US Raytheon tests ground-launched GBU-53/B StormBreaker bomb for all-weather moving-target strikes.

Raytheon said it completed a test of a ground-launched GBU-53/B StormBreaker at a private range in the Mojave Desert after a 50-day design-to-test sprint. The prototype reached ~20,000 ft using a commercial off-the-shelf rocket motor, aiming to give land forces a precision option against moving targets in poor weather and GPS-contested environments.

On September 24, 2025, the US company Raytheon stated that it had conducted the firing of a ground-launched prototype of the GBU-53/B StormBreaker after a 50-day cycle from design to testing. The firing reportedly took place in spring 2025 at a private test range in the Mojave Desert, and a company video cites March 22, 2025. Powered by a commercial off-the-shelf motor, the munition climbed to about 6,000 meters before behaving like the air-released version. The announcement matters because StormBreaker is already in service as a multi-sensor, network-enabled glide munition for aircraft. Adapting it for ground launch aims to provide land forces with a precision strike option usable in poor weather and in contested electromagnetic environments.
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StormBreaker remains a 250-lb guided munition designed to engage moving targets in all weather at standoff distance, up to about 46 miles under air-release profiles (Picture source: Raytheon)

In terms of characteristics, StormBreaker weighs about 200 pounds, roughly half of which is the warhead. GPS and inertial navigation are combined with a tri-mode seeker that merges imaging, infrared, millimeter-wave radar, and semi-active laser. This sensor suite is intended to follow moving targets in rain, smoke, or fog while preserving a terminal laser option when available. Integration is complete on the F-15E Strike Eagle and planned on the F-35, with a potential configuration of eight weapons internally and eight externally for dense salvos. The weapon is networked, allowing the launching platform to transfer fire control to another node, consistent with the JADC2 approach to moving data among sensors, platforms, and command echelons.

At the program level, StormBreaker remains a 250-lb guided munition designed to engage moving targets in all weather at standoff distance, up to about 46 miles under air-release profiles. Originating from a joint USAF–Navy program, it fits internal bays or external stations and can be released in salvos against multiple targets. It is retargetable after release and connected via Link 16 and UHF, enabling in-flight trajectory updates within a networked architecture. GPS–INS guidance is hardened against jamming. The multi-effects warhead in the 250-lb class provides penetration, fragmentation, and blast against vehicles, light structures, and coastal surface targets. The bomb is roughly 5.75 ft long with a 5.6 ft wingspan and 7 in diameter. Initial flights date to 2012, followed by production lots. In operational use, networking enables third-party cueing, target reallocation, and coordinated engagement of moving columns or fast targets at sea, day or night.

Converting a glide bomb for ground launch requires initial propulsion. From the ground the weapon starts at zero speed and altitude, hence the addition of a first-stage booster to bring it to an energy state comparable to an air release. The wings then deploy, and the profile shifts to the glide phase. Targeting geometry also changes. An aircraft can predesignate and pass data via pod and datalink. A ground launcher will more likely inject initial coordinates and then allow the seeker or the network to refine the intercept. Raytheon has not disclosed range for the ground variant. Open sources often cite about 45 miles for a high-altitude air release. The initial boost will add distance before the glide, but launch angle, winds, and seeker tactics will determine the real envelope.

There is a precedent with GLSDB, created by combining the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb with an M26 rocket motor by Boeing and Saab. The sequence is similar: short boost, separation, wing deployment, controlled glide. GLSDB is often cited at about 80 nautical miles, while the air-released GBU-39 is often around 60 nautical miles, figures that vary with conditions. StormBreaker may differentiate in sensing and networking. The tri-mode seeker and networking features are intended to maintain track on a moving target in weather and at night, in cluttered scenes, which helps when satellite navigation is degraded or datalinks are disrupted. Experience in Ukraine has shown how quickly GPS can be contested and how often munitions must finish the intercept without perfect coordinates.

Beyond the seeker, other points merit attention. The multi-effects warhead supports shaped-charge jets, fragmentation, and blast with a programmable fuze. The moderate mass eases aircraft integration and, on land, allows containerized cells or vehicle pods without heavy chassis. With the airframe and guidance already proven in air service, moving from concept to firing in 50 days is explained by reuse of existing components and a commercial booster.

At the tactical level, a unit equipped with such a round could create attack angles that complement artillery and rockets. A small launcher on a truck or at a fixed site can fire salvos and let the seekers sort moving columns or maritime targets beyond the horizon. In poor weather, the millimeter-wave channel continues to function where purely electro-optical sensors struggle. The datalink supports handover among sensors. A drone can cue, a forward observer can inject coordinates, and a command post can update the track. This supports shoot-and-scoot methods with fewer emissions after launch and reduces reliance on airborne designation when airspace is contested.

One caveat remains: performance parameters for the ground variant are not public. Range envelopes, time of flight, seeker handover logic, and target sets will determine whether it becomes a niche tool or a broader fires option for land forces. Raytheon refers to additional testing in 2025 that should clarify integration, launcher form factor, and reload concepts. If the line retains maximum commonality with the air-launched version, logistics may be simpler for users already operating StormBreaker.

Armed forces, including the US Army, are seeking precise and sustainable effects that can endure electronic warfare and engage moving targets. The spread of precision across echelons is driving interest in munitions fired from dispersed launchers to complicate enemy targeting. A ground-launched StormBreaker fits that logic. It does not replace rockets or heavier missiles, but it could give battalion and brigade echelons a tool for small, fleeting targets under cloud and jamming, from covered positions, in an environment shaped by attrition, dense air defense, and continuous electromagnetic competition.