Boeing has secured a $75 million Undefinitized Contract Action from the U.S. Air Force for the BSU-111/B Payload Delivery Unit used in the GBU-75 Joint Direct Attack Munition Long Range, clearing the long-range precision weapon for initial production for the U.S. Navy. The award, issued from St. Charles, Missouri, follows Boeing’s internal development investment of nearly $100 million and advances the JDAM LR from testing into manufacture.
The JDAM LR is designed as a long-range standoff munition that extends the reach of the JDAM family beyond standard and extended-range variants. Boeing says the weapon can travel more than 300 nautical miles with a 500-pound-class payload by combining a wing kit with a compact turbojet engine on the JDAM guidance core.
The contract covers the BSU-111/B PDU, the key delivery component of the system, and Boeing presents it as the first production contract for the programme. The U.S. Navy is expected to be the first customer, giving the service a lower-cost precision strike option with substantially greater reach than conventional JDAM weapons.