Posted on 04/25/2025 9:40:30 PM PDT by Red Badger
Cutting-edge StormBreaker was only recently confirmed as being used in combat and could be of major intelligence value to an adversary.
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The wreckage of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker glide bomb, also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), has appeared in Yemen. The weapon, which was only recently confirmed as being used in combat in that country, offers some very advanced capabilities, especially over the previous GBU-39/B SDB I. It is set to become one of America’s most important and widely employed weapons, across its own aerial fleets and many of its allies. With that in mind, the technological risk of the remains of this still near-completely intact weapon falling into an adversary’s hands is significant.
Photos showing the StormBreaker laying in the sand began to circulate recently on social media. Reportedly, the weapon was found by citizens in the Asilan area within the Shabwah governorate, a region in southeast Yemen (not in the northeast of the country, as some accounts have implied). The weapon has clearly not detonated and appears to have had its impact cushioned by desert sand, leaving it in one piece. Its pop-out wings are seen in a partially deployed position.
It’s unclear what happened to the StormBreaker, but the relatively limited nature of the damage strongly suggests it had had a technical failure, rather than being brought down by enemy fire. We don’t know if this is the first time this has happened, but it appears to be the first time it has been publicly documented.
A month ago, TWZ reported on what appeared to be the first evidence of the StormBreaker being used in combat by the U.S. Navy, after official videos were published showing missions against the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. This included footage of StormBreakers being carried by U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, as well as being prepared by armorers about the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).
The new photos of the StormBreaker wreckage in Yemen confirm that the weapon has actually been used in combat.
As we have reported in the past, many of the StormBreaker’s key advantages lie in the weapon’s tri-mode guidance system, which can find targets using imaging infrared or millimeter-wave radar or by employing semi-active laser homing to hit a designated aimpoint.
Another notable feature of the StormBreaker is its ability to communicate with the aircraft carrying it via onboard datalink. This means the weapon can be launched and, if required, redirected to a new target once in flight, as well as receiving regular midcourse updates.
The weapon can also glide fully on its own guidance using a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system, after which it can strike a specific coordinate or begin searching for a target. This provides considerable flexibility, with the weapon able to engage both stationary and moving targets, including at night or in bad weather, at standoff distances.
Based on figures released by the U.S. Air Force, the StormBreaker can hit stationary targets at a maximum of 69 miles and moving targets at 45 miles.
The StormBreaker’s compact dimensions — including a length of just 69 inches, a diameter of no more than seven inches, and relatively light weight of 204 pounds — mean that an individual aircraft can carry a significant quantity, allowing more targets to be prosecuted. So far, however, the F/A-18E/F has only been seen carrying StormBreaker on twin smart racks, as evidenced aboard the USS Harry S. Truman during the Houthi strikes.
The StormBreaker is being used as part of ongoing strikes by the U.S. military against Houthi targets in Yemen, launched by President Donald Trump last month, as we reported at the time. This latest campaign was spurred by the Houthis saying they would resume attacks on Israeli-linked ships over the blockade of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
As well as the StormBreaker, airstrikes against the Houthis have seen a wide variety of interesting weapons employed, including a significant proportion of standoff types. Among these, the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) glide bomb has been prominent, as well as the AGM-84H/K Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missile, and the more familiar Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). Earlier this week, we saw an EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft carrying four AGM-88 series missiles, as you can read about here.
A U.S. Navy EA-18G loaded with four AGM-88 series anti-radiation missiles launches from the deck of the carrier USS Harry S. Truman in support of operations against the Houthis in April 2024. U.S. Navy The extensive use of standoff weaponry, as well as the employment of B-2 stealth bombers, reflects the real threat posed by the Houthis’ air defense arsenal, something that you can read about in depth here. Most obviously, the Yemeni militants have been able to down a significant number of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones. A U.S. defense official told TWZ earlier this week that the militants have or are suspected to have brought down six MQ-9s since March 15. Last month, an unnamed U.S. defense official told Stars and Stripes that the Houthis had downed 12 Reapers since October 2023.
Returning to the StormBreaker wreckage, the fact that this is now very likely in Houthi hands, as well as being notably intact, means that it could present a fairly significant intelligence windfall. Bearing in mind the Houthis’ sponsorship by Iran and that country’s military and broader strategic connections to both China and Russia, it’s very conceivable that technologies from the weapon could now be exploited by some of America’s key adversaries.
In particular, the tri-mode guidance system would be of great interest, as is its datalink and navigation suite. Access to this kind of technology could help any of these countries in the development of their own weapons and, just as critically, reveal weaknesses in the U.S.-made system that could be exploited in terms of countermeasures. Along with the guidance package, each StormBreaker is packed with other high-tech components, including other electronics, a potent but compact warhead, and even the materials used in its construction. All of these would also warrant close study by an adversary.
This is especially true as this advanced weapon is packed with high-end capabilities will that will be a backbone of U.S. weapons stocks going forward, including being a primary weapon for the F-35. It can be used to prosecute armored formations, SAM sites, and ships, among other target sets. So being able to dissect its exact capabilities and technological advancements is a big deal. While many weapons have been lost in a semi-intact state in Ukraine, none have been this new or densely packed with capabilities. It would be near the top of Russia and China’s list of weapons with disruptive capabilities that they would want to copy for their own use and examine in order to learn how to better defend against it.
Of course, before the StormBreaker was used in Yemen, the technological risk involved would have been considered. After all, whatever the reliability of weapons like this, every weapon has a failure rate and there’s always a possibility they will fall into an adversary’s hands once exposed to combat. But one falling into the enemy’s hands in such an intact state is certainly an unwelcome development for the Pentagon.
How did the US military get Thor’s Ax?
Sales clerk scanning the bomb at the check out stand, “Do you want the 10 year electronics warranty on this fuze too?”
Government lawyer, “No, just the bomb. The regular warranty. See, it says right here in the fine print “Guaranteed not to break under normal use and conditions for 90 days.
Handle with care. Do not drop.” “
How often might those self-destruct charges accidentally go off while our planes are carrying those live weapons, de8stroyong our planes and killing our pilots? No thanks.
“Sales clerk scanning the bomb at the check out stand, “Do you want the 10 year electronics warranty on this fuze too?””
I expect that the DOD’s Chinese electronic components (since we no longer bother making our piece-parts) have some ‘duds’ in them, EXACTLY for this purpose.
“How often might those self-destruct charges accidentally go off while our planes are carrying those live weapons, de8stroyong our planes and killing our pilots? No thanks.”
As often as the main charges go off. You’re either armed or not armed.
I still remember Gary Powers and the U-2 spy plane shot down over the former USSR in 1960.
Also, one of our most advanced stealth helicopters in Pakistan when Obama killed bin Laden.
The stealth helo was blown up by USA troops, but it is impossible to destroy every classified technology.
U-2 wreckage in a Moscow museum...
The good news - since the USA is rarely attacked, we do not get as many intact foreign weapons as our enemies do.
Hah! First thing I ever did to make my wife laugh was a “Marvin The Martian” voice impersonation. “OH No, Someone has stolen my Plutonium U-238 modulator!”
Lowest bidder.................
The U.S. had radar fused artillery shells that could produce air bursts far more effectively than timed or barometric fuses during World War II. They were withheld from combat until the Battle of the Bulge, for fear of the Germans reverse engineering them, as they did with bazookas captured in North Africa.
If you throw ordinance around, a certain amount of duds will fall into enemy hands. Probably the most valuable intelligence lost is a crypto-keyed GPS receiver. The keys have a limited validity life, and are supposed to be tamperproof. A competent enemy (e.g., China) could get an appreciation of the performance of military GPS, but not reproduce it, at least in principle.
Salvage fusing is more or less a default feature of ordinance. Nothing is 100% reliable.
When I last worked on Patriot, around 2014, Chinese parts were excluded from DoD contracts, with certain exceptions. Pretty much everything was U.S. made. The only exception I recall was LCD displays in the engagement control station to replace LED numeric displays (like on clocks) because China was the only source. The contract required a 20-year buy, in other words the logistic chain was loaded with 20 years of spares. If the spares got short, alternatives could be found.
Around 1998, someone at Beech Aircraft, then a Raytheon subsidiary, purchased Chinese hardware for Air Force training aircraft, because they were cheaper. He forgot to include the cost of the associated fines and the end of his career. Everyone at Raytheon was required to attend a hastily thrown together hectoring “ethics class”. What was most infuriating was being lectured about ethics by a government headed by Willian Jefferson Clinton.
Agreed! Looks fake based on the size of the sand grains.
I seriously doubt any of those ever being sold or given to Ukraine. They don’t have the advanced capabilities to use them.
Definitely not saying it is real (you can see the excess spray paint on the whole thing).
Wouldn’t it be funny if it was booby trapped so if someone tries to reverse engineer it it explodes.🤔
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