StandOff & PGM Weapons

The above does usefully provide rough dimensions of the versions. 100/250 are apparently 70” long, with the former being 6” and the latter supposedly 7” (though the cross section seems square rather than circular). This might allow it to roughly fill the USN MACE requirement of two per F-35 bay, though with less payload. The 500 is 13’ long and somewhat more narrow than AGM-158. It likely could fit in the F-35A/C internal bay as well.
 
The above does usefully provide rough dimensions of the versions. 100/250 are apparently 70” long, with the former being 6” and the latter supposedly 7” (though the cross section seems square rather than circular). This might allow it to roughly fill the USN MACE requirement of two per F-35 bay, though with less payload. The 500 is 13’ long and somewhat more narrow than AGM-158. It likely could fit in the F-35A/C internal bay as well.
Isn't the 250 around the same size as SDB? That means in theory 4 for fit
 
Isn't the 250 around the same size as SDB? That means in theory 4 for fit

It looks a little too chunky for that, but possibly. SDB is 6” x 7”; if it really is 7”x7” box then it might be compatible. There certainly would be a big market for a weapon compatible with the SDB pneumatic rack. The ranges they claim to achieve with these designs make me question those sizes, although perhaps folding wings plus the very modest warhead can achieve those distances with a small turbofan. The 500 mile range for the full length -500 model seems reasonable for a full length weapon of wider diameter, especially with only 100lbs of payload. It seems roughly JSM in size but with much more volume reserved for fuel vice warhead.

This entire series definitely relies on precision delivery to make a very modest explosive content viable. An SDB 2 has the same payload as the 500 variant.
 
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I mean If 7 Inch is the largest point in the diameter then it would fit as SDB is 70.8 in long and 7.5 in width. Even then Spear 3 is 7.1 in so it would fit.

I think SDB is only 6” in width, with the wings adding another inch to the vertical. But that said, it seems sized to fit on that dispenser and there is no reason to have such form factor unless you were specifically interested in that rack for internal carriage. So I suspect you are right and that this is the market they are trying to break into: F-35 users (F-15E and F-18E as well, but that’s a much smaller customer base).
 

I was wondering when some would develop something like this. It is convenient that there are off the shelf turbofans in most any size, but commercial engines are designed for long engine life hours where as for military applications, engine life can be severely truncated for missiles and even reusable UAVs. The USN and USAF are talking about CCA airframe lifetimes of hundreds of hours; a Williamsjet is going to last you thousands. Unless you are stripping out old engines and reusing them on future UAVs, it is a huge waste.
 
Sounds a lot cheaper to pay Williams to rerate their engines for higher performance and lower life than pay a few hundred million on a new engine development

Depends on the trade offs being made. It sounds like there were also thrust improvements as part of goal, along with cheap parts and production. That is a lot more than simply asking WJ to relax their testing standards.

ETA: and more over Kratos probably wants to internalize their supply chain if possible, as well as break into a new expanding market that current engine makers do not occupy. Anduril is looking at 3D printing turbine parts for short hour life engines as well.
 
The paperwork alone would be likely a killer though.
There's also paperwork in developing a new engine

Depends on the trade offs being made. It sounds like there were also thrust improvements as part of goal, along with cheap parts and production. That is a lot more than simply asking WJ to relax their testing standards.
Rerating = increased temp for lower life hot section, could also look at rpm increases etc. for this sort of application. Its not relaxing testing standards, its simple operating limit changes to get more performance but with reducing life and margin.

The Williams engines are already cheap off the back of many years of production. Sure you could probably trim some cost with a new bespoke engine, but you need to sell a lot of engines to recoup those development costs and start saving money.
 
Rerating = increased temp for lower life hot section, could also look at rpm increases etc. for this sort of application. Its not relaxing testing standards, its simple operating limit changes to get more performance but with reducing life and margin.

The Williams engines are already cheap off the back of many years of production. Sure you could probably trim some cost with a new bespoke engine, but you need to sell a lot of engines to recoup those development costs and start saving money.
Agreed, remember that the USAF used a significantly-uprated early J52 engine designed for the A-4 Skyhawk to power their Mach 2 supercruising Hound Dog missile. They just ran it faster and hotter, for a ~3 hour expected life.
 
Agreed, remember that the USAF used a significantly-uprated early J52 engine designed for the A-4 Skyhawk to power their Mach 2 supercruising Hound Dog missile. They just ran it faster and hotter, for a ~3 hour expected life.

And in the other direction J-85 going into F-5 and Viper into Jet Provost, with both engines finding a massive number of platforms to be used in...
 
According to 9/6 DIU informatuon, only three vender will conduct flight test by the end of Sep., and the last one will conduct flight test by end of Nov.


"...A spokesperson for DIU confirmed to DefenseScoop that three of the four vendors are scheduled to conduct test flights for their ETV prototypes no later than September 2024. The fourth company will fly by the end of November 2024, they added...."


Also, the winner of ETV will be the Replicator 1.2.
(Switchblade 600 is the Replicator 1.1 winner)
 
Global Technical Systems/ ACE-M (air launch)

Range: 1000nm

Total weight: 625 lb

Payload: 105 lb (anti maritime warhead)

Guidance: GPS/INS/Terminal

Comms: Dual band (S/C) wave relay with data link

Seeker: EO/IR

Cost: 150K

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The cost is as same as ETV goal, but GTS is not the one along the four ETV competitor.

Update: picture 2/3 were taken on AFA 2024. (Post on Linkedin.com)
 

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UK Brakestop project

The Ministry of Defence has not explicitly defined whether the system required under Project Brakestop will be a missile, drone, or another technology. The notice instead leaves the solution open to interpretation, stating that the One Way Effector (OWE) can be delivered via “any trajectory (ballistic or low level cruise)” and that it should be able to “navigate in a GPS denied environment”.

  • Range: >500 km
  • Payload: 200-300 kg (Mk 82 bomb sized payload)
  • Speed: Approximately 600 km/h
  • Launch: Ground-launched from a mobile platform
  • Cost: Target cost of £400,000 per delivery platform (excluding VAT)
  • Guidance: Operable in GPS-denied environments, resistant to EW attack.
  • Accuracy: < 30m
  • Scalability: Minimum production rate of 20 units per month


Demonstration firing by Q3 2025 and potential serial production from Q4 2025. “There is an aggressive timeline of a demonstration firing in Q2 2025 and, subject to contract, potential serial production from Q3 2025, producing a minimum around 20 platforms per month.”
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I think it is hard to fullfill the payload/ range/ speed requirement under this low cost ($536,000).
 

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Global Technical Systems/ ACE-M (air launch)

Range: 1000nm

Total weight: 625 lb

Payload: 105 lb (anti maritime warhead)

Guidance: GPS/INS/Terminal

Comms: Dual band (S/C) wave relay with data link

Seeker: EO/IR

Cost: 150K

----------------

The cost is as same as ETV goal, but GTS is not the one along the four ETV competitor.

That seems like an incredibly low launch weight for the payload and range. And an absurdly cheap price. They must have found a really cheap way to work with carbon fiber, IMO.
 
"Footage has been published of a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber attack, presumably with an ODAB-1500 vacuum bomb. The video was filmed in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. There is no official ODAB-1500 bomb, but the presence of the bomb was confirmed by Colonel General Alexei Kim in March 2024, reporting at a meeting to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the use of such an aerial bomb."
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fVnxSf7bLM
 
Leidos low cost Black Arrow missile

I think it is the Leidos's proposal for ETV program competing.

Length: 80 inch

Diameter: 9 inch

Weight: unknown, but MQ-9 can carry eight of these missile



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It is originated from SOCOM 2021 Stand-Off Precision Guided Weapon Program Cruise Missile, which request the missile have a range about 200nm-400nm, and fit in CLT.

CLT can accommodate payloads up to 42 inches in length and 5.95 inches in diameter, and has a 100-pound weight limit. But current Black Arrow missile is 80 inch in length and 9 inch in diameter, much larger than previous requested spec.

 

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It is originated from SOCOM 2021 Stand-Off Precision Guided Weapon Program Cruise Missile, which request the missile have a range about 200nm-400nm, and fit in CLT.
CLT = Common Launch Tube

Mentioned here:
Links to here:
 

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