Test personnel at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB, Calif., conducted the first drop of the Small Diameter Bomb from the internal weapons bay of an F-22A earlier this month, according to a Sept. 26 release. Maj. Jack Fischer, a test pilot with the 411th Flight Test Squadron, said the test “proved our predictions were modeled properly; the bomb came out exactly as it should have for the first test, so we’re right on track.” The Raptor will be able to carry eight SDBs, two advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, and two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Fischer noted also that no other aircraft “can release a supersonic weapon out of an internal weapons bay,” but the “flow field and shock wave interactions present a very complex challenge.”
A semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone shot down an air-to-air target in a Dec. 8 test supported by the U.S. Air Force, a notable milestone in the development of the loyal wingman-type drones that will join the fleets of the USAF, other American services, and allies and adversaries.
