Raytheon has received a $30.94m fixed-price incentive firm contract from the US Air Force (USAF) for the small diameter bomb II (SDB II), following its achievement of Milestone C.
Under the contract, the company will deliver low-rate initial production for 144 SDB II Lot 1 munitions, 156 SDB II Lot 1 single weapon containers, eight SDB II weapon load crew trainers and conventional munitions maintenance trainers.
In addition, the firm will supply four SDB II Lot 1 practical explosive ordnance disposal system trainers, and data.
Work under this contract will be conducted in Tucson, Arizona, US, and is scheduled for completion by May 2017.
SDB II is an air-launched precision-strike weapon designed to destroy armoured targets from a range of more than 40NM from in adverse weather conditions, with minimal collateral damage.
The bomb is equipped with a dynamic warhead that can destroy both soft and armoured targets. It employees a tri-mode seeker, which operates in three modes, namely millimetre-wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared, as well as a semi-active laser.
The missile is developed under a five-year engineering and manufacturing development phase contract awarded by the USAF in August 2010. It can peer through storm clouds or battlefield dust and debris for engagement with fixed or moving targets.
Having validated SDB II as a weapon that address a critical warfighter need, the US Department of Defense has invested more than $700m in the SDB II programme.
Image: Four ground-training guided bomb unit-39 small-diameter bombs loaded on an F-15E Strike Eagle. Photto: courtesy of Master Sgt. Lance Cheung.
