Boeing Awarded $65 Million to Sell Small Diameter Bomb

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Boeing has been awarded with a $65 million contract to provide small diameter bomb to 12 nations over the course of 10 years. The contract’s terms include technical support and integration of the bomb into the relevant systems. Boeing is responsible for testing, engineering, managing, technical and logistical support of the bombs.

Spacedaily.com mentions that, along with Israel, the 11 other countries that are to receive the precision bombs are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, South Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Singapore. The number of bombs sold to each country, however, was not specified.

Work on the bombs will be performed at Boeing’s St. Louis plant, as well as at various Air Force testing sites in each respective country. The work on the bombs is expected to be complete by April 2019.

The small diameter bomb, better known as GBU-39B, is a lightweight and more modern alternative to the older generation of precision bombs. The bomb’s light weight allows bombers to be able to carry more of each bomb at a time.

The GBU-39B weighs in at 250 pounds, and is 70.8 inches long and 7.5 inches wide.

The bomb’s small size also allows it to be able to retract wings and glide, up to 60 nautical miles, into its target. This, as well as the small size, reduces collateral damage done by the GBU-39B drastically.

Boeing was first selected to develop and build the system by the United States Air Force back in 2003.

In 2015, the U.S. initially approved Raytheon’s take on the small diameter bomb, which, unlike Boeing, is capable of attacking moving targets.