MBDA unveiled it new SmartGlider family of guided standoff air to ground weapons at Paris Air Show, designed to destroy heavily defended...
MBDA unveiled it new SmartGlider family of guided standoff air to ground weapons at Paris Air Show, designed to destroy heavily defended targets like air defense systems.
With fold-able glider like high-lift-to-drag ratio wings, the SmartGlider have a range of over 100 km and can engage moving/relocatable targets or hardened fixed targets, allowing combat jets to stay at a safe distance from enemy defenses.
They are equipped with optronics and radio frequency sensors to locate and home into the target.
The SmartGlider Light is smallest member in the family, which is 2 meters long and weighs 120 kg. 12 to 18 SmartGlider Lights can be carried on an aircraft thanks to a Hexabomb Smart Launcher (HSL) capable of managing reactive strikes without affecting the pilot’s workload.
For general purpose missions, the SmartGlider Light can be engaged against a wide spectrum of targets, from hardened and defended fixed targets such as hangars, to relocatable targets that can only be destroyed from a standoff distance with significant lethal effects.
The 1,300 kg SmartGlider Heavy is designed to carry a multipurpose warhead of more than 1,000 kg to deal with large and hardened infrastructure.
The SmartGlider family is planned to become operational by 2025.
