widens

The U.S. Air Force is seeking options for a new unpowered 500-pound air-launched glide bomb as part of a new ‘spiral’ to its Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) program. The service has already been acquiring two different lower-cost jet-powered cruise missiles under ERAM, including batches of these munitions for Ukraine. Adding glide bombs to the mix could create additional streams of even cheaper weapons that still offer valuable extended reach.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Stand-In Strike division (AFLCMC/EBI) put out a request for information (RFI) for what it is currently calling Extended Range Attack Munition Glide (ERAM Glide) on Monday. AFLCMC/EBI also put out a separate RFI for additional powered ERAM options.

For ERAM Glide, a “500lb class weapon desired, with the equivalent warhead with approximately 105lbs of explosive and associated fuzes,” according to the contracting notice. The warhead has to be “capable of blast / frag / and limited penetration effects.”

For navigation, proposed munitions have to use “M-Code GPS with a CRPA [Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna] antenna capable of operating in a GPS degraded environment,” the notice adds. It does not call for any particular form of guidance in the terminal phase.

However, ERAM Glide munitions will need to have an accuracy of “CEP [Circular Error Probable] 50 w/in 10m both in non-EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) and high EMI environments (includes GPS degraded).” This means they hit, on average, within 10 meters, or approximately 33 feet, of the specified impact point at least 50 percent of the time. This also happens to be the stated accuracy requirement in the original ERAM RFI put out back in 2024.

The ERAM Glide contracting notice notably does not include a range target, but does specify “glide ratio of at least 10:1, and >15:1.” When it comes to unpowered glide munitions, range is especially dependent on the speed and altitude of the launch platform. Tactics like toss bombing can also help extend the reach of glide munitions even when the launching aircraft starts at a lower altitude.

The Air Force is also looking for munition designs that are already at a high level of developmental and production maturity for ERAM Glide.

There are potentially relevant munitions in production today in the United States. A prime example is Boeing’s Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER). The JDAM-ER is really more of a kit that turns various types of unguided bombs into the ‘warheads’ for the resulting precision-guided munitions. JDAM-ER builds on the basic JDAM concept by adding a pop-out wing kit that allows the weapons to glide out to a maximum range of around 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) depending on the aforementioned launch factors. A standard JDAM can also glide, but only for around 15 miles (24 kilometers) at most, according to the Air Force. JDAM-ER kits are available in 500-, 1,000-, and 2,000-pound-class flavors.

DST | The Joint Direct Attack Munition – Extended Range (JDAM-ER) | Andrew Snowden

There are other glide bomb options on the open market in the U.S. and elsewhere globally today, as well. This includes the SPICE family from Israel’s Rafael and the French AASM 250 Hammer, among others. However, many of them are smaller than the 500-pound-class weapons the Air Force is seeking for ERAM Glide.

For ERAM Glide, prospective vendors might also put forward unpowered derivatives of lower-cost cruise missiles. Eliminating the need for an engine and fuel to power it could free up additional space and weight for larger warheads or other payloads, or just lower overall weight. Reduced weight could, in turn, translate to extended glide range. Developing an unpowered variation of an existing design could also offer sustainment and manufacturing benefits, as well as reduce unit costs. There might even be a possibility for a modular design that can be readily configured for powered or unpowered use.

As already mentioned, the Air Force is already acquiring two lower-cost cruise missile designs through ERAM. These are the Rusty Dagger from Zone 5 Technologies (now a subsidiary of Norwegian defense company Kongsberg) and CoAspire’s Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile (RAACM). Zone 5 and CoAspire are already developing extended-range variants and derivatives of their respective designs for air- and surface-launched applications through two other U.S. military programs called Low-Cost Containerized Missile (LCCM) and Consolidated Affordable Ordnance System (CHAOS).

ERAM, as well as CHAOS, are also heavily focused on providing lower-cost extended-range strike options to allies and partners. Ukraine was notably the first known recipient of munitions through ERAM. At the same time, the ERAM effort, and its subsequent spirals, have also been feeding into the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) program for the U.S. Air Force’s own use. ERAM Glide could similarly help provide additional munition streams for the U.S. military, as well as for export.

Overall, the broadening of the ERAM program to include ERAM Glide speaks to growing demand within the U.S. military, and elsewhere globally, for enlarged and more diversified supply chains for munitions. The Air Force alone plans to acquire 28,000 lower-cost cruise missiles in multiple different configurations over the next five years through FAMM.

The war with Iran, as well as other crises around the Middle East in recent years, together with the conflict in Ukraine, have made clear that just stockpiling munitions ahead of a major fight is not enough. There also have to be realistic mechanisms to readily replenish those inventories, and do so in a cost-effective manner.

There has already been an explosion globally in the development of lower-cost air- and surface-launched cruise missiles for programs like ERAM. Many of these designs also blur the line between traditional cruise missiles, longer-range one-way-attack drones, and decoys. As noted earlier, the Air Force has also put out a call for new powered ERAM designs as part of the latest spiral to the program.

As these trends continue to grow, the Air Force is now looking to expand the ERAM program to include both powered and unpowered munitions.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

SACRAMENTO — Xavier Becerra is poised to make history as California’s first elected Latino governor, according to a new poll.

But the survey shows voters, and Latinos in particular, have mixed views on the significance and impact of Becerra’s probable win.

According to the poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, the veteran Democratic politician was backed by 61% of likely California voters, compared with 34% who supported his Republican rival, former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton. That is slightly up from a September IGS survey that showed Becerra leading by 25 percentage points.

“He’s solidified almost unanimous support now among Democrats. Republicans are almost unanimous in the other direction,” IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said.

Becerra, a former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, congressman and state attorney general, “hasn’t offended any significant parts of the Democratic Party” and has united the party’s voters by “hammering away” against President Trump, DiCamillo said.

When asked to name one or two top priorities for the election, 40% of likely voters chose pushing back against the Trump administration, followed by 34% who cited reducing the cost of living. It’s a reversal from the mid-September survey, when 44% of likely voters said the cost of living was a top issue and 37% listed fighting Trump.

Both of those issues far outweighed the concerns of California voters about other issues that dominated the political discourse in past elections, including fighting crime, creating jobs and improving public education and healthcare.

Becerra’s supporters “are over the top on fighting Trump administration policies,” DiCamillo said. “I mean, 62% of his supporters state that as their greatest concern in this election. It’s really uniting the Democrats.”

The veteran pollster attributed the surge in anti-Trump sentiment in recent weeks to actions that “irritate” Democrats, such as the federal government’s quest to find illegal voting in California elections, continuing immigration raids and the president’s downplaying voter concerns about inflation and gas prices.

The survey reveals a generational split between voters: Those younger than 50 were more likely to name the cost of living as a top issue, while voters 50 and older were more likely to name Trump’s policies.

Latino voters were more evenly split between the two issues, and more focused on other needs than voters of other ethnic and racial groups. They were more likely to list priorities including reducing taxes, fighting crime and protecting immigrant communities than white, Black, or Asian American likely voters.

Days before voting ends in the Nov. 3 election, 53% of likely voters have a favorable view of Becerra and 41% see him unfavorably. Hilton’s image continues its upside-down trend: 56% view him unfavorably and 34% have a positive opinion.

“There’s been a lot of negative campaigning by Hilton, but it doesn’t seem to have had any impact,” DiCamillo said. “Becerra is just riding high on his image rating with the voters. This is the highest image rating we’ve measured for him.”

The survey asked voters whom they expected to win the race, regardless of which candidate they are supporting. Ninety percent of Democrats and 80% of voters not affiliated with a major party expected Becerra to win. Half of Republicans and 58% of those who identify as MAGA said they believed Hilton will win — a striking number in a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1 and the GOP has not won a statewide race in 20 years.

“They are hoping against hope,” DiCamillo said.

If he wins Tuesday’s election to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, Becerra would become the first-ever Latino elected governor and the first Latino in that office in 150 years.

Becerra’s support among Latino and white voters closely mirrors that of the overall electorate, with 60% favoring him. Becerra received a warmer reception from Black and Asian American voters in the state, according to the poll.

Asked how they felt about the possibility of electing a Latino governor, just over a third of all likely voters and 45% of Latino voters said they felt “proud.” But majorities of both groups — 52% of Latino voters and 58% of likely voters — believe electing the state’s first Latino governor is either “not too important” or “not at all important.”

For better or worse, voters also have low expectations about the impact of a potentially historic election.

Sixty-one percent of likely Latino voters, and 57% of total voters surveyed, do not believe that having a Latino governor would reduce racial inequalities in the state. And similar numbers doubt it would worsen racial tensions.

Among Latino voters, 40% believed electing a Latino governor would ease fear in their communities, but 43% disagreed. The remainder had no opinion.

“While greater than 4 in 10 Latinos feel proud and think it is important to elect a Latino governor, they also recognize that it will take much more than a single elected official to ease the fears and difficulties experienced by the Latino immigrant community,” IGS Co-Director G. Cristina Mora said. “With Trump still in office and prices still high, Latino voters seem cautious yet hopeful about the new governor.”

The poll was conducted online in English and Spanish from Oct. 19 to Sunday. Responses for the governor’s race poll came from a weighted sample of 1,477 respondents who already voted or were considered likely to vote in the November election, from a larger group of 2,787 registered voters throughout California. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.