equally give enough info to asses and clear a target. But for a bunker hidden under a civilian house – who is going to find THAT target? Let alone a few dozen of those targets for a single sortie.
And don’t forget: a 250lbs bomb coming down at 1000m/s does not penetrate as deeply as a 500lbs bomb coming down at 500m/s. The impulse might be equal, the lighter weapon will lose it’s energy quicker than the heavier one.
By: SOC - 13th October 2006 at 13:59
No, it’s still death from above…Rods from God or a MIRV would still be my weapon of choice :diablo:
By: sealordlawrence - 13th October 2006 at 10:50
I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to simply apply a thin RAM coating to an SDB.
So instead of death from above its now death from knowhere! :diablo:
By: mabie - 13th October 2006 at 10:45
This is the type of weapon that Israel should have had during the latest campaign in Lebanon.
Collateral damage didn’t seem to be a major concern in Lebanon.. Israel appeared willing to inflict as much damage as necessary to try and sway Lebanese public opinion against Hizbollah. butdefinitely a SDB would be a lot better than using a 1000lb JDAM in an urban setting.
By: totoro - 13th October 2006 at 10:33
Trouble with RAM or radar absorbing structure is that it requires a certain thickness to be effective against certain radars (wavelengths). While its feasible to put some ram on tomahawk sized weapon, it just makes no sense to put same amount on weapon the size of sbd. It’d make it bigger, heavier, draggier, etc. Also, the smaller the target it, the smaller radar you need to detect it via target/wavelength resonance.
In a way, in certain cases it’s better to go bigger if you want to be stealthy. Though, like most things, its a double edged sword.
By: SOC - 13th October 2006 at 04:32
I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to simply apply a thin RAM coating to an SDB.
By: mobryan - 13th October 2006 at 04:30
Nowhere was I stating that trading SAMs for SDBs was a good idea.
I was just commenting that it would be easier to track the 250lb bomb, than the full size aircraft it came from.
Old hat, perhaps, but still amazing when you think of it.
Now, how long before they make a LO SDB? 😉
Is it even feasible to have a LO freefall weapon? I know various reduced-RCS missiles have been tested, but is the technology available to keep a LO shape in stable flight through the flight envelope of a gravity bomb?
Matt
By: SOC - 13th October 2006 at 04:07
“Rogue states” can hardly afford to fire a S-300/S-400 class missile at every SDB that comes their way.
That’s the beauty of the system: a B-2 or F-22A can tote enough of these and drop them outside the effective range (against those aircraft) of an S-300 and saturate the system. The S-300 will most likely hit whatever it fires at, but a site can still be saturated as it is constrained by the number of targets the FLAP LID or TOMB STONE radar can engage simultaneously: six. Drop seven SDBs on the engagement radar and the site is down, even if they take out the first six. This is how you take one of these guys out, a stealth aircraft with enough weapons to saturate the site. This still won’t work for a legacy aircraft though, because even if you get an F-15E in to 50 NM to drop the bombs, you’re probably dead by then as the engagement range of an S-300PM-1 is 81 NM, increasing to 108 NM for a PM-2. CLAM SHELL and TOMB STONE means that a low-level strike isn’t a viable option either as you’re going to have to get in a lot closer (and be susceptible to attack from other assets in the area as you’re flying low anyway).
By: sealordlawrence - 13th October 2006 at 00:41
“Rogue states” can hardly afford to fire a S-300/S-400 class missile at every SDB that comes their way.
I think the real beauty of the SDB is that a bomber sized platform can drop dozens (up to the low three figure range?) of these munitions on a single sortie – all from outside the engagement envelope of most most SAM systems.
Thats the incredible thing, a single B2 now has the ability to devastate the economic and civil infrastructure of an entire major city on a single sorty using conventional weapons! 😮 and they call anthrax a WMD! :diablo:
By: bring_it_on - 13th October 2006 at 00:38
The SDB range is more than 50 nautical miles when launched at 40,000 feet at Mach .95.
Globalsecurity claims 60nm!!
By: bring_it_on - 13th October 2006 at 00:37
The b-2 can carry between 60-100 SDB’s with a SO range of 60nm per bomb!!
By: TinWing - 13th October 2006 at 00:26
I think they’d have better luck tracking the SDB itself…
Matt
“Rogue states” can hardly afford to fire a S-300/S-400 class missile at every SDB that comes their way.
I think the real beauty of the SDB is that a bomber sized platform can drop dozens (up to the low three figure range?) of these munitions on a single sortie – all from outside the engagement envelope of most most SAM systems.
By: mobryan - 11th October 2006 at 21:45
I think they’d have better luck tracking the SDB itself…
Matt
By: SOC - 11th October 2006 at 18:12
The SDB range is more than 50 nautical miles when launched at 40,000 feet at Mach .95.
DAMN. Good luck finding an F-22A at 50 NM…
By: frankvw - 11th October 2006 at 15:31
Thread moved.
By: fightingirish - 11th October 2006 at 14:08
I think, this thread should have been posted in Missiles and Munitions forum.
The USMC are interested in the SDB 2 (moving targets).
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October 9, 2006 at 11:01 am