RTX firm Raytheon said it took just 50 days to take its ground-based StormBreaker smart weapon variant from drawing board to live test — and it’s planning further series of trials throughout the rest of 2025.
As per a recent press statement, the new missile’s ground-launched prototype was launched to a height of about 20,000 using a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) rocket motor. The test took place at the firm’s private test range in the Mojave desert in California earlier this year.
The StormBreaker has been designed in modular fashion as what it terms a “composable” weapon which can be customised as required.
Raytheon’s president of Air & Space Defense Systems Sam Deneke commented: “Recent global conflicts have highlighted the need for a smart, ground-launched, precision strike weapon that can perform in GPS-contested areas.”
He added: “Using the foundational components of air-launched StormBreaker allowed us to move faster than ever before, going from concept to test flight in under two months.”
The ground-launched version of the missile will still be able to hit both stationary and moving targets at range in a variety of climatic conditions.
The air -launched variant of the weapon is currently being integrated onto the F-35A Lightning fighter and has already been fitted to the F-15E and the F/A-18-E/F Super Hornet platforms.
- You can read more details on the RTX Raytheon website
