ST. LOUIS, 20 April 2012. The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] received a $12.5 million contract from U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on March 12 for 1,116 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (Laser JDAM) sensors. This is NAVAIR's third Low Rate Initial Production order for its Direct Attack Moving Target Capability (DAMTC). It follows an $8.3 million NAVAIR order for 700 laser sensors on Jan. 31.
Deliveries for both laser sensor contracts will begin in April and continue through February 2013.
JDAM is a guidance kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into near precision-guided weapons. Laser JDAMs have added the capability to prosecute moving targets, maritime threats and other relocatable targets of opportunity. The JDAM kit is modular so that the product can mature with a variety of other technological upgrades, such as wing kits that triple its range, improved immunity to GPS jamming, and an all-weather radar sensor.
Boeing completed the development and testing cycle for its Laser JDAM less than 17 months after it was identified as an operational need in early 2007. The company delivered the first production laser sensor kits to the U.S. Air Force in May 2008 and to the U.S. Navy in October 2008. Laser JDAM was employed by the Air Force in combat in Iraq in August 2008. NAVAIR's first Low Rate Initial Production order under DAMTC was a March 2011 contract for 700 Laser JDAM kits.
Since starting JDAM production in 1998, Boeing has built more than 230,000 JDAM tail kits in its St. Charles, Mo., facility on time for use by the U.S. Department of Defense and 26 international militaries.
