Alliant Techsystems is contesting the US Air Force's selection of Lockheed Martin to produce 40,000 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers (WCMDs), worth $500 million.
The US defence contractor has lodged an official protest with the US General Accounting Office (GAO), citing questions about the USAF's cost evaluation. As is customary with such protests, all work related to the initial $22 million contract for pilot production of 190 units has been suspended pending the GAO ruling, which is expected in the next few months.
The bomb kit, which will be fitted to Combined Effects Munitions, Gator weapons and Sensor Fused Weapons, eliminates the effects of wind drift using global-positioning-system data. The USAF plans to use the WCMD on various aircraft, including the Boeing B-52H.
Source: Flight International
