The Yemeni Houthi armed group, which has successively shot down the US MQ-9 "Reaper" reconnaissance drones, has done another great job. According to a report by American media "The War Zone" on April 25, a photo of an intact GBU-53/B Storm Breaker glide bomb (also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II, SDB II) lying on a beach in the Aslan area of Shabwa Province in southeastern Yemen is circulating on social media. This has caused panic among US media, who are very concerned about the high risk of technology leakage.

(An intact GBU-53/B Storm Breaker glide bomb lies on a beach in the Aslan area of Shabwa Province in southeastern Yemen)

Because this weapon is one of the cutting-edge weapons that the US military has been focusing on developing in recent years. It uses a triple-mode seeker head, finds targets using infrared imaging or millimeter-wave radar, or searches for targets using semi-active laser guidance. While it can be called a glide bomb, it feels somewhat inaccurate. After being dropped, this glide bomb will receive real-time data and adjust its flight path based on changes in the target's position, similar to a guided missile.

(F/A-18F fighter jet carrying the Storm Breaker)

It is much stronger than the previous GBU-39/B (SDB I), and is one of the most important weapons for the United States. It will become a pillar of America's arsenal and the main weapon of the F-35 fighter jets, capable of attacking armored formations, missile sites, and surface ships, among other targets.

A month ago, the US Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Yemen with Storm Breaker bombs, but surprisingly, it "dropped" on the beach for some unknown reason. Based on its completeness, it doesn't seem to have been intercepted.

(F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Yemen with Storm Breaker bombs)

US media stated that the bomb is likely to have fallen into the hands of the Houthi armed group and remains intact, meaning that the GBU-53/B Storm Breaker glide bomb may bring quite a significant unexpected gain to the Houthis.

The view of US media is rather "weird" — since the Houthi armed group is supported by Iran, and Iran has close cooperation with China and Russia in certain fields, US media believe that this armed organization will hand over the GBU-53/B Storm Breaker glide bomb to the main rivals of the United States for research. Although US media did not explicitly mention China, from the four words "main rival," we can guess that it refers to China.

(Houthi armed group)

In addition, what worries US media the most, as mentioned earlier, is the "triple-mode seeker head" equipped on the GBU-53/B Storm Breaker. Americans are very afraid that China or Russia might obtain such technology or discover vulnerabilities in American technology through "reverse engineering."

To be fair, the paranoia of Americans about being persecuted is quite serious, and they always want to blame China for everything. We do not deny the excellent aspects of the GBU-53/B Storm Breaker, nor do we deny some innovative inventions in the US military field. However, after more than 30 years of development, China already has its own unique military technologies — the first flights of J-36 and J-50 fighters are the best proof. China does not need to waste effort studying a "wreck."

(US military loading glide bombs on aircraft)

Moreover, these glide bombs are indeed very effective in asymmetric warfare, being cheap, powerful, and accurate. However, they have little use in major power conflicts. Instead of researching this, we should focus on researching long-range rocket launchers, which are more practical than studying the GBU-53/B Storm Breaker.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497540071164314139/

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