Boeing wins $2,2 billion contract for small diameter bombs

Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company won a $2.2 billion contract on Sept. 24 to manufacture and deliver Small Diameter Bombs under a multiyear buy contracting arrangement.

Awarded under the Small Diameter Bomb Increment I weapon program by U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, this is a fixed-price-incentive, firm-target contract worth $2,239,707,532. 

Loading a bomb rack onto an F-15E Strike Eagle (Photo Courtesy U.S. Air Force)

The contract provides for a guaranteed minimum Lot 15 award and a five-year ordering period for Small Diameter Bomb Increment I, focused lethality munition, containers and carriages for the Department of Defense and Foreign Military Sales partner nations, involving Foreign Military Sales to Australia, Belgium, Israel, Japan, Korea, Netherlands and Norway.

Work will be conducted in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be complete by September 2027.

The Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a precise and accurate weapon that allows the combat aircraft to deliver decisive air power. The 250 lb (110 kg) precision-guided glide bomb is intended to provide aircraft with the ability to carry a higher number of more accurate bombs.

SDI I combines GPS and internal inertial navigation to achieve precise guidance accuracy, and has penetrator design with an additional blast and fragmentation capability. It can be set to initiate on impact or a preset height above the intended target, enabling more options for attack.

According to Defense Blog, "Combatant Commanders use SDB I to attack fixed or relocatable targets that remain stationary from weapon release to impact. Units can engage both soft and hardened targets to include communications facilities, aircraft bunkers, industrial complexes, and lightly armored ground combat systems and vehicles."

Boeing states the SDB system is the next generation of low-cost and low collateral-damage precision strike weapons for internal and external carriage. SDBs offer precision guidance, compact size and a range of 60 nautical miles to allow today's soldiers to more accurately prosecute more targets per mission.

This contract comes after a previous contract modification awarded to Boeing by the USAF not to exceed $280 million for Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB) integration and engineering support. Under this contract, Boeing is set to provide SDB weapon integration on selected weapon platforms and support of the fielded weapon system. Work is also being done in St. Louis, expected to be complete in 2024.

The weapon system is currently integrated on the F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor, and AC-130, and the Air Force has the plan to integrate SDB for use on the A-10 Thunderbolt, MQ-9 Reaper, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Stealth Bomber, and the B-52 Stratofortress, according to the modified contract.

For more information about the aircraft fighting systems and defense weapons, follow the Military Field Equipment blog.

Northrup Grumman wins $13.3 billion Contract for Air Force's ICBM System

The Department of the Air Force awarded Northrup Grumman a $13.3 billion Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program Sept. 8.

The contract will provide for the engineering and manufacturing of  GBSD, a US land-based intercontinental ballistic missile system that will replace the Minuteman II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Weapon System. Work will be done in Roy, Utah, and multiple other locations worldwide, and is expected to be completed February 2029.

Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test

Here's why this is important:

Nuclear deterrence has been the cornerstone of national security policy for decades, and is a fundamental factor in the continued protection for the U.S. and its allies, according to a U.S. Air Force release.

“Modernizing the nuclear strategic triad is a top priority of our military,” said Defense Secretary Dr. Mark Esper.  “It’s key to our nation’s defense."

Land-based ICBMs have been part of the United States' primary strategic deterrence for 50 years. They are part of the nuclear-armed triad, which also includes submarine-launched ballistic missiles and long range heavy bombers, developed to protect the U.S. from the Soviet Union. Today, the army needs updated weapons to protect the U.S. from nuclear-armed rogue states and non-state international actors.

The U.S. Airforce undertook a major ICBM modernization program in 1997, with a 15-year ICBM Prime Integration Contract awarded to a team of multiple defense companies led by Northrup Grumman. Since then, the team has been working on modernization of thousands of missile propulsion, guidance, re-entry, and ground system components with the goal of extending the life of the U.S. Minuteman III ICBM to 2030.

The contract awarded Northrup this week advances the U.S.'s ability to maintain a robust, flexible and responsive strategic deterrent to meet changing global threats (ie. the nuclear armed rogue states and non state actors).

On Sept. 2, Air Force Global Strike Command airmen launched an unarmed Miinuteman III with a test re-etry vehicle, verifying the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system and demonstrating that the U.S. nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable and effective to deter twenty-first century threats.

For more information regarding Air Force ICBMs and other military contract work, follow Military Field Equipment on Blogger, and visit AeroBase Group for a wide-selection of military equipment.