Reuters August 26, 2003
Lockheed, Boeing Vie for Bomb Contract
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT.N and Boeing Co. BA.N will know within a week which of them will develop and build a new 250-pound bomb for the U.S. Air Force, a deal valued at $2.5 billion, defense officials said on Tuesday. The Air Force will name one of the two companies as the prime contractor for the new Small Diameter Bomb (SDB), which was formerly known as the Miniaturized Munitions Capability, the officials said.
"It's going to be a winner-takes-all announcement," said one official, who asked not to be named.
Both Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed and Chicago-based Boeing have tested their own versions of the new bomb, which will allow manned and unmanned fighter jets to attack more targets per sortie, under a two-year Air Force program.
The winning company will develop the final version of the new bomb, which is half the size of the smallest bomb the Air Force uses today but can penetrate six feet of reinforced concrete, like a much bigger 2,000-pound BLU-109, according to GlobalSecurity.org, a Virginia-based defense think tank.
The Air Force currently plans to build 24,000 or more SDBs, including 12,000 fixed-target versions and 12,000 moving-target versions.
GlobalSecurity said the size and accuracy of small diameter bombs allows aircraft to carry more munitions to more targets and strike them more effectively with less collateral damage.
The group said the Air Force hopes to deploy the SDB by 2006 on the F-15E, followed by deployment on the F-22, F-35 or Joint Strike Fighter, the F-16, B-2 and a planned unmanned combat air vehicle.
"The small diameter bomb is considered one of the most significant programs on the books because it will dramatically increase the strike capability of every combat aircraft in the inventor," the group said in a report on the weapon.
© Copyright 2003, Reuters
