Lockheed Martin has beaten Alliant Techsystems to provide the US Air Force with 40,000 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers (WCMD), a contract totalling about $500 million. The Pentagon awarded the firm an initial $22 million on 27 January for pilot production of 190 units.
The bomb kit, which will be fitted to 30,000 Combined Effects Munitions, 5,000 Gator weapons and 5,000 Sensor Fused Weapons, eliminates the effects of wind drift using global-positioning-system data.
The device addresses a problem revealed during the 1991 Desert Storm bombing campaign, when cluster bombs had to be dropped from relatively low altitudes during bad weather. The WCMD will be used to protect aircraft from anti-aircraft fire since it will allow for high-altitude drops.
Lockheed Martin and Alliant Techsystems competed in a fly-off which required an accuracy of 26m (85ft). Harry Schulte, the USAF's precision strike programme executive officer, says that both the contenders met the desired technical objectives.
Lockheed Martin won the contract because it offered the lowest unit procurement cost: $8,900 versus $9,500. The price is 64% below the $25,000 figure projected three years ago.
The USAF plans to use the WCMD on various aircraft, including the Boeing B-52H, which will achieve an early operational capability in February 1998. WCMD production is scheduled to continue until at least 2005.
Source: Flight International
