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The first airborne separation test of a 250-pound inertial navigation system/Global Positioning System-guided GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, or SDB, from the internal weapons bay of an F-22 was successfully carried out during a 5 September flight over the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, California. Maj. Jack Fischer, a 411th Flight Test Squadron test pilot at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California, flew the mission in Raptor 08. This first test, one of a series of SDB releases, was made to ensure the weapon would separate from the aircraft cleanly. The Raptor will be able to carry eight GBU-39s in its main weapons bay.
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