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Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Fuzes For GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators Requested By USAF
The U.S. Air Force is exploring new options to help with the development of improved fuzes for the 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bomb. The service is also interested in additional sources for the production of other key GBU-57/B components, as well as assistance in sustaining its current stocks of the bombs. This follows the first combat use of the MOP in strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last month. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) put out a contracting notice regarding potential GBU-57 production and support needs earlier today. The total size of the existing MOP inventory is classified, but Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said that it is currently being expanded at a hearing before members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 26. At present, the B-2 stealth bomber is the only aircraft cleared to employ the massive bunker buster operationally, and can carry just two of them per sortie. The B-21 Raider stealth bomber is also expected to have the MOP in its arsenal, but it's likely it will only be able to carry one of the bombs at a time. B-52s have been used to drop them during testing, as well. 'Fuze development and integration into the components of the GBU-57 weapon system, to include integration and software modification within the KMU-612 tail-kit and the BLU-127 fuzing system,' is among the stated areas of interest in the contracting notice. The KMU-612/B, of which there are many variants already, is the tail section of the GBU-57/B, which contains the GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance package and other systems. The BLU-127/B is the penetrating 'warhead' that is combined with the KMU-612/B and other components to form a complete MOP. The contracting notice also lists the production of KMU-612E/B variants of the tail kit, production of other unspecified MOP components, sustainment support ('to include, but not limited to: support of all MOP hardware and support equipment; MOP tail kit repairs/retrofits; and MOP Engineering Technical Support'), and 'obsolescence support and validation,' as areas where the Air Force is looking for new assistance. 'This Sources Sought is for informational planning purposes and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government for any actual procurement of materials, machinery, or services,' the notice also stresses. 'This notice does not constitute a solicitation or a promise of a solicitation in the future. This Sources Sought does not commit the Government to a contract for any supply or service.' The strikes on Iran in June have put a new spotlight on the GBU-57/B and made the bombs something of a household name. The need for an option to hold the Iranian nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow at risk without having to resort to using a nuclear bomb was central to the bomb's original development. You can read more about the munition's backstory in our recent interview with a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientist who took part in testing that led up to the MOP program here. Me, standing at the edge of a MOP crater on a mountain top at White Sands Test Range, where detailed studies of massive earth penetrators were studied for effectiveness against deeply buried targets by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) —formerly Defense Nuclear Agency.… — Gary Stradling (@gary_stradling) June 24, 2025 The MOP has been upgraded multiple times already since the munition first began entering service in the early 2010s, particularly with regard to its fuzing. This is an especially important aspect of the bunker buster's design, as TWZ was noted previously: 'Reliable fuzing, in general, is particularly important for bunker buster bombs, the components of which have to be able to withstand additional forces as the munition burrows through hard material.' 'Bombs like the MOP … that are designed to penetrate very deeply have additional specialized fuzing needs, especially for employment against targets where pre-strike intelligence about the exact depth and/or physical layout is limited. Work on advanced void-sensing fuzes that can detect when a munition has breached into a sufficiently large space, such as a room in an underground facility, is an area of development that has already been of particular interest for the U.S. military for years now. A fuze that is able to just effectively 'count' floors to help determine depth to detonate the bomb at a certain level for maximum damage would also be a useful addition.' : The capabilities offered by the existing fuzes for the MOPs were on full display in the strikes on Iran, according to the Pentagon. Each of the 12 MOPs dropped on Fordow had their 'fuze programmed bespokely' allowing 'each weapon to achieve a particular effect inside the target,' and all of the bombs 'had a unique, desired impact angle, arrival, [and] final heading,' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan 'Razin' Caine explained at a press briefing on June 26. At Fordow, B-2 stealth bombers also notably dropped all of the MOPs on just two impact points, with six bombs striking each one, successively burrowing down to the actual target below. Though the Pentagon has said the overall mission was a resounding success, the actual immediate results of the strikes and their broader impacts on Iran's nuclear ambitions remain major points of contention. At the time of writing, the U.S. military's most recent public assessment is that the Iranian nuclear program has been set back between one to two years, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said domestic enrichment activities could resume in the country within a matter of months. Regardless, any further improvements to the GBU-57's fuzing arrangement or other aspects of the design will now benefit from lessons learned from the employment of the munitions on targets in Iran. The combat use of the MOP has also offered Iran and other potential adversaries (including Russia and China, which have strong relations with the regime in Tehran) an opportunity to try to glean key details about the bombs. Additional upgrades and modifications to the MOP could then be required to account for any attempts to devise countermeasures to its existing capabilities. The unique deep-penetrating conventional strike capability offered by the MOP, paired with the B-2 (and the future B-21), could be called upon in future conflicts well beyond Iran. China and Russia both have well-established histories of building deep underground facilities, including mountain caverns for aircraft and submarines, and continue to expand their subterranean infrastructure. North Korea has also been pushing to grow its underground capabilities, in no small part due to the threat of U.S. strikes. 'This is not a static environment,' Air Force Chief of Staff Allvin also said at the June 26 hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee. 'Now that we know that it was successful, I'm pretty sure that people who are potential adversaries might look at that and they may adapt.' Allvin was responding to a direct question about whether a replacement for the MOP is in development. The Air Force is working on a successor design, currently referred to as the Next Generation Penetrator (NGP), which could evolve into a family of munitions, if it has not begun to already. 'So, we are constantly looking at, whether it be those [MOP replacement options], or an advanced technology, or advanced tactics, to be able to get ahead and make sure, as the threat moves to defend, we have the ability to put the kit together that we can continue to have events like last Saturday night happen if we're called upon again,' Gen. Allvin added at the hearing last month, referring to the strikes on Iran. 'It might be something different than the GBU-57, some advancement based on what the enemy might do.' In the meantime, the strikes on Iran have only cemented the importance of the GBU-57 and of ensuring those bombs remain as capable as possible of holding especially deeply buried targets at risk. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New AIM-120E Variant Of AMRAAM Air-To-Air Missile Hinted At By USAF
There are signs that a new AIM-120E variant of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) may now be in development. Hints that work on the AIM-120E is underway came after the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) put out a notice yesterday regarding a sole-source contract that it had awarded to Raytheon (now formally known as RTX) earlier in March. Raytheon is the current prime contractor for the AIM-120 family, the newest known variant of which is the AIM-120D-3. Within the U.S. military, the U.S. Air Force is the lead service for the joint AMRAAM program. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are also users of these combat-proven missiles. The deal in question, valued at just under $95 million if all options are exercised, is for the 'procurement of the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Risk Reduction Processor Upgrade for Mission Alliance Risk Reduction,' according to AFLCMC. No further details about this particular upgrade were provided in the notice, and it appears to be unrelated to any forthcoming AIM-120E variant. 'Raytheon will produce and sustain the AIM-120 missile variants and associated configurations for US customers, and variants/associated configurations authorized for release to Foreign Military Sales (FMS),' notes a redacted Justification & Approval (J&A) document that AFLCMC released along with the contract award announcement and that dates back to 2018. 'This J&A excludes any potential next generation variants developed after the AIM-120D (i.e. AIM-120E and beyond).' In many cases, U.S. military contracting offices (and those elsewhere across the U.S. government) must justify the need for a sole-source contract and receive approval before moving ahead without a traditional competitive bidding process. TWZ reached out to AFLCMC earlier today to clarify whether the AIM-120E designation mentioned in the J&A document reflected a real development effort and, if so, what that might entail, or if this was simply a notional designation for a future AMRAAM variant. 'We don't have any details that we can provide at this time,' an AFLCMC spokesperson told us flatly in response. Whether or not any future AIM-120E variant might represent a substantial departure from existing AIM-120s is unknown. The Air Force, as well as the Navy, are now required by law to explore whether extended-range variants or derivatives of the AIM-120 and the AIM-9X Sidewinder could help both services meet their future air-to-air missile needs. In particular, a new longer-range version of the AMRAAM could help bridge the gap between existing types and large-scale fielding of the forthcoming AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM). The AIM-260 will have the same general form factor as the AIM-120, in large part to make it easier for existing F-22 Raptors and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to carry them in their internal bays. As of 2019, the goal was for JATM to start entering service in 2022. However, there are no indications that this has occurred despite continued active testing of the missile, including live-fire shots. The Navy has also now fielded, at least on a limited level, another very-long-range air-to-air missile, the AIM-174B, which is an air-launched version of the multi-purpose surface-launched Standard Missile-6 (SM-6). You can learn more about the AIM-174B here. Both the AIM-260 and AIM-174B are highly classified, and additional U.S. military air-to-air missile development work is likely to be ongoing in that realm, as well. It's also worth noting that Raytheon has already developed an AMRAAM-Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) derivative, which combines elements of the AIM-120 and the surface-to-air RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM). The AMRAAM-ER, which has also sometimes been referred to by the designation AIM-120ER, was designed for surface-to-air use as part of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). Raytheon developed NASAMS, which can fire regular AIM-120s, as well as AIM-9Xs and IRIS-T missiles, together with Norway's Kongsberg Defense. The idea of an air-launched AMRAAM-ER was put forward at least as far back as 2021, but what progress, if any, may have been made since then in turning that concept into a reality is unclear. What changes would be required to allow for the missile to be internally carried by a stealthy jet like an F-35 is also not clear. The speed and altitude of an aerial launch platform offer benefits when firing any missile, especially when it comes to range and end-game kinematic performance. Extending the air-to-air reach of U.S. combat aircraft is a particular priority at present. China's development of increasingly longer-range air-to-air missiles was a key factor in the decision to start developing the AIM-260. There are concerns now that anti-air missiles with ranges of up to 1,000 miles could be part of the threat ecosystem facing U.S. forces by 2050. When the baseline AIM-120D variant arrived in the mid-2010s, it already offered a significant boost in capability over previous AIM-120 types, including greater range and a two-way datalink with third-party targeting capabilities. In 2021, an F-15C Eagle fighter shot down a target drone with an AIM-120D in what the Air Force described at the time as 'the longest known air-to-air missile shot to date.' The AIM-120D-3 version offers further improvements, including enhanced seeker performance, and incorporates a new System Improvement Program 3F (SIP-3F) operational flight software upgrade. You can read more about the D-3 here. 'Multiple follow-on SIPs are planned to provide AIM-120D-3 updates to enhance missile performance and resolve deficiencies,' the Pentagon's Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) said in its most recent annual report, which it released in January. A SIP-4 upgrade is already in the works for the D-3, the report notes. Further SIP software updates and other more incremental improvements could be enough to warrant a new designation. The original AIM-120D evolved from a subvariant upgrade effort for the AIM-120C. The AIM-120C-8 subvariant that was subsequently developed for export customers is also understood to have capabilities that are very close to that of the baseline D version. The Air Force even just talking about the potential for an AIM-120E variant as far back as 2018 underscores the expectation that versions of the AIM-120 will remain in service for decades to come, even with the introduction of new missiles like the AIM-174B and the future AIM-260. Still-expanding exports of AMRAAMs for air-to-air and air-to-surface use, including now to Ukraine, are also likely to continue driving interest in further improving the design. Whatever the current state of any work on an AIM-120E variant might be, AMRAAM is already a key component of the United States' air-to-air arsenal, as well as that of many of its allies and partners. Contact the author: joe@
