Boeing has been awarded a $22 million contract for Laser Small Diameter Bomb all-up rounds and warhead shipping containers, the U.S. Department of Dense said in a release.
The $22,482,383 contract (FA8656-19-F-1005) provides 522 Laser Small Diameter Bomb all up rounds and 131 warhead shipping containers for use by U.S. Special Operations Detachment 1, the Thursday, November 7 release said.
Work is expected to be complete by February 8, 2021.
Precision stand-off strike capability
The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb 1 is a 250-pound precision-guided glide bomb with a stand-off range of more than 74 km (40 nautical miles) when dropped from an aircraft. It uses an advanced anti-jam GPS-aided inertial navigation system to attack fixed or stationary targets, and carries a multipurpose penetrating blast-and-fragmentation warhead with a programmable fuze.
The system was originally designed to enable aircraft to carry a higher number of smaller, more accurate bombs, and many U.S. aircraft can carry a pack of four GBU-39 SDBs in place of a single 2,000-pound bomb. The GBU-39 was launched from F-22s to strike Taliban drug factories in Afghanistan in November 2017.
The GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bomb variant integrates the JDAM’s semi-active laser, enabling the bomb to hit targets moving at up to 80 km/h (50 mph). It has been fielded by the U.S. Special Operations Command since 2014.
In September Boeing was awarded a $280 million integration and engineering support contract for the Small Diameter Bomb 1, and in late May, the company was awarded a $35 million contract for Small Diameter Bomb integration, sustainment and support for foreign military sales customers, bringing the total cumulative face value of that contract to $100 million.
More than 20,000 SDBs have been produced and 10,000 have been used in combat, according to Saab. The weapon is in service in the militaries of 15 states, including the U.S. Air Force and the Norwegian Air Force.
A third variant of the glide bomb, Raytheon’s GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II, has been rebranded “StormBreaker.” It adds a tri-mode seeker that enables radar and infrared homing, as well as semi-active laser guidance, and reportedly features target recognition.