Raytheon announced Wednesday that it has completed a series of captive-carry flight tests of the bomb design that it is offering to the Air Force in the small diameter bomb increment II competition. The company said these tests, which took place at Eglin AFB, Fla., using both an Air Force F-15E and an Army UH-1 helicopter as test platforms, showed that the bomb’s form-factored, tri-mode seeker is “ready for guided test shots.” Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon’s air warfare systems’ product line, said the company has now proved “the technical readiness of a superior and affordable solution.” Using the UH-1 allowed engineers to thoroughly evaluate the bomb’s terminal approach to targets, something that is not practical with fighter aircraft test platforms, the company said. Raytheon is vying against a Lockheed Martin-Boeing team to win the rights to supply SDB II, which the Air Force wants to field around 2014. SDB II is being designed to engage moving targets in all weather conditions as well as stationary objects.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.