Raytheon UK unveils Red Kite precision-guided bomb to equip RAF Typhoons
Sovereign solution would bolster UK stockpiles. Raytheon UK's Red Kite precision-guided weapon is ready to take flight, with the company targeting its integration with the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) Eurofighter Typhoons. The newly launched, lightweight system is being offered as a "cost-effective, high-volume capability" to boost weapons load-out versus Raytheon's existing Paveway IV precision-guided bomb, and to bolster national stockpiles. To speed its development time, the Red Kite uses the airframe from Raytheon's StormBreaker weapon – also referred to as the Small Diameter Bomb II, or GBU-53: a 92kg (204lb), wingkit-equipped glide bomb. The new product has been "fully designed and digitally engineered in the UK" in co-operation with "a consortium of British defence partners", its developer says. "It weighs the same, looks the same and it talks the same, but from a capability perspective we have replaced almost all the 'smarts' within it," says Rich Gates, Raytheon UK's lead for weapons programmes. That has included replacing its guidance system, seeker, fuze and warhead with UK-developed technologies, sourced from as-yet undisclosed partners. "Red Kite will be a 95% British and European weapon, and that fits into the increased localisation and industrialisation that European nations are looking to achieve in the wake of what's happened in Ukraine," Raytheon UK chief executive James Gray told FlightGlobal at the Farnborough air show. FlightGlobal visited Raytheon UK's Harlow site in Essex ahead of the Farnborough air show to get first details on the medium-range utility strike weapon. It would be employed as part of a "high-low mix", offering a lower-cost capability beneath MBDA's powered Spear 3 air-to-surface missile. "This weapon will be optimised for Typhoon," says Rory Hederman, associate director, requirements and capabilities. It also potentially could be carried by additional UK platforms: namely the Lockheed Martin F-35B and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9B Protector. Raytheon UK says its new glide bomb will have four times' the range of the 226kg Paveway IV, and four could fit within each of the F-35's internal weapons bays. The British weapon could be equipped with a US-supplied datalink if required, but that will not be included within the initial offering. "The day one baseline standard is making sure we can keep it cost-effective," Gates notes. "We've delivered tens of thousands of Paveway IVs to our customers, and we've learned a huge amount in that time," he says. He describes the existing weapon as a "super-reliable piece of kit", but adds: "What we are looking for next is… to be more sovereign." The company notes that thanks to its use of "advanced digital modelling technologies, the effector quickly moved from concept to prototype". "On Paveway [IV] it could take six months to make a change – with Red Kite we can design it within a couple of hours," Gates notes. "We have tested this in the real world," he adds, with that work having involved trials of its fuze and warhead, including assessment of penetration and fragmentation performance. "We [also] have flown the guidance system on a drone. We have matured it as far as we can go before an MoD contract. "This would be a weapon to build and fill a stockpile," he says. "We want to get to an always-on [production] capability, while also keeping spiral development." Asked whether the company could also explore creating a containerised capability, Gray says: "There is potential for different launch mechanisms for this. That has influenced some of our design thinking, but there’s nothing concrete at this point." "Ukraine and Iran have demonstrated that campaigns can last for a long time, and there is a need for stockpiles so you can keep going [with supply]," Hederman notes. In addition to its domestic sales campaign, the developer also sees the potential to supply its Red Kite to export customers, including for other Eurofighter operator nations. Additional reporting by Ryan Finnerty.