Raytheon UAV guided bomb undergoes flight tests
Raytheon has announced that its Small Tactical Munition (STM) Phase II guided bomb has scored a direct hit on a target during the weapon's first guided flight test. The company made the announcement in a 2 April 2012 statement.
STM Phase II is a new 13.5-pound, 22-inch long, precision-guided, gravity-dropped bomb specifically designed for employment from manned and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). STM Phase II is more than 2 inches shorter than the Phase I design and has foldable fins and wings, enabling two weapons to be placed inside the US military's common launch tube. STM Phase II's modular assembly will make the system simpler to manufacture on a large scale.
According to Raytheon, STM Phase II is ‘ideally suited to weaponise Shadow-class unmanned aircraft systems and counterinsurgency aircraft because STM is a mature, precise and affordable weapon’. The weapon ‘gives warfighters flexibility because it enables them to engage moving and static targets with minimal collateral damage’.
During the February test at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., a Raytheon Cobra UAV released the STM Phase II in flight. After safely separating from the UAV, the weapon used both GPS/INS and semi-active laser to guide to the target.
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Royal Navy selects Animal Dynamics parafoil UAV for second phase of Heavy Lift challenge]()
Royal Navy selects Animal Dynamics parafoil UAV for second phase of Heavy Lift challenge
With a payload capacity of 135kg, the Stork STM can fly up to 400km using a parafoil wing to generate lift.
-
![IDEX 2023: Autel Robotics showcases DJI challenger drone]()
IDEX 2023: Autel Robotics showcases DJI challenger drone
Autel Robotics presented its Dragonfish series and EVO Max 4T at IDEX 2023, hoping to challenge DJI's market dominance with the latter.
-
![BAE and Innovaero debut Strix, Australia’s first domestic armed VTOL UAS]()
BAE and Innovaero debut Strix, Australia’s first domestic armed VTOL UAS
At the Avalon Airshow, BAE Systems Australia debuted Australia’s first domestically designed, built and armed VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) uncrewed air system (UAS), the Strix.
-
![Enhanced autopilots pave way to autonomy for US multi-engine jets]()
Enhanced autopilots pave way to autonomy for US multi-engine jets
The USAF has commissioned a year-long autonomy study by Reliable Robotics for large jet aircraft.
-
![IDEX 2023: Black Eagle UAV gets miniature airborne radar]()
IDEX 2023: Black Eagle UAV gets miniature airborne radar
Integrating the radar into the Steadicopter UAS allows the rotorcraft to spot potential maritime threats.
