Houthi rebels shared a photo of a landed but unexploded GBU-53/B SDB II Stormbreaker guided small-diameter bomb, raising concerns about reverse-engineering.

Shortly after the spotting of the new guided bomb featuring the most advanced guidance system out of any bomb in the U.S. inventory in operational status, an unexploded GBU-53/B was found by locals in Yemen.

Beyond the bomb's confirmed use against Houthi insurgents, retrieval by the locals is an issue considering the Houthis' political hold and its deep relations with Iran.

Iran is among the main suppliers of armament and related technologies, and Houthis returning a favour by providing the newest guided bomb in the U.S. arsenal poses risks of reverse engineering by Iran, which can be described as a veteran in this department, especially of missiles.

Even if Iran may not be able to generate the same performance, there would still be a considerable contribution to Iranian aircraft's precision strike capabilities, and more importantly, Iran would gain know-how on multi-mode seekers from GBU-53/B's tri-mode seeker, which would be integrated on other munitions.

GBU-53/B as American Aircraft's New Precision Strike Weapon

GBU-53/B's development can be traced back to the widely deployed GBU-39/B SDB, which has GPS+INS guidance and a warhead with structural penetration capabilities. Another advantage GBU-39/B brought to the table is the ability to carry four bombs on one pylon, forming the approach of focused havoc and deeper magazines for combat aircraft.

GBU-53/B's development was initiated to allow the engagement of moving targets in various visibility conditions. For this goal, a tri-mode seeker consisting of laser, mmW radar, and IIR modes was developed.

While having a shorter range due to increased drag from the hemisphere nose, GBU-53/B has superior moving target engagement capabilities over GBU-39/B.

 Author: Kaan Azman

Editor: Özgür Ekşi