The U.S. Navy has given the green light for its Boeing Super Hornet jet fighters to use Raytheon’s Stormbreaker glide bomb.
As per a press statement from Raytheon’s parent firm RTX, Stormbreaker has now been approved for operational use on the F/A-18-E and F variants of the Super Hornet strike fighter.
The winged bomb can autonomously detect and classify moving targets in low visibility conditions; its tri-mode seeker uses a combination of millimetre-wave radar, infrared sensing and laser tracking. The weapon is capable of flying more than 45 miles to hit mobile targets.
Raytheon’s president of Air & Space Defence Systems Sam Deneke commented: “The Super Hornet plays a critical role in the Navy’s air combat strategy and equipping it with StormBreaker increases the aircraft’s lethality by enabling precision strike in all weather conditions.”
He added: “StormBreaker’s accuracy and versatility gives operators the upper hand in the most degraded environments, ensuring they can complete the mission and return home safely.”
The RTX statement noted previously the smart weapon had only been officially approved for operational use on the F-15E Strike Eagle; work is ongoing to integrate the munition on the different F-35 fighter variants, too.
- You can read more details on the RTX website