Naval Weapons Center China Lake Advanced Bomb Family

[A Tentative Fleet Plan]

View: https://youtu.be/q3fqFuhprKs


From the 50:57 mark onwards.

Otherwise hard to find any other information on this project online, as far as I can tell judging by the video, the program started in the 1970s, and according to this 1992 Rocketeer article (link only, the file is too large to attach, and the program is only briefly mentioned) and the presentation on the 2012 Johnson Trophy attached below, ran into the 1990s, making it at least as far as 1990 according to this FY1991 Navy RDT&E document, including a plan to make them IM-compliant.

As stated in the video above, the Advanced Bomb Family was to include two new bombs, a 500lb blast fragmentation bomb with an internally-grooved casing, and a 1000lb penetrating bomb, both would be stored as completely assembled all-up rounds (fully fused, with new fuses compatible with digital avionics, with multiple modes selectable from the cockpit, and Environmental Safety Devices to ensure they could be stored as part of a fully assembled bomb safely) with new tail units using ballutes that could be used in both low and high-drag modes.

https://flic.kr/p/aJSjaV

View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/skyhawkpc/6392320471/

https://flic.kr/p/aJSiJc

View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/skyhawkpc/6392318979/in/photolist-aJSjaV-aJSiJc

 

[TomS]

Sorry, working off my phone, so not linking stuff

The China Lake Alumni website index under Advanced Bomb Family just says "See JDAM," which is certainly suggestive. There is also Sandia report from 1997 that mentions ABF being a joint effort between China Lake and Sandia, and that it was part of the push for low-cost conventional smart weapons. Also a September 1994 Proceedings professional note that says JDAM used technology originally developed for ABF. So it seems that ABF was supposed to have (GPS?) guidance incorporated, though that was not considered public info at the time.

Or possibly not? I also see a 1993 paper noting that JDAM combines the Air Force Adverse Weather Precision Guided Munitions program with ABF, and that JDAM Phase 2 was supposed to incorporate a new warhead and fuze (which has never happened). So maybe the AWPGM was the guidance portion and ABF was just the warhead phase that never actually materialized?

It also looks like that there were lots of studies into new insensitive explosive fillings associated with ABF. Which fits with it being primarily a new warhead.