Raytheon GBU-53/B StormBreaker / SDB II / Small Diameter Bomb II

Scott Kenny said:
So it's a UK-manufactured, ITAR-free StormBreaker?
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No and No.

It's a Raytheon UK product, I think part UK manufactured and assembled would be more descriptive. Uses the SDB2 body and Paveway IV internals to produce an 'affordable munition...that is neither ITAR free nor 'affordable'....it costs more than Paveway IV....and at least 30% more than SDB1 (suspect its more like 50%).

Cuts across the more advanced SpearGlide as well....

I really do hope it dies a rapid death....

The only thing Raytheon UK should be focused on is making Paveway IV ITAR free...and adding a wing kit...

If they've got time to muck about after that a cheap JDAM style munition would be useful...
 
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A more nuanced answer is that it is unknown based on what has been released. We shouldn't just make stuff up based on our biases.

e.g. is it literally the same airframe (obviously not as some differences), or just the same outer mould line and mass properties as SDB2 to make integration easier?

Competition is not a bad thing. See whether MBDA UK can compete on cost or performance or delivery time for their PowerPoint SPEAR Glide.
 
red admiral said:
A more nuanced answer is that it is unknown based on what has been released. We shouldn't just make stuff up based on our biases.

e.g. is it literally the same airframe (obviously not as some differences), or just the same outer mould line and mass properties as SDB2 to make integration easier?

Competition is not a bad thing. See whether MBDA UK can compete on cost or performance or delivery time for their PowerPoint SPEAR Glide.
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I have been given some additional detail by a very well placed person who has spoken to Raytheon around it...and MoD...
 
timmymagic said:
Unfortunately they missed the memo about all new things RAF needing the word Storm in...
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Storm Kite, sorted.

Possibly need to point out for the non-Brits that the red kite is actually one of our native birds of prey, so the name isn't just some fanciful construction.
 
Stick with the Red Kite name then, seems pretty obvious calling it after a native UK bird of prey after all we had the Harrier and Hawk too.
 
Do people understand how bad it is to have to deal with the US and it's ITAR?
How various UK companies would rather not have to deal with this amd go out of their way to avoid it.

I know people who be anything but patriotic and only concerned with business, who would rather make less profit than deal with it.

If Ratheon UK wants to get more business, then strip out the ITAR content.
 
zen said:
Do people understand how bad it is to have to deal with the US and it's ITAR?
How various UK companies would rather not have to deal with this amd go out of their way to avoid it.

I know people who be anything but patriotic and only concerned with business, who would rather make less profit than deal with it.
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Crud, people in the US hate dealing with ITAR. Merely producing something on the ITAR list costs you several thousand a year. Not exporting it. That's an additional tax and separate export costs. If you make scope rings you have to pay 2000/year (last I looked), just to not get Federally violated.
 
zen said:
If Raytheon UK wants to get more business, then strip out the ITAR content
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That is literally what they are doing here, along with getting the UK based team to do the design and manufacture.

But I'm pretty sure MOD will continue to give MBDA blank checks
 
red admiral said:
That is literally what they are doing here, along with getting the UK based team to do the design and manufacture.

But I'm pretty sure MOD will continue to give MBDA blank checks
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We will see.
You could be right that this is actually Ratheon trying to find a way out of ITAR through it's UK subsidiary.

Intriguing idea.
 
There are currently quite a few multinationals trying to start up "indigenous" development programmes in response to government demands for greater sovereignty. Not just the UK either. We'll see how this plays out over the next few years. Maybe higher global defence budgets will enable sustained competition across more sectors.
 
red admiral said:
There are currently quite a few multinationals trying to start up "indigenous" development programmes in response to government demands for greater sovereignty. Not just the UK either. We'll see how this plays out over the next few years. Maybe higher global defence budgets will enable sustained competition across more sectors.
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Hopefully.

IMO every nation should be able to build its own military hardware. Small Arms are easy, but I mean tanks, artillery, aircraft or at least aircraft bombs...
 
Aircraft are too complex for every nation. Even tanks are too complex for many countries. But munition and small arms should be possible for everyone.
 
Powered SDB II (TJ150) to enter flight testing soon.

https://www.armyrecognition.com/new...sion-guided-weapon-for-extended-range-strikes

RTX is preparing to flight-test a turbojet-powered StormBreaker designed to strike moving targets from greater range, Chairman and CEO Chris Calio revealed during the company’s July 23, 2026 earnings call. By adding sustained propulsion to the proven air-launched weapon, Raytheon could let U.S. combat aircraft attack mobile threats from farther outside dense air-defense zones.


The new variant uses a modified Pratt & Whitney TJ150 turbojet, but RTX has not disclosed its range, configuration, launch platforms or test schedule. A powered StormBreaker could preserve energy over longer distances and enable more flexible attack routes while retaining the weapon family’s all-weather precision against time-sensitive land and maritime targets.
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Good going by the RTX team after initial stumbles on the program. They are branching into turbojet powered and rocket boosted variants on the back of thousands of deliveries of the glide kit variant and after de-risking and maturing the seeker, power supply and platform integrations via the baseline variant.
 
xena said:
Aircraft are too complex for every nation. Even tanks are too complex for many countries. But munition and small arms should be possible for everyone.
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To be fair, much of it is global peace dividend.
In principle, even with understanding that their economy is undervalued by a huge factor, DPRK still builds almost everything other than manned aircraft.
 
Ainen said:
To be fair, much of it is global peace dividend.
In principle, even with understanding that their economy is undervalued by a huge factor, DPRK still builds almost everything other than manned aircraft.
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And I'm not convinced that they aren't capable of building their own aircraft. I think they're lacking design expertise, and large cruise missile design experience can transfer to manned aircraft.
 

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