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.