The SDB-II is a new generation bomb designed just for the F-35.
The F-35B was designed to carry eight SDB-II internally. These bombs would allow the F-35 pilot to hit eight different targets at 40 kilometers away and with absolute precision.
The SDB-IIs are designed to change their course in flight and follow the objectives through infrared or moving laser guidance systems.
The F-35B, however, can only accommodate four SDB-II due to the internal hold which is significantly smaller than the A and C versions due to the design of the Stovl aircraft. The US Navy wanted to immediately equip the F-35B with the SDB-II, but preferred to carry on the integration on the F / A-18 Super Hornet.
But there would be more because the software needed to implement SDB-II will be part of the 4 Block, which is expected to be released in the 2022. In short. The F-35B will only be able to carry four of the eight ammunition provided internally and will not be able to use them before the 2022 due to the software that will be available in that year.
The Pentagon - the official note reads - has known about the SDB-II problem since 2007. Heavy changes have been made to the aircraft to allow the transport of the SDB-II even if the design is now the same.
The Marine Corps has already received 34 aircraft. The delay in the implementation of SDB-II ammunition will not affect the ability of the aircraft to fly, but will limit the operations that the F-35B will be able to perform.
The Pentagon should buy 2443 Joint Strike Fighter for a total cost of 400 billion dollars, the 70 per cent more than the original projections and for more aircraft, while the 10 allies will buy 721 fighters. The production contract for the Joint Strike Fighter was awarded to Lockheed in the 2001.
To date, 109 fighters have been delivered while development and testing continue.
The Small Diameter Bomb II program
The Small Diameter Bomb II program has a cost of 4,1 billion dollars for 17 thousand ammunition, five thousand of which for the US Navy.
The sophisticated weapon system produced by Raytheon will replace the previous version built by Boeing.
According to Raytheon, the SDB-II program is nearing the end of its development phase and a decision to start production will be made shortly.
Certainly - explain the company - the SDB-II module will not be altered to meet the space requirements of the F-35B and we hope to redesign the internal hold within the 2016.
The UK is the second largest buyer of the F-35B behind the Marine Corps, with 138 aircraft. Italy bought thirty F-35Bs and sixty F-35As.
The United Kingdom has not yet committed itself to buying the SDB-II, but is aware of the problem of the internal hold.
Italy, on the other hand, has already been informed.
We knew about the F-35 internal hold problem - they explain from the Pentagon - but we preferred to postpone the issue pending a sufficient level of hunting maturity.
The other weapon systems linked to the Block 4 software are the AGM-154 Weapon Joint Stand-Off, the Joint Strike Missile of the Norwegian Kongsberg, the Turkish SOM and the AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II.
Franco Iacch
(photo: Lockheed Martin / Raytheon)
