RAMON LOPEZ / WASHINGTON DC
Raytheon loses out as final two contractors proceed to CAD phase of GPS-aided weapons system competition
The US Air Force has awarded Boeing Phantom Works and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control multi-million dollar contracts to start development of a Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). Raytheon has been eliminated.
The two winners each received $47 million to complete the component advanced development (CAD) phase, previously known as the preliminary design review.
Both firms will develop 125kg (250lb) class global positioning system (GPS)-guided weapons and carriage systems for integration on various aircraft, including the Boeing F-15, Lockheed Martin F-16, Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22, Lockheed Martin F-117 Stealth Fighter, the Joint Strike Fighter and unmanned combat air vehicles.
The appeal is greater weapon load. For example, the Northrop Grumman B-2 could carry up to 200 SDBs.
The two-year contracts will refine company designs for the weapon and bomb rack. Boeing says its SDB could evolve from previous small bomb work. Lockheed Martin's offer is based on a new design, 178mm (7in) in diameter and 1,220-1,320mm long.
The USAF will select one contractor to enter the system design and development phase, formerly known as engineering and manufacturing development, conduct flight testing, and produce over 100,000 weapons.
The USAF's fiscal year 2002 budget request includes $40 million to begin development. The initial weapon would be fielded in 2006-7.
To be conducted in three phases, the initial work will provide a near-precision GPS/intertial navigation system-guided fixed-target weapon with a range of up to 110km (60nm). The second phase would add a terminal seeker, such as a laser radar or infra-red millimetre wave, for increased accuracy against fixed and moving targets. Boeing says it has teamed with Northrop Grumman to develop the mobile target variant. The third phase would yield a different weapon - similar to Lockheed Martin's Low Cost Auto-nomous Attack System (LOCAAS) with wide area search capability.
The SDB has evolved from work at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate in Florida and is one of several programmes under way to produce smaller, more effective weapons. The Miniaturised Munition Capability programme builds on Boeing's Small Smart Bomb and the LOCAAS research.
As an interim small precision attack solution, the USAF is already looking at a Mk82 227kg bomb with a Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kit.
Source: Flight International
