Air Force signs off on production of long-range JDAM

WASHINGTON — The Air Force has approved production of a turbojet-boosted Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), offering a new, long-range strike option for US aircraft, according to manufacturer Boeing. 

The production deal was awarded as a $75 million undefinitized contract, paving the way for the Navy to receive the first kits for the precision munition dubbed the JDAM Long Range, Boeing said in a Wednesday press release. The JDAM, which first saw combat over two decades ago, is a joint program between the Air Force and Navy that cheaply converts unguided bombs into precision munitions using a bolt-on kit, but the standard range was limited to roughly a dozen miles.

The press release did not disclose how many JDAM LR kits would be ordered under the initial contract. According to Boeing, the contract orders what’s called the BSU-111/B Payload Delivery Unit, essentially the full-up kit that when slapped on a dumb bomb creates the new JDAM LR.  

The engine-equipped JDAM dramatically extends the weapon’s range out to over 340 miles for a 500-pound class payload, according to Boeing. An “extended range” variant of the JDAM that’s already in service functions as a glide bomb, but only has a range of over 45 miles, a company fact sheet says. 

“This first production contract is a major milestone for the JDAM LR program, demonstrating our ability to deliver long-range precision-strike capability at a significantly lower cost,” Bob Ciesla, vice president of Boeing precision engagement systems, said in the company’s release. The release added that Boeing invested roughly $100 million internally to develop the weapon, and that “leveraging existing JDAM infrastructure” can help quickly scale production. 

The Navy revealed the long-range modification for the JDAM kit in April. A dual set of flight tests demonstrated the weapon “maintaining consistent guidance directly to its target” at a distance of “approximately 200 nautical miles,” the Navy said at the time. Boeing said in an April press release the first shot of the weapon “landed within meters of its planned target” and a second “successfully incorporat[ed] altitude changes and weapon maneuvering during an otherwise similar flight.”  

The weapon’s green-lit production comes as the Pentagon is pushing industry for cheaper alternatives to pricey munitions, and follows concerns that the US military’s stockpile is being drained by war with Iran.

A diminished inventory of ground-launched, precision munitions previously reported by Reuters could raise the stakes for any US escalation in the conflict, which may have to rely on air-delivered weapons from manned aircraft like fighters and bombers. The JDAM LR could offer those aircraft an opportunity to strike targets at a safer distance. 

Boeing, which tested the JDAM LR on an F/A-18 Super Hornet, said the new weapon can be “rapid[ly] integrat[ed]” with any aircraft capable of carrying JDAM predecessors, which would include fighter jets like the F-15, bombers like the B-52 or even MQ-9A Reaper drones, which have reportedly sustained dozens of losses over Iran.