Air force print news (Sept. 30. 2005): small diameter bomb certified for operational test, evaluation.EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE Eglin Air Force Base is the home of the United States Air Force 96th Air Base Wing of the Air Force Materiel Command, and is also headquarters for more than 45 associate units. , Fla. -- 19! 23! 35! 37! 20! No, that's not a football audible at the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for , but the accomplishments of the Small Diameter Bomb Program: the number of months--19--from the system design and development contract award to the first production contract award; the number of months--23--from development award to the start of operational test; the number of successful weapon drops--35--in the number of tests--37; and the design life of system hardware in years--20--for the small-diameter bomb weapon system. The small-diameter bomb is a 250-pound class munition, providing the warfighter with a four-fold increase in weapons per aircraft station. It can penetrate more than 13 feet into a target and can be accurate from up to 70 miles away. The bombs are delivered in single reusable aluminum weapon containers or loaded on a miniature munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. carriage. The carriages allow the weapons to be loaded straight from the container onto the F-15E Strike Eagle
The F-15E Strike Eagle is a modern United States all-weather strike fighter, designed for long-range interdiction of enemy ground targets deep behind enemy lines. with no preparation or double handling. It also gives the pilot the ability to simultaneously drop multiple bombs at multiple targets, while significantly reducing collateral damage collateral damage Surgery A popular term for any undesired but unavoidable co-morbidity associated with a therapy–eg, chemotherapy-induced CD to the BM and GI tract as a side effect of destroying tumor cells . Maj. Gen. Robert W. Chedister, weapons program executive officer and Air Armament Center commander at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., certified the bomb ready to enter operational test and evaluation (testing) operational test and evaluation - (OT&E) Formal testing conducted prior to deployment to evaluate the operational effectiveness and suitability of the system with respect to its mission. Sept. 20. "This certification culminates a year of unprecedented developmental test success and is a testament to the talents and spirit of Team Eglin," said Thomas Robillard, Air-to-Ground Munitions Systems Wing director. During bomb testing, Chedister challenged Eglin airmen to meet the Air Force Chief of Staff's mandated September 2006 date for the small diameter bomb. "Every involved organization stepped up to the boss's challenge and delivered, allowing us to exceed schedule and performance expectations," Robillard said. To help achieve this success, more people were added to the SDB (Switched Digital Broadcast) See switched video. program office. The 46th Test Wing provided flexible scheduling, other test programs delayed missions to give needed range time, and many organizations picked up the bomb program office's share of the administrative duties--all facilitating its record-setting schedule. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The SDB Program Office is frequently the benefactor of Air Force Materiel Command  Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command of the United States Air Force. accolades, but SDB success is a Team Eglin win," said Col. Dick Justice, Miniature Munitions Systems Group commander. "Without broad (AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) An audio compression technology that is part of the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 standards. AAC, especially MPEG-4 AAC, provides greater compression and better sound quality than MP3, which also came out of the MPEG standard. ) support, and an outstanding product delivered by the Boeing Company, schedule and performance success would have been impossible." The bomb enters operational testing in October and will continue the evaluation phase until spring 2006. Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom, is scheduled to receive the first shipment of the weapon following testing. Ruscetta is with the Miniature Munitions Support Group at Eglin. Capt. Louis Ruscetta, USAF |
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