NEWTOWN, Conn. -- On October 15, 2020, the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (Eglin Air Force Base, FL) awarded Raytheon Missiles and Defense (Tucson, AZ) a $239,113,565 definitization modification (PZ0001) to contract FA8672-20-C-0005 for StormBreaker (SDBII, GBU-53/B) production Lot 6. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed Nov. 28, 2023. The current action relates to classified Foreign Military Sales (FMS), and 6.3% of contract value supports FMS. Fiscal 2020 production funding in the amount of $265,281,689 is being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $271,894,434.

The U.S. Air Force is currently focused on the procurement and deployment of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, now known as the StormBreaker.

The GBU-53/B SDB II is an Air Force led program run jointly with the U.S. Navy to provide the warfighter with a capability to attack mobile targets from standoff ranges in adverse weather.

SDB II also provides a migration path to a net-centric operations capability.

The GBU-53/B StormBreaker retains the AAJ GPS/INS and SAASM modules of SDB I, adding an all-weather capability with three modes of operation: millimeter wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared, and semi-active laser. The GBU-53/B guidance package also features a network datalink for two-way communication.

The threshold aircraft platform for the U.S. Air Force is the F-15E Strike Eagle. The F-35B/C Joint Strike Fighter is the threshold for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Objective aircraft include the F-16, F/A 18, F 22, F-35, A-10, B-52, B-1, B-2, and MQ-9.

StormBreaker is compatible with the BRU-61/A miniature carriage and the SDB I container system. The U.S. Air Force considers the GBU-53/B to be a key component of its Global Strike Task Force concept of operations.

Raytheon commenced LRIP deliveries of the GBU-53/B in 2015. The U.S. Air Force maintains a procurement objective of 12,000 GBU-53/B weapons; the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps expect to procure an additional 5,000 StormBreaker weapons.

Most customers for U.S. air-delivered precision-guided munitions will be eager to leverage the capabilities of the SDB. Boeing is now replenishing GBU-39/B SDB I and GBU-53/B SDM II StormBreaker weapons expended by U.S. operations, as well as filling export orders.

Source: US DoD/Forecast International
Associated URL: defense.gov
Author: D. Lockwood, Weapons Systems Analyst