Boeing awarded U.S. Navy contract for additional laser guidance JDAM bomb sets.

Boeing is awarded $139,808,430 for modification to a previously awarded, fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This modification increases the ceiling of the contract to procure up to 12,000 additional Precision Laser Guidance Sets for the Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM).

Loading of a 2000 lbs GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) onto the wing of an F/A-18 Hornet (Picture source: U.S. Navy/ 1st Class Michael W. Pendergrass)

Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (68.23 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (10.1 percent); St. Louis, Missouri (9.38 percent); Odessa, Missouri (4.37 percent); Simpsonville, South Carolina (4.03 percent); Minneapolis, Minnesota (1.68 percent); and various locations within the continental U.S. (2.21 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2020. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles (28 km). JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 pounds (227 kg) to 2,000 pounds (907 kg). When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) nomenclature, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.

The JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon; rather it is a "bolt-on" guidance package that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The key components of the system consist of a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces, a (body) strake kit, and a combined inertial guidance system and GPS guidance control unit.

The JDAM was meant to improve upon laser-guided bomb and imaging infrared technology, which can be hindered by bad ground and weather conditions. Laser seekers are now being fitted to some JDAMs.