Since the beginning of the massive attacks ordered by President Trump against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the United States Navy has been actively employing its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters in strikes against ground targets. Through the various videos officially published by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the diverse air-to-ground weaponry being used in these operations has been documented. Among these, the presence of the new GBU-53/B StormBreaker glide bombs aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) has stood out, indicating that their first combat deployment may have taken place.
Designated as the GBU-53/B, the StormBreaker is a new precision-guided smart bomb developed by Raytheon, currently being introduced into the main aerial combat platforms of the U.S. Armed Forces. Among these, the USAF’s F-15E and F-35A stand out, while the U.S. Navy is expected to equip its F/A-18 Super Hornets and F-35Cs with the weapon.
The bomb employs a tri-mode seeker with infrared imaging and a millimeter-wave radar that, according to the American company, allows it to “see through fog, smoke, and rain” and is “capable of gliding more than 72 km.” The weapon offers the option to “add propulsion” or “change the seeker” depending on the mission, and it can be launched from one platform while being controlled from another. Additionally, it can be used to attack and destroy enemy armored vehicles.
Returning to the events reported in the Middle East, CENTCOM has been releasing a series of videos of operations aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, in which the variety of weaponry being used by the embarked combat aircraft can be observed.
In the sequence that went viral on March 21, the presence of AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) glide bombs, AGM-84H/K Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) air-to-ground missiles, JDAM bombs, and AGM-88E AARGM anti-radiation missiles can be seen. However, what has caught the attention of specialists is the confirmation of the presence of the new StormBreaker glide bombs, which are now being introduced into the ground attack capabilities that the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets can deploy.
Following the March 21 video, another sequence is said to have confirmed the first recorded combat deployment of the GBU-53/B when a Super Hornet was spotted taking off on a combat mission equipped under its wings with this new type of glide bomb, marking its first operational use.
Although the U.S. Air Force had approved its use as the “Small Diameter Bomb II” – its original designation – on its F-15E fighters in October 2020, a series of issues with the software and guidance system delayed these plans. Additionally, concerns were raised regarding its operation, particularly related to its folding wings. By 2021, the service determined that the new glide bomb required additional work before reaching operational deployment.
More than three years after these reports, the use of the StormBreaker represents a new milestone for the program, which is not only significant for the U.S. Air Force and Navy but also for other countries that have confirmed its adoption, such as the German and Finnish Air Forces, which will operate them from their future F-35A stealth fighters. This also applies to current operators of fifth-generation combat aircraft like Italy and Norway, which already have purchase orders placed with Raytheon and approved by the U.S. State Department.
Looking ahead, in addition to the necessary maturation of capabilities in the current F-15 and Super Hornet fleets, further integration and launch tests are expected across all F-35 variants, with the “A” version seemingly being the first to operate it, launching from its internal weapon bays.
*Cover photo used for illustration purposes.
