USAF orders SDB rounds for USSOCOM
Boeing has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to provide several hundred Laser Small Diameter Bombs, as well as associated warhead shipping containers, to be used by US Special Operations Detachment 1.
The contract, worth $22.5 million and the result of a sole source delivery order, was announced on 7 November and covers the acquisition of 522 rounds and 131 warhead shipping containers.
Work will be carried out at Boeing’s St Louis facility in Missouri, and is expected to be completed by February 2021.
FY20 procurement funds totalling $21.5 million and research, development, test and evaluation funds of $948,567 were obligated at the time of the award.
According to the Department of Defense, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida is the contracting activity for the award.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Defence Notes
-
![“Engage with the operational problem”: how software innovation can boost UK defence]()
“Engage with the operational problem”: how software innovation can boost UK defence
In Conversation… Shephard’s Andrew White talks to Zafer Şen, CEO and co-founder of OBSS, about the future of command-and-control software in the age of artificial intelligence, and his company’s ambitions in the UK defence market.
-
![“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money]()
“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
-
![Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline]()
Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
-
![Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons]()
Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
-
![UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour]()
UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour
A report from the Council on Geostrategy argues the UK should move away from a traditional balanced force and shift investment to naval, air and space capabilities, backed by a larger fleet of attack submarines and deeper AUKUS integration.
