US may sell Saudis bombs once only offered to Israel — report
Citat:American officials said privately this week that the Obama administration is considering selling GBU-28 bunker buster bombs to the Gulf monarchy, the Washington Times reported this week.
Citat: “The program was a Milestone B in the summer of 2010,” he says, referring to the point when a military programme enters the development and testing phase. “The goal of the cost per weapon was about $180,000. It’s coming in at about $115,000.”
The air force has already started integrating the weapon with its first aircraft, the F-15 Strike Eagle. The Navy plans to integrate it first with the F/A-18 Super Hornet and then with its threshold aircraft, the F-35C and F-35B Joint Strike Fighters.
Raytheon’s tri-mode seeker allows the bomb to hit fixed and moving targets on land and at sea through poor weather conditions with pinpoint accuracy.
US air force considering new 2,000lb rocket-propelled penetrating weapon
Citat:The US Air Force’s chief scientist says the high velocity penetrating weapon (HVPW) its research laboratory has designed for internal carriage on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is ready to transfer to a development and production programme.
The air force research laboratory has been testing a 2,000lb-class, rocket-propelled bomb for attacking fortified targets like underground bunkers and tunnel networks, but unlike traditional gravity bombs, this new kinetic weapon is rammed into the ground like a pile driver instead of being accelerated naturally by gravity.
Citat:The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Guided Bomb Units (GBU-31s and GBU-12s) and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $130 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.
The Government of the United Arab Emirates has requested a possible sale of 500 GBU-31B/B(V)1 (MK-84/BLU-117) bombs, 500 GBU-31B/B(V)3 (BLU-109) bombs, and 600 GBU-12 (MK-82/BLU-111) bombs, containers, fuzes, spare and repair parts, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor logistics and technical support services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $130 million.