A VX-23 F/A-18F carries GBU-53/B Stormbreakers on BRU-55 ejector racks during a recent test.
The U.S. Navy is prepared now to field the Raytheon GBU-53/B Stormbreaker on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, adding a new, all-weather strike option to the carrier-based fighter.
The 250-lb. Munition—also known as Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB-II)—reached the early operational capability milestone with the Navy in October, Naval Air Systems Command announced Nov. 6. The initial operational capability is scheduled to be declared in 2024 after the Navy completes two more operational tests of the weapon.
““This weapon will give our warfighters a much-needed capability and provide the basis for future network-enabled weapons,” said Tyler Alt, the Navy’s program manager for SDB-II.
The Stormbreaker, which features a tri-mode seeker, entered service on U.S. Air Force F-15Es in 2020.
The Air Force awarded Raytheon a contract in 2010 to launch development of a follow-on to the Boeing-produced GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb.
Although the same size, the difference between Boeing’s SDB and Raytheon’s SDB-II is how they identify the location of the target.
The SDB is limited to navigating based on GPS coordinates. The Stormbreaker features a tri-mode seeker, allowing the munition to identify the target using an electro-optic sensor, semi-active laser or millimeter-wave radar. The terminal seeker increases the price of the GBU-53/B to about $200,000 per munition.
