glide bomb
A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rat ...
was a
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...
-aided
laser-guided
Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...
variant of the
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...
infrared homing
Infrared homing is a Missile guidance#Passive homing, passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "he ...
seeker. The system was initially intended for use from
UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...
s, and it was also integrated with the
Lockheed AC-130
The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sensors, navigation, and fir ...
gunship, giving that aircraft a precision stand-off capability. The Viper Strike design is now owned by
MBDA
MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of Missile, missiles and related systems.RQ-5 Hunter
The IAI RQ-5 Hunter is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) originally intended to serve as the United States Army's Short Range UAV system for division and corps commanders. It took off and landed (using arresting gear) on runways. It used a gimba ...
UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...
scored 7 out of 10 direct hits at
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity t ...
. The other three bombs missed their targets by a few feet but still inflicted measurable damage. The objective of the tests was to validate the concept of the Viper Strike and the operational feasibility of Viper Strike integrated on the Hunter UAV. In June 2005, Northrop integrated the Global Positioning System (GPS) into the laser-guided munition to provide highly accurate midcourse guidance.
This allowed the weapon to be launched from much greater altitude and standoff range. During tests, an unarmed weapon successfully acquired GPS data after dispensing from an aircraft and flew to pre-assigned GPS waypoints. Following an extended, nearly horizontal midcourse flight, the GPS-enhanced munition switched over to the semi-active laser seeker once it entered the target area to detect and track the laser-designated target. In January 2007, Viper Strikes successfully destroyed a series of moving and stationary targets in testing at the White Sands Missile Range. They were guided to their targets by the Hunter UAV's laser targeting system.
Deployment and continued tests
The GBU-44/B Viper Strike was first used in combat in September 2007. An MQ-5A Hunter UAV used one to kill two men who were setting up a roadside bomb.
On September 1, 2009, it was reported that the Hunter had successfully completed testing of the new GPS-guided Viper Strike weapons system and that it would soon deploy to theater.
On June 2, 2010, Northrop announced that the Viper Strike would be added to the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
'
KC-130J
The Lockheed Martin (previously Lockheed) KC-130 is a family of the extended-range tanker version of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), with 48 delivered ...
refueling and cargo aircraft. Northrop delivered 65 munitions.
On December 12, 2011,
MBDA
MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of Missile, missiles and related systems.Naval Air Warfare Center's China Lake, California Weapons Station. The munitions were dropped from the new pressurized "derringer door," which used a side door in the fuselage that enables the aircraft to launch and reload munitions while the aircraft remained pressurized.
In August 2012, MBDA announced that Viper Strike munitions scored direct hits against high speed vehicles during a two-day test. Viper Strikes successfully hit eight vehicles travelling at "extremely high speeds" in varying realistic scenarios.
The Viper Strike was phased out of SOCOM's inventory due to failure to achieve lethality performance.
Launch platforms
* Current:
**
MQ-5 Hunter
The IAI RQ-5 Hunter is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) originally intended to serve as the United States Army's Short Range UAV system for division and corps commanders. It took off and landed (using arresting gear) on runways. It used a gimba ...
* Length: 0.9 m (36 in).
* Weight: 20 kg (42 lb).
* Diameter: 14 cm (5.5 in).
* Wingspan: 0.9 m (36 in).
* Glide ratio: 10:1
* Guidance: GPS-midcourse/terminal
laser homing
Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...
.
* Accuracy:< 1 m CEP.
* Range: 10+ km
* Warhead: 1.05 kg (2.3 lb) (
HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...