And, the Weapon Goes To

April 20, 2006

The Small Diameter Bomb II will first equip the F-15E and then the Joint Strike Fighter, circa 2014. The Air Force eventually wants to equip the F-22 with the new bomb, but officials were not ready to release a timeframe. The Navy will also use SDB II, and part of the requirement calls for a seeker that can find targets at sea. The Air Force is running the program for both services and wants to bring the weapon in for an initial cost of $87,000 a round, at quantities yet to be determined.

Related Content

Boeing Claims Progress on T-7 and Other Challenged Programs

April 25, 2025
Boeing appears to have become to overcome the problems that led to billions in losses on fixed-price defense contracts in recent years, point the company back toward profitabily, says Boeing president and CEO Kelly Ortberg.

Kadena Adds Second Batch of F-35s to Its Fighter Rotation

April 25, 2025
The Air Force deployed a second group of F-35s to Kadena Air Base this month, reinforcing its fighter presence at the key base in the wake of retiring all operational F-15C Eagles from the installation. The stealthy jets and Airmen from the 421st Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the “Black Widows” out…

Air Force Futures Boss Leans Toward ‘Low End’ CCA in Next Increment

April 24, 2025
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.

SDA Hires an Integrator to Keep Its Next Satellite Tranche on Schedule

April 24, 2025
After the first tranches of its ambitious low-Earth orbit constellation faced production and supply chain issues that delays launches, the Space Development Agency is trying something new for its next round of satellite procurement. The agency awarded a $55 million contract to SAIC on April 22 for “system engineering and integration…