It still shouldn't cost so much. The material science and guidance systems shouldn't be any more expensive than a cell phone and a bunch of fertilizer, inside something with less moving parts than a private car.
Just looked up some stats. It costs more than the GBU-39 (as expected), but it's similar in cost (or possibly cheaper depending on acquisition) than Hellfire and Brimstone missiles, but with a longer range. For reference, the mode where it finds targets for you is a capability Brimstone has.
Brimstone is basically a hellfire with a millimeter wave seeker. Its been around a long time. Interesting kit! Millimeter wave seekers are INCREDIBLE. They're essentially high fidelity short range radars so you can have precise target identification and guidance against MOVING enemies.
It's possible but the range is a little short. Maybe F-35s can thread the needle of dropping these and peeling off before the ship gets a weapons grade radar lock but it would be dicey. On the other hand, the small size means these could end up being really powerful when combined with the eventual stealth unmanned loyal wingman drone fighters. That would be really tough to counter by existing tech.
@@robf8349 If Bayraktar drones can drop them, that might work. I'm surprised we haven't seen the upgraded Bayraktar yet, they had prototypes two years ago.
Tri-mode seeker and range could be good against usv's and 'no-drive zones". EO bombs like French hammer and Israeli image recognition glide bombs like smaller SLAM-ER and JSOW have done well in the last decade or so but the addition of MMW radar or active LiDAR will be really revolutionary.
GPS, Glonass, Bediu and Galileo chips are available for $5. I certainly hope someone is working on integrating all of these. I know approximately half of the GPS block 3 satellites have a special burn through jamming mode that is quite effective along an 80 mile path.
Military wepons never sounded so cool until Alex explanations of them. And the best part is you can take his info to the bank. If he's ever wrong he'll come out and admit it.
At some point we are just making another cruise missile... so there should be a very high priority on the cheap and effective aspect like the JDAM. These upgrades seem great, but let's keep the additional capabilities limited to necessary only so that we can have a cheap munition that we can make a ton of.
The UK will field SPEAR3, a powered glide-bomb with Block 3 & 4 F-35Bs in 2028 ... four per bay for a total of eight internal. Range is rumoured to be ~90 to 100nm.
As a Canadian this is a little disturbing, surely you'll use these when you take Gooseberry Bog, Saskatchewan. Only gas station for 800 km. Dead center of nowhere.
Soon, things in Canada will be…less bad, and no bombs will have been dropped on that marvelous Bog. The best Bog, really. Your neighbors to the south have their own Bogs to bust, and for that we have a specially designed Bog Buster Bomb, with the best AI, the best glide package, and the best warhead you’ve ever seen. Seriously, nothing else comes close for busting bogs.
The USA has plenty of real adversaries right now - China, Russia, North Korea, Iran. The last thing the USA needs is to be creating new ones for stupid reasons.
I helped develop Stormbreaker (SDBII) 15 years ago for about four years. It incorporated Seeker technologies from the cancelled NLOS-LS Precision Attack Munition (PAM) which had a dual-mode (UCIR/SAL) Seeker. The AI-assisted autonomous target acquisition and recognition capability was developed from almost a decade of UCIR data-gathering and heuristic algorithm training against typical targets using the PAM Seeker. FWIW, nearly all the targets used for training were Russian - T-72, T-90s, BMPs of various flavors, etc. In addition, the programming can handle targets of opportunity, requiring only a target template sent over the datalink after the bomb is dropped. GPS capability in Stormbreaker is almost an adjunct to the guidance - it can operate in a completely GPS-denied environment. The INS guidance alone can guide Stormbreaker into the target zone with no GPS whatsoever; the trimode Seeker only needs a zone of several square miles in which to begin target acquisition of stationary or moving targets. Stormbreaker CEP is classified of course, but suffice it to say that aimpoints for both UCIR and SAL sensors are good enough to hit specific points on a target. An interesting point regarding Stormbreaker production - it was the first Raytheon weapon to use robot technology for calibration of the MMW sensor, which contributes significantly to the low cost of the bomb. Cheap ($75K) Fanuc robots turned out to have sufficient angular positioning precision to do the required sensor calibration, instead of custom $2 million test stations. That was one of my contributions to the effort, so yeah, a little bragging there. The Stormbreaker trimode Seeker is one that should be incorporated into other precision weapons like cruise missiles, because economy of scale would drop costs even further. The technology of that Seeker, now with about a quarter-century of engineering development (counting the PAM development of UCIR/SAL technologies) is likely world-leading, including ATA/ATR (autonomous target acquisition/recognition) algorithms that were started back in 2001. We were working on AI when it was little more than a "futuristic buzzword".
Thanks for the details. No offense but it seems designed with counter insurgency in mind and seems slightly underpowered compare to the FABs. But I guess it can be scaled up to go against fortifications.
Especially JSOW dropping them. Imagine a cruise missile drone with this sensor tech but just flew around dropping SFW effectors on targets before coming back to rejoin the launch platform!
Very true - the datalink allows communication between weapons. I did engineering on SDBII/Stormbreaker from 2006-2010; we did simulations using the multimode Seeker against small boat swarms, which required coordination between munitions. Along with in-flight updates, one munition's Seeker was able to provide BDA (battle-damage assessment) imagery to other munitions to coordinate attacks. When the target template match is "corrupted" (as in smoke from a struck target or like a turret missing) the targeting algorithm selects a different target. Yes, the AI is able to distinguish between damage smoke and intentional obscurant smoke most of the time - we did training captive carry runs against both.
@@scottstewart5784 For the most part yes. I did engineering on SDBII/Stormbreaker from 2006-2010. When a target's template is not matched well due to target imagery "corruption", like damage smoke or say a turret missing, the weapon sends imagery to other launched weapons and moves to a different target. Because targets often use obscurant smoke for survival tactics, we performed captive carry Seeker training imagery against both damage smoke and obscurant smoke, which usually looks different (white obscurant smoke vs black damage smoke, etc). The AI target acquisition algorithms aren't perfect, but they do pretty well.
The Stormbreaker is a huge beneficiary of the GOLDEN HORDE program and its grea to see that effort really start to bear some incredible fruit! CCA is one thing but taking that approach to munitions to further increase lethality is next level
*when theres a dud* if these weapons are truly smart, they should be able to detect that they have been armed, dropped but havent exploded for an unknown reason and when they detect the specified enemies most used language then self destruct
That's actually a pretty good idea. While I expect our missiles and smart bombs have very low dud rates, it's never 0%. So that would be a good capability to have so adversaries don't get a jump start on their own munitions or killing civilians years later.
@mill2712 im sure there's still a .000004% chance of a civilian getting hurt by what I suggested, but man would it be funny af, Russians be all "we got the new American missile" Boom "We had the new American missile"
Technology is great, but cutting costs of these munitions are almost as important. My opinion is that the cost per munition is just way too much nowadays. If these could also be less expensive, that would be ideal...
@raptorsean1464 Hmm, while I don't know how much each Barracuda variant will cost, as they aren't in production just yet, I think 10,000$ is a little too optimistic for its promised capabilites. I'm thinking 100k to 200k. Maybe a bit less. But I'd love to be proven wrong, and it really it is that cheap.
they ARE cheap already for what they're offering. you arent getting within 15 miles of an air defense environment to drop a JDAM anymore, regardless of platform.
Alex it’s farther not further. Farther is a measure of distance, further is a measure of intent or design. You can further you education by traveling farther to a better college. Sorry just a pet peeve. 😂
Is 70 miles an absolute max range? Or can strike aircraft reliably sling them even farther by releasing them at a vertical angle at max speed and altitude?
Nice work Alex, as usual. I would like to see what kind of damage these modern weapons cause. Something like a battle damage after action report would give less informed folks like myself a better grip on capabilities after all the wizbang gadgets that got it on target. Keep up the good work.
When a measley 90% percent success rate just isn't good enough! Yes, there is a reason why we Americans are proud of what we've worked very hard to become. Now, only if we lived in a world where this was all done out of curiosity and fun, not necessity.
The B2 can carry 80 500lb bombs. The B21 is expected to have about half the bomb load, and these are about half the size of a 500lb. So the B21 should carry around as many Stormbreakers as the B2 can carry 500's. Low end, I'd say 60. High end? 100.
Could you do a video about the future of Shorad? Will short range air defense provided by the laser stryker? Will the Bradley replacement IFV XM30 function as an anti air cannon? Should the US look at the SkyRanger / Skynex / millenium gun system? And will there be a Stinger replacement with a better battery, targeting, and most importantly more affordable? Or is this affordable future the APKWS guidance upgrade for the cheap and plentiful Hydra 70mm rocket? Should we slap that on Avenger Hummvees? Or IRIS-T? And how are M-shorad Strykers doing? The new EAGLS?!
Moving targets. I’ve been thinking for a while, stormbreaker is less expensive and the plane can carry more, compared to AMRAM (and the like) a stealth plane might just decide to use a stormbreaker against an air target. Say an enemy bomber (or other aircraft) is traveling at a constant heading and altitude why not drop a stormbreaker? It’s just physics to get the bomb close, one can use the data link to “fine tune,” then active seeker at the last moments. Hope you are feeling better soon. Thanks for a great video.
It would seem to make more sense as a drone, but what do i know? Make it extra manueverable with the gun as the primary weapon, but reusable, i would think you could save lots of weight and cost
What would be the effect of adding a small rocket motor to these bombs to give them an even greater range? The rocket motor would be active during the early part of the deployment so there'd be no excess heat signature during the later and terminal phase.
Cost and weight are the drawbacks. Solid rocket motors are not cheap and are heavy compared to tiny turbofans on cruise missiles that use the air around them as their oxidizer for combustion. Storm breaker would a beast on small jet drones though.
@@mrsmegz Quite. Although putting the trimode Seeker on the GLSDB would be a good intermediate step, the cruise missile would be the ultimate "fire and forget" ground (or antiship) attack weapon.
How similar are these to the GLSDB's we had to pull out of ukraine because Russia's electronic enterfernce rendered them useless? Serious question, although im sure the defense department has factored that in since they've spent so much on these and are procuring so much, at least hopefulyy.
Not the bomb the technology is most dangerous part because the GBU-53 seeker can be easily be fitted to larger bombs which would allow them to be launched from greater range The war in Ukraine shown that counter measures against jamming wont work and only real effective measure is destroying the jammer a 500lbs bomb fitted with JDAM-ER wing kit and GBU-seeker would a highly effective weapon in that situation
We definitely entered wonder weapons age. US should have its own... Unless it lost manufacturing developing capability there. Not the AI, drone weird stuff but true raw physical super weapon.
i wonder if it can send the IR imaging through datalink back to the F35 MFD. imagine being able to see and deconflict targets via touch screen from 45-70 miles away lol.
Yes, the datalink operates to adjacent weapons and to the launching aircraft. BDA is done both to the launcher, AND to the AI on adjacent weapons. I engineered SDBII/Stormbreaker from 2006-2010; we did simulations on attacking small boat swarms and used this capability. The algorithms are autonomously capable of BDA and deconfliction - no operator required. Salvo launching of weapons improves this capability rather than simultaneous launch. Not perfect, of course, sometimes target obscurant smoke can be mistaken for damage smoke, but more training of the AI constantly improves the capability.
Thank you for the update Alex. Jaw pain is very much not fun. Imagine a world in which you have a loadout of these teeny little destruction modules inside a BUFF..... HOW many of these would they likely pack in there? Would that much concentrated hate have any unforeseen effects? Maybe we should find out. Peaceful Skies
LRASM & NSM already use passive IIR and image recognition, but add MMW radar or active LiDAR for terminal small target attack to mission kill big ships with small warheads or spam swarm attacks on shipping.
It’s strange to me that we have the most sophisticated weapons and systems in the world…but yet multiple people are still needed to lift and attach the bomb to its aircraft. 🤔
sophisticated machinery could do it, too. IF you spent money and brain power designing them first. And then you would need humans to maintain those machines. Space to park those machines. And they would be useless, for example, in damage control in a fire. Humans are effective jack of all trades. And very stable bipads, navigating crowded, uneven, dangerous, etc spaces with ease. (compared to a bomb attaching machine, that is)
We really, really need to get this munition attached to some GMLRS-ER rockets. Basically jam-resistant GLSDB that can hit moving targets- fills the range gap between GMLRS and PrSM, more difficult to detect and shoot down than cruise missiles, all while being extremely affordable. I’ve been bothered for years by the fact that this hasn’t been a program of record 😅
Alex: look up AFRL's LOCAAS from the early 2000's. It was basically this, but smaller and with a jet engine. We gave up an ENORMOUS lead in tech when we started the "war on terror"
SLAM-ER was already doing IIR target recognition and 2-way DL 25 years ago. I was surprised that the newest AARGM-88 wasn't getting that along with its MMW radar for passive terminal attack against SAM's and more like the old joint attack missiles were supposed to have.
@@dannileigh6426 LOCAAS was an AI-enabled loitering/swarming munition with a reconfigurable warhead like this...with a jet engine...for $40,000 a round. In 2001
UGH! Sorry to hear about the root canal! This is an impressive weapon (although, saying "only" before $200K hurts my head :D ) How many can the B-52 carry? Also, how long before these are put on drones????
This is, by far, the best military news channel on TH-cam.
Raytheon: "We've named it Stormbreaker."
Rocket Raccoon: "That's a bit much."
Rocket Raccoon: I definitely want some of those.
@@raptorsean1464 Mantis: Maybe Nebula can source some for you next Christmas.
I say we go back to the pigeon bomb.
We simulate the pigeon with AI this time.
Amusingly, the name made me think of an educational computer for Britain.
Sometimes all I wanna hear is "This is air power" in Alex's voice😅
That's gay
He's like the Morgan Freeman of military news . I like it
I can’t help but chime in! 😂
You can also tell how excited he is for the subject with how he says it hahaha
Kinda like Vince Mcmaon from WWE. 😅
What kind of guidance should it have?
"All of them"
I was bracing myself for some sticker shock. Glad it wasn't crazy. Hopefully stays that way
Of course 0it does !!! woo hooo !!
$200,000 is a bargain when it allows a $100 million fighter and well-trained pilot to stay out of the Danger Zone.
It still shouldn't cost so much. The material science and guidance systems shouldn't be any more expensive than a cell phone and a bunch of fertilizer, inside something with less moving parts than a private car.
@@knowahnosenothing4862 We all look forward to seeing your entrant that has all the same capabilities and costs a tenth as much.
Highway to the danger zone
@@knowahnosenothing4862I think you're underestimating the RF/Sensor and related costs.
@@JarrodFrates As if the government would allow any "small time contractors". He has a valid point.
All the way through this I kept hearing HLC's "UK" voice saying "America, Are You Insane??!" Why, yes, yes we are... Thanks, Alex!
We are 50 war tribes in a trench coat with a defense budget big enough to fight God.
It's not crazy if it works.
I hear H.L.C constantly intermittent with Alex's analyst of our weaponry. It's a great combination 👌
Just looked up some stats. It costs more than the GBU-39 (as expected), but it's similar in cost (or possibly cheaper depending on acquisition) than Hellfire and Brimstone missiles, but with a longer range. For reference, the mode where it finds targets for you is a capability Brimstone has.
Brimstone is basically a hellfire with a millimeter wave seeker. Its been around a long time. Interesting kit! Millimeter wave seekers are INCREDIBLE. They're essentially high fidelity short range radars so you can have precise target identification and guidance against MOVING enemies.
This bomb probably has great potential in anti-ship warfare too
It's possible but the range is a little short. Maybe F-35s can thread the needle of dropping these and peeling off before the ship gets a weapons grade radar lock but it would be dicey. On the other hand, the small size means these could end up being really powerful when combined with the eventual stealth unmanned loyal wingman drone fighters. That would be really tough to counter by existing tech.
Anti-radar and anti-AD as well.
@@robf8349 If Bayraktar drones can drop them, that might work. I'm surprised we haven't seen the upgraded Bayraktar yet, they had prototypes two years ago.
Tri-mode seeker and range could be good against usv's and 'no-drive zones". EO bombs like French hammer and Israeli image recognition glide bombs like smaller SLAM-ER and JSOW have done well in the last decade or so but the addition of MMW radar or active LiDAR will be really revolutionary.
3 guide systems also means triple redundancy so it could be highly effective
GPS, Glonass, Bediu and Galileo chips are available for $5. I certainly hope someone is working on integrating all of these. I know approximately half of the GPS block 3 satellites have a special burn through jamming mode that is quite effective along an 80 mile path.
He said they got it from 90% to 100% success rate in testing.
Military wepons never sounded so cool until Alex explanations of them.
And the best part is you can take his info to the bank. If he's ever wrong he'll come out and admit it.
I know! Alex knows where all the failed, secret airframes are buried. 😍🤩
friday evening , a coffee and sandboxx !
coffee in the evening? dont want to sleep i guess :)
Always a special treat
How did you know I was drinking coffee?
You have no idea how much I look forward to your videos. Please do a video on underground nuclear testing
At some point we are just making another cruise missile... so there should be a very high priority on the cheap and effective aspect like the JDAM. These upgrades seem great, but let's keep the additional capabilities limited to necessary only so that we can have a cheap munition that we can make a ton of.
That's what companies like Anduril are working on. Raytheon just rips the US military off because they don't have any real competition...for now.
Thor: "I built Stormbreaker"
Raytheon: **plagiarism**
Palletized storm breakers I imagine on the horizon. Let’s make it rain!
Its range is too short.
@@davidmarkmann6098agreed it's too short for something like a C-130 or C-17, but I could see them packing a hell of a lot inside a B-21
@@Laotzu.Goldbug Still won't be palletized in a Raider.
From "The Missile always knows here it is."
To: "The Bomb always knows where you are."
RoTF...
The UK will field SPEAR3, a powered glide-bomb with Block 3 & 4 F-35Bs in 2028 ... four per bay for a total of eight internal. Range is rumoured to be ~90 to 100nm.
That’s not a glide bomb it is a missile but nonetheless it seems very effective especially in conjunction with the EW/decoy variant.
Air defense apocalypse.
SPEAR3 - that's the successor to Brimstone, isn't it? Smaller missile with comparable dimensions to Hellfire rather than a glide bomb
Sounds like a cruise missile, not a cheap bomb.
China could do that for 10%
Boy did I hit refresh at the right time. 40 seconds ago. This is gonna be good.
It's always a treat when I see a new video from Alex.
As a Canadian this is a little disturbing, surely you'll use these when you take Gooseberry Bog, Saskatchewan. Only gas station for 800 km. Dead center of nowhere.
Trump's talking S you guys are good 👍
Trudeau is stepping down. Do it yourselves.
@@ryanmorris4406 Easy Ace, it was meant to make you smile. Sorry for my humour.
Soon, things in Canada will be…less bad, and no bombs will have been dropped on that marvelous Bog. The best Bog, really. Your neighbors to the south have their own Bogs to bust, and for that we have a specially designed Bog Buster Bomb, with the best AI, the best glide package, and the best warhead you’ve ever seen. Seriously, nothing else comes close for busting bogs.
The USA has plenty of real adversaries right now - China, Russia, North Korea, Iran. The last thing the USA needs is to be creating new ones for stupid reasons.
I helped develop Stormbreaker (SDBII) 15 years ago for about four years. It incorporated Seeker technologies from the cancelled NLOS-LS Precision Attack Munition (PAM) which had a dual-mode (UCIR/SAL) Seeker. The AI-assisted autonomous target acquisition and recognition capability was developed from almost a decade of UCIR data-gathering and heuristic algorithm training against typical targets using the PAM Seeker. FWIW, nearly all the targets used for training were Russian - T-72, T-90s, BMPs of various flavors, etc. In addition, the programming can handle targets of opportunity, requiring only a target template sent over the datalink after the bomb is dropped.
GPS capability in Stormbreaker is almost an adjunct to the guidance - it can operate in a completely GPS-denied environment. The INS guidance alone can guide Stormbreaker into the target zone with no GPS whatsoever; the trimode Seeker only needs a zone of several square miles in which to begin target acquisition of stationary or moving targets.
Stormbreaker CEP is classified of course, but suffice it to say that aimpoints for both UCIR and SAL sensors are good enough to hit specific points on a target.
An interesting point regarding Stormbreaker production - it was the first Raytheon weapon to use robot technology for calibration of the MMW sensor, which contributes significantly to the low cost of the bomb. Cheap ($75K) Fanuc robots turned out to have sufficient angular positioning precision to do the required sensor calibration, instead of custom $2 million test stations. That was one of my contributions to the effort, so yeah, a little bragging there.
The Stormbreaker trimode Seeker is one that should be incorporated into other precision weapons like cruise missiles, because economy of scale would drop costs even further. The technology of that Seeker, now with about a quarter-century of engineering development (counting the PAM development of UCIR/SAL technologies) is likely world-leading, including ATA/ATR (autonomous target acquisition/recognition) algorithms that were started back in 2001. We were working on AI when it was little more than a "futuristic buzzword".
Thanks for the details. No offense but it seems designed with counter insurgency in mind and seems slightly underpowered compare to the FABs. But I guess it can be scaled up to go against fortifications.
Used to load these and feel some pride watching this one Alex!
Cant believe theyre that cheap.
Great vid as usual, hope your feeln better.
It is just a kit.
@@matthewhuszarik4173No it isn't.
In theory, it could even summon the Bifrost.
The Bomb burritos at gas stations are the most dangerous bombs in the workd
😂
You got that right!
🤣🤣🤣
I've alway had a soft spot in my heart for the CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon.
Especially JSOW dropping them. Imagine a cruise missile drone with this sensor tech but just flew around dropping SFW effectors on targets before coming back to rejoin the launch platform!
Bombs like Stormbreaker make me all warm and fuzzy inside. ❤🤩😍
Thanks Alex!!!👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🤗
Has root canal, does video next day. A totally Marine thing to do.
AFAIK Stormbreaker has swarm capability so multiple bombs are not wasted on the same target.
I asssume the "AI" can see that a tank is bombed out and move on. I hope so.
They can also see a formation and prioritize targets, as well as deconflicting targets.
Very true - the datalink allows communication between weapons. I did engineering on SDBII/Stormbreaker from 2006-2010; we did simulations using the multimode Seeker against small boat swarms, which required coordination between munitions. Along with in-flight updates, one munition's Seeker was able to provide BDA (battle-damage assessment) imagery to other munitions to coordinate attacks. When the target template match is "corrupted" (as in smoke from a struck target or like a turret missing) the targeting algorithm selects a different target. Yes, the AI is able to distinguish between damage smoke and intentional obscurant smoke most of the time - we did training captive carry runs against both.
@@scottstewart5784 For the most part yes. I did engineering on SDBII/Stormbreaker from 2006-2010. When a target's template is not matched well due to target imagery "corruption", like damage smoke or say a turret missing, the weapon sends imagery to other launched weapons and moves to a different target. Because targets often use obscurant smoke for survival tactics, we performed captive carry Seeker training imagery against both damage smoke and obscurant smoke, which usually looks different (white obscurant smoke vs black damage smoke, etc). The AI target acquisition algorithms aren't perfect, but they do pretty well.
"Don't run, U'll only die tired"...😁
The Stormbreaker is a huge beneficiary of the GOLDEN HORDE program and its grea to see that effort really start to bear some incredible fruit! CCA is one thing but taking that approach to munitions to further increase lethality is next level
Another great one! Love this show! So informative and well researched. Keep up the good work brother!
what do we have today ladies and gentlemen?
Something expensive.
A recycled video.
SkyNet.
Feel better soon, hon! 💕
*when theres a dud*
if these weapons are truly smart, they should be able to detect that they have been armed, dropped but havent exploded for an unknown reason and when they detect the specified enemies most used language then self destruct
That's actually a pretty good idea. While I expect our missiles and smart bombs have very low dud rates, it's never 0%. So that would be a good capability to have so adversaries don't get a jump start on their own munitions or killing civilians years later.
@mill2712 im sure there's still a .000004% chance of a civilian getting hurt by what I suggested, but man would it be funny af, Russians be all "we got the new American missile"
Boom
"We had the new American missile"
Technology is great, but cutting costs of these munitions are almost as important. My opinion is that the cost per munition is just way too much nowadays. If these could also be less expensive, that would be ideal...
Anduril is working on it
Agreed, I feel as though I should start a "start up Co." and streamline manufacturing, and produce these at
@raptorsean1464
Hmm, while I don't know how much each Barracuda variant will cost, as they aren't in production just yet, I think 10,000$ is a little too optimistic for its promised capabilites. I'm thinking 100k to 200k. Maybe a bit less. But I'd love to be proven wrong, and it really it is that cheap.
they ARE cheap already for what they're offering. you arent getting within 15 miles of an air defense environment to drop a JDAM anymore, regardless of platform.
@@mill2712 And 200k is a steal for what it does. I agree 10k isnt realistic.
Alex it’s farther not further. Farther is a measure of distance, further is a measure of intent or design. You can further you education by traveling farther to a better college. Sorry just a pet peeve. 😂
As someone with English as my third language I applaud you for this post! 😅
Is 70 miles an absolute max range? Or can strike aircraft reliably sling them even farther by releasing them at a vertical angle at max speed and altitude?
They could probably be slightly lofted like was done with the shrike ARM back in Vietnam.
Great vid that one. Don’t really see too many vids on bombs / glide bombs these days.
Nice work Alex, as usual. I would like to see what kind of damage these modern weapons cause. Something like a battle damage after action report would give less informed folks like myself a better grip on capabilities after all the wizbang gadgets that got it on target. Keep up the good work.
When a measley 90% percent success rate just isn't good enough!
Yes, there is a reason why we Americans are proud of what we've worked very hard to become.
Now, only if we lived in a world where this was all done out of curiosity and fun, not necessity.
Awesome video as always.
I hope the recovery from the root canal is going well, I've been to the dentist 10 times in 18 months so i feel your pain.
.... as long as this doesn't make a bomb cost 4 mill each this is awesome
really nice review. well done Alex!
How many fit in a B21?
The B2 can carry 80 500lb bombs. The B21 is expected to have about half the bomb load, and these are about half the size of a 500lb. So the B21 should carry around as many Stormbreakers as the B2 can carry 500's.
Low end, I'd say 60. High end? 100.
It was so nice when we only had to worry about the terminator.
Root canals suck! We appreciate your work! Thx!
You have the coolest job ever, dude.
AGM-137A had the capability of man-in-the-loop BDA with reattack capability, if necessary. Now, AI is replacing the man.
Excellent report !
You do a good job sir. Please keep it up. I have enjoyed many of your videos.
Adding AI to a smart bomb makes it smarterer. 😅
Great info again Alex
Could you do a video about the future of Shorad?
Will short range air defense provided by the laser stryker? Will the Bradley replacement IFV XM30 function as an anti air cannon? Should the US look at the SkyRanger / Skynex / millenium gun system? And will there be a Stinger replacement with a better battery, targeting, and most importantly more affordable? Or is this affordable future the APKWS guidance upgrade for the cheap and plentiful Hydra 70mm rocket? Should we slap that on Avenger Hummvees? Or IRIS-T? And how are M-shorad Strykers doing? The new EAGLS?!
That is a hot new toy! And everybody gets to play!
Stormbreaker will be a backbreaker!
Awesome content as always.. 👍👍👍
Thank you for these videos. They are pretty awesome and help me with my fiction writing.
Moving targets. I’ve been thinking for a while, stormbreaker is less expensive and the plane can carry more, compared to AMRAM (and the like) a stealth plane might just decide to use a stormbreaker against an air target. Say an enemy bomber (or other aircraft) is traveling at a constant heading and altitude why not drop a stormbreaker? It’s just physics to get the bomb close, one can use the data link to “fine tune,” then active seeker at the last moments. Hope you are feeling better soon. Thanks for a great video.
AI on bombs. Dark Star called it.
I am Alex Hollings: aaand this isss airrr power!!!!
It would seem to make more sense as a drone, but what do i know? Make it extra manueverable with the gun as the primary weapon, but reusable, i would think you could save lots of weight and cost
That's pretty cool! I rarely say that these days since I've been a war nerd for 55 years and have suffered ' failed tech promise fatigue' for decades.
What would be the effect of adding a small rocket motor to these bombs to give them an even greater range?
The rocket motor would be active during the early part of the deployment so there'd be no excess heat signature during the later and terminal phase.
Cost and weight are the drawbacks. Solid rocket motors are not cheap and are heavy compared to tiny turbofans on cruise missiles that use the air around them as their oxidizer for combustion. Storm breaker would a beast on small jet drones though.
@@mrsmegz Quite. Although putting the trimode Seeker on the GLSDB would be a good intermediate step, the cruise missile would be the ultimate "fire and forget" ground (or antiship) attack weapon.
Pull the tooth, get an implant. Root canals are BS. Expensive pain. Thanks for another great episode Alex.
A full video about the X65 and active flow control would be cool.
Alex - I wouldn't wish a root canal on anyone....
Thank you Sir !!!
Great video!
Maybe this missile should have been named Ballbreaker!
so basically brimstone on a glide bomb
You sound great for a recent root canal ordeal.
So Brandon Sanderson is helping name bombs now?
Alex, you seem to make everything so much better with in depth analysis of present day systems . I do not like root canal , yuck , ouch !.
You had a root canal? If you had said nothing now one would have known! Great job.
Even with a root canal, you still rock it.
Going all crt tv on us. Nice!
Oh Alex you really know how to talk to the beast in us.
it's Shorter than Me.... and SOooo. much smarter. !!!! Woo Hooo. !!
How similar are these to the GLSDB's we had to pull out of ukraine because Russia's electronic enterfernce rendered them useless? Serious question, although im sure the defense department has factored that in since they've spent so much on these and are procuring so much, at least hopefulyy.
No Refunds buddy
$200,000 for something that probably costs only a few thousand to make. Someone’s getting rich.
Not the bomb
the technology is most dangerous part because the GBU-53 seeker can be easily be fitted to larger bombs which would allow them to be launched from greater range
The war in Ukraine shown that counter measures against jamming wont work and only real effective measure is destroying the jammer
a 500lbs bomb fitted with JDAM-ER wing kit and GBU-seeker would a highly effective weapon in that situation
This can do that already, you don’t need a 500lb bomb
@@christopherchartier3017
Actually do because there are some cases where that extra bang comes in handy
Chinese surface fleet removal service
@@christopherchartier3017ometimes you need that extra bang
Oreshnik : hold my beer...
We definitely entered wonder weapons age. US should have its own... Unless it lost manufacturing developing capability there. Not the AI, drone weird stuff but true raw physical super weapon.
i wonder if it can send the IR imaging through datalink back to the F35 MFD. imagine being able to see and deconflict targets via touch screen from 45-70 miles away lol.
Yes, the datalink operates to adjacent weapons and to the launching aircraft. BDA is done both to the launcher, AND to the AI on adjacent weapons. I engineered SDBII/Stormbreaker from 2006-2010; we did simulations on attacking small boat swarms and used this capability. The algorithms are autonomously capable of BDA and deconfliction - no operator required. Salvo launching of weapons improves this capability rather than simultaneous launch. Not perfect, of course, sometimes target obscurant smoke can be mistaken for damage smoke, but more training of the AI constantly improves the capability.
Thank you for the update Alex. Jaw pain is very much not fun.
Imagine a world in which you have a loadout of these teeny little destruction modules inside a BUFF..... HOW many of these would they likely pack in there?
Would that much concentrated hate have any unforeseen effects? Maybe we should find out.
Peaceful Skies
What will happen when anti-ship and cruise missiles have radar, IIR and acoustic sensors to hear the supersonic boom of projectiles...?
LRASM & NSM already use passive IIR and image recognition, but add MMW radar or active LiDAR for terminal small target attack to mission kill big ships with small warheads or spam swarm attacks on shipping.
@@dannileigh6426 The idea is that cruise and anti-ship missiles will react to missile and gun threats.
Thor approves of this bomb.
Root Canal, OUCH, I've had 3 of them, I feel your pain.
11:22
A.) 16 nautical miles isn't shy of 17 standard miles.
B.) 16 nautical miles multiply by 1.1508 standard miles equals 18.4125 miles.
Stormbreaker? Any foe will be in trouble, we know who swings Stormbreaker.
It’s strange to me that we have the most sophisticated weapons and systems in the world…but yet multiple people are still needed to lift and attach the bomb to its aircraft. 🤔
sophisticated machinery could do it, too. IF you spent money and brain power designing them first. And then you would need humans to maintain those machines. Space to park those machines. And they would be useless, for example, in damage control in a fire. Humans are effective jack of all trades. And very stable bipads, navigating crowded, uneven, dangerous, etc spaces with ease. (compared to a bomb attaching machine, that is)
AI bombs are so overpowered! 🤘🏼
Thanks
do these hit ships?
Ding!
We really, really need to get this munition attached to some GMLRS-ER rockets. Basically jam-resistant GLSDB that can hit moving targets- fills the range gap between GMLRS and PrSM, more difficult to detect and shoot down than cruise missiles, all while being extremely affordable. I’ve been bothered for years by the fact that this hasn’t been a program of record 😅
Alex, I know how you feel brother 🫣 been there done that. Take care of yourself 🕊️❤️🕊️
A cheap AND effective weapon? Wow.
How is 200k cheap?
It’s dirt cheap for US standard. And yes I know you can get like 6 FABs with this price.
Alex: look up AFRL's LOCAAS from the early 2000's. It was basically this, but smaller and with a jet engine. We gave up an ENORMOUS lead in tech when we started the "war on terror"
SLAM-ER was already doing IIR target recognition and 2-way DL 25 years ago. I was surprised that the newest AARGM-88 wasn't getting that along with its MMW radar for passive terminal attack against SAM's and more like the old joint attack missiles were supposed to have.
@@dannileigh6426 LOCAAS was an AI-enabled loitering/swarming munition with a reconfigurable warhead like this...with a jet engine...for $40,000 a round. In 2001
UGH! Sorry to hear about the root canal!
This is an impressive weapon (although, saying "only" before $200K hurts my head :D )
How many can the B-52 carry?
Also, how long before these are put on drones????
“Does it have a name?” Thor
“Stormbreaker.” Eitri