SDB -Small Diameter Bombs-

Saw this on Discovery the other day and felt I just had to Blog it! There's an old saying that goes, "good things come in small packages."

Small Diameter Bombs, or SDB for short come in at just 5.9 feet long and 285 pounds. The bomb’s small size increases the number of weapons an aircraft can carry, therefore raising the amount of targets it can kill in one sortie.

Due to its size and precision accuracy, it also reduces collateral, or unintended, damage in the target vicinity, amazing!

Complementing the weapon is a smart miniature munitions carriage system. This system can carry four small diameter bombs, enabling an aircraft to quadruple its load out. A small diameter bomb can be used in adverse weather and has a standoff range of more than 60 nautical miles. Once released, the weapon uses its inertial navigation and an anti-jam Global Positioning System to fly to the target. Its guidance is further augmented by a differential GPS system, which provides corrections to enhance accuracy.

Boeing was selected in 2003 to complete the system development and demonstration phase and produce the small diameter bomb. During its developmental testing program, the small diameter bomb completed 35 out of 37 flight tests successfully. The program office attributed its success to having a good stable design early and keeping focused on the schedule. In contrary to common missiles, this one uses kinetic energy and it's set of wings instead of jet propulsion to steer itself towards the target. A second version of the SDB is currently under development.

SDB testing

Small Diameter Bomb I delivered ahead of schedule

Small-diameter bomb makes Strike Eagle squadron more lethal

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE. -- A small diameter bomb hits its target. The SDB is a 250-pound class munition providing the warfighter with a four-fold increase in weapons per aircraft station. It can penetrate more than 13 feet into a target and can be accurate from up to 70 miles away. The bombs are delivered in single, reusable aluminium weapon containers or loaded on a miniature munitions carriage.

*Adapted from www.globalsecurity.org*