Enhanced GBU-44/E scores direct hits The U.S. subsidiary of Europe's MBDA Group is touting the effectiveness of its GBU-44/E Viper Strike munition against vehicles moving at high speed. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. subsidiary of Europe's MBDA Group is touting the effectiveness of its GBU-44/E Viper Strike munition against vehicles moving at high speed. The weapon, it said, repeatedly scored direct hits on fast-moving vehicles during two days of U.S. government-sponsored tests at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The glide bomb, which uses GPS and laser guidance, is a variant of the Brilliant Anti-tank munition originally produced by Northrop Grumman and was dropped from a Cessna Caravan test aircraft. "This proven high-speed target attack capability is a game-changer for warfighters that need to hit very fast vehicles with great precision and from any direction of attack" said Tom Bien, Viper Strike's program manager. MBDA Inc. said the weapon, which features new fast-attack software, is launched from a tube mounted internally or externally on an aircraft. It is to be deployed on the U.S. Marine Corps' KC-130J Harvest Hawk aircraft. Viper Strike is produced at MBDA's facility in Huntsville, Ala. Europe's MBDA Group is a joint venture between BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica.