GBU-44 Viper Strike

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GBU-44 Viper Strike
General Information
Type Glide bomb
NATO designation GBU-44 Viper Strike
Country of origin United StatesUnited States United States / European UnionEuropean UnionEuropean Union 
Manufacturer Northrop Grumman , now MBDA
development 2003
Commissioning 2007
Working time in service
Technical specifications
length 0.91 m
diameter 140 mm
Combat weight 20 kg
span 900 mm
drive unpowered
Range > 5 km
Furnishing
steering GPS , data link
Target location semi-active laser target search
Warhead 1.04 kg shaped charge with fragmentation jacket
Detonator Impact fuse
Weapon platforms Airplanes, drones
Lists on the subject

The GBU-44 Viper Strike (GBU stands for G uided B OMB U nit) is a precision-guided glide bomb for armored combat . The weapon was developed from the Brilliant Anti-Tank (BAT) project. The steering takes place by means of a semi-active laser finder and optionally with GPS .

Brilliant anti-tank

The Brilliant Anti-Tank project , BAT for short, was developed by Northrop Grumman for the US armed forces during the Cold War . The aim was to destroy large concentrations of Soviet tanks before they could even come into contact with the enemy. For this purpose, a larger number of BATs should be deployed over the target area using an MLRS (both conventional 227 mm missiles and ATACMS ), aircraft or BGM-109 Tomahawk . Hanging on a parachute, these would have autonomously searched the target area for the most worthwhile goals with their acoustic sensor. As soon as a target was found, the weapon would have separated from the parachute and would have slid without propulsion to the target, which would have been destroyed with a tandem shaped charge . In this phase, an IR seeker would have taken over the control of the weapon. The E-8 Joint STARS aircraft was developed in parallel to locate the tank units at great distances .

With the fall of the Eastern Bloc and the subsequent elimination of the world's largest tank units, the weapon lost its authorization and further development was discontinued. Only a small number of items had been produced for the MLRS system before it was discontinued; all other variants did not get beyond the planning phase. In addition, serious problems could not be solved until the further development was discontinued, with the acoustic viewfinder in particular causing problems.

GBU-44 Viper Strike

concept

In the course of the war on terror , the development of new weapon systems was given a higher priority again. However, the focus was no longer on the destruction of large Soviet tank units, but on minimizing one's own losses and collateral damage . In the case of the carrier systems, these requirements have led to a steep increase in the use of UAVs , which are mostly relatively small reconnaissance systems with limited capacities.

In order to meet these challenges, the BAT concept was revived and adapted to the new requirements. Both the fault-prone acoustic sensor and the infrared sensor have been removed and replaced by semi-active laser steering. The advantage of semi-active laser steering, in which the weapon follows a laser beam, lies in its very high precision ( CEP <1 m) and that it is a tried and tested technology. The disadvantage is that the target has to be illuminated with a laser until the impact, which either binds the carrier aircraft, a second UAV or a ground unit and thus exposes them to a certain degree of danger. In addition to the high precision, the very small warhead weighing between one and two kilograms (for comparison: AGM-114 Hellfire 9 kg) , depending on the source, should also reduce collateral damage. The weapon is also only 0.9 m long and weighs between 19 and 20 kg, which makes it not even half as heavy as a Hellfire. This enables either a larger number of weapons to be carried or significantly smaller carrier systems.

In the meantime an improved version has been developed, which also has a GPS- based control. This increases the possible range from less than one kilometer to over five kilometers. In addition, the weapon can also be used in bad weather because laser beams are not able to penetrate thick clouds.

Carrier systems

In theory, any modern combat aircraft can be used. The MQ-5 Hunter was the first and so far only one to be equipped with the Viper Strike , which is mainly due to the fact that both systems come from the same manufacturer and that the Hunter is too small to carry the Hellfire, which is more than twice as heavy. Work is currently underway to equip the previously unarmed KC-130J tanker aircraft operated by the USMC and the MC-130W Combat Spear operated by SOCOM with the weapon system. The plans to use the Reaper family ( MQ-1 Predator, MQ-1C Warrior , MQ-9 Reaper ) as carrier systems do not seem to have resulted in any concrete procurement so far.

commitment

The GBU-44 Viper Strike was first used in 2007 in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan .

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