Boeing and Lockheed Martin have submitted bids to complete development of the USAir Force's small diameter bomb (SDB), with contractor selection expected next month.
The contract will include options for the first two production lots, out of a planned total of 24,000 of the 155kg (340lb)-class precision-guided weapons.
Both companies are nearing the end of $47 million component advanced development contracts awarded in September 2001. Boeing began flight testing in February, followed in July by Lockheed Martin. The baseline satellite/inertial-guided SDB is intended for use against fixed targets, with a 75km (40nm) stand-off range and penetration capability equivalent to the current 900kg BLU-109 hard-target bomb.
Boeing's bid draws heavily on its JDAM family of 225kg, 450kg and 900kg GPS-guided munitions. The company's SDB uses MDBA's Diamond Back range-extension wing kit.
Lockheed Martin's approach draws on its JASSM cruise missile and WCMD munitions dispenser and is believed to involve the LongShot wing kit developed by Leigh Aerospace.
Source: Flight International
