The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a $7.5-billion contract for Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits that convert air-launched, unguided bombs into guided munitions.
The contract includes spares, repairs, technical, and Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition sensor kits with an expected completion date of February 29, 2030.
Some JDAMs will go to the US Navy, with nearly $228 million worth going to international customers through foreign military sales.
Costing $25,000 to $84,000 apiece, the number of units to be delivered has not been clarified.
JDAM Kit
The bolt-on guidance package includes a GPS-aided inertial navigation system that allows an aircraft-launched “dumb” gravity bomb to be steered toward the target, even in adverse weather.
A JDAM-fitted bomb can hit a target 17 miles (28 kilometers) away while the JDAM-Extra Range offers a range of 45 miles (72 kilometers).
It can be fitted to bombs with a weight range of 500 pounds (228 kilograms) to 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms).
In Ukraine
An unspecified number of JDAM-ERs were sent to Ukraine in 2023 as part of the US military aid package.
They were expected to enable Ukrainian forces to hit Russian targets beyond the reach of their air- and ground-launched systems, including the HIMARS.
However, Russia’s employment of GPS jammers has muted the system’s battlefield impact.
“I do think there may be concern that the Russians may be jamming the signal used to direct the JDAMs, which would answer why these munitions are not performing in the manner expected and how they perform in other war zones,” Politico quoted former Pentagon official and retired CIA officer Mick Mulroy as saying.
Meanwhile, to address the challenge, the US Air Force has ordered add-on seekers for the system that resist electronic jamming.