Glide-Bomb Success Turns Attention To Future -- Aviation Week
Proponents of the German precision-guided Hope standoff penetrator glide bomb say it precisely hit its target in flight trials this month, although exact details on the standoff range and impact accuracy are being closely guarded.
Hope has a nominal range exceeding 100 km and accuracy of around 3 meters, using GPS guidance system (with Selected Availability / Anti-Spoofing Module capability) and aided by an inertial navigation system.
Earlier sled tests suggested the 3,000 lb.-class bomb has a penetration capability greater than the U.S. Air Force's 5,000 lb. GBU-28, says a German official.
The recent trial took place at the Swedish flight test center at Vidsel, using a Tornado IDS strike aircraft belonging to the German flight test center (WTD61) at Manching near Munich (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 15).
It follows a similar test last year, which took place on the more restricted Sardinian test range Decimomannu. Vidsel allowed for a more complete assessment of the weapon, according to a project official, and also demonstrated that some performance shortfalls identified a year ago were remedied. Hope met both range and accuracy targets set for the test, he adds.
Nevertheless, the exact production configuration of the weapon remains to be fixed. The trials validated the system's electronic performance, the oblique wing and bomb body, but the design could be adjusted slightly. Moreover, there is still interest in adding a seeker and datalink to allow human intervention, in part to reduce the risk of collateral damage.
A formal development program would likely take about three years.
My Comment: Considering the heavy payload, once developed this weapon can be very destructive on an individual target or .... if launched multiple times .... on the command and control structure of a country. I would also suspect that once the decision is made to launch such a weapon, this weapon will strike a target very quickly, regardless of where that target may be in the world.