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Pyros (bomb)

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Place of origin
  
United States

Weight
  
13 pounds (5.9 kg)

Launch platform
  
UAV

Manufacturer
  
Raytheon

Length
  
55 centimetres (22 in)

Pyros (bomb)

Guidance system
  
Dual-mode seeker: semi-active laser guidance plus GPS-INS

The Pyros, previously referred to as the Small Tactical Munition (STM), is a weapon developed by Raytheon, designed to be used by UAVs.

Raytheon successfully conducted flight tests in October 2010, and it may be used to arm the AAI RQ-7 Shadow.

It weighs 13 pounds (5.9 kg), and originally had a 7 lb (3.2 kg) warhead. On April 18, 2011, Raytheon successfully tested a new 5 lb (2.3 kg) warhead for the weapon. Though lighter, the new warhead has a significantly improved blast-fragment capability. Designed for low collateral damage, its lethal radius is only 15 ft (4.6 m), with non-lethal effects extending further but lethality dropping dramatically.

In July 2012, Raytheon claimed the STM could be "months" away from fielding. In early August 2012, Raytheon renamed the munition Pyros and completed the first end-to-end test of the bomb. The test validated the weapon's guidance modes, height-of-burst sensor, electronic safe and arm device, and multi-effects warhead.

On 18 July 2014, Raytheon conducted the first live-fire test of the Pyros. The munition targeted a simulated group of insurgents planting a roadside bomb and used its height-of-burst sensor to detonate several feet above the ground. Dropped from an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m), the Pyros takes 35–40 seconds to reach the ground.

References

Pyros (bomb) Wikipedia