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Joint Strike Fighter employs an SDB II

SDB II using laser guidance to attack a target

Raytheon Features

SDBII Tri-Mode Seeker

Fewer aircraft, greater effectiveness

Warfighters gain ability to hit moving targets in all-weather conditions with SDB II

Poor weather and battlefield obscurants continue to endanger warfighters as adversaries exploit these conditions to move, safe from coalition air power. This has established the need for an all-weather solution that enhances warfighters’ capabilities when visibility is limited.

Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), a Raytheon Company program for the U.S. Air Force, will provide this capability to the warfighter.

The company’s tri-mode seeker fuses millimeter-wave radar, uncooled IIR and digital semi-active laser sensors on a single gimbal. The result is a powerful, integrated seeker that seamlessly shares targeting information between all three modes, enabling weapons to engage fixed, relocatable or moving targets at any time of day and in adverse weather conditions.

SDB II’s tri-mode seeker can peer through storm clouds or battlefield dust and debris to engage fixed or moving targets, giving the warfighter a capability that’s unaffected by conditions on the ground or in the air.

The warfighter also gains enhanced security with SDB II as it can fly more than 45 miles to strike a mobile target. And, because of SDB II’s small size, fewer aircraft can take out the same number of targets that used to require many jets,each carrying a handful of large weapons. SDB II’s size has broader implications for both the warfighter and taxpayers as it means fewer sorties — and less time spent flying dangerous missions.

Key Attributes

Keeps aviators away from many surface-to-air missiles by flying 45 miles to its target
Aircrews spend less time in harm’s way because fewer aircraft are required to take out large numbers of targets

Product Line: Air Warfare Systems