B-2 drops JDAM
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$46.3 million to Kaman for 12,994 JPF fuzes for JDAMs. (March 15/10)

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This DID FOCUS Article looks at the transformational history of the JDAM GPS-guided bomb program, the ongoing efforts to bring its capabilities up to and beyond the level of weapons like Israel’s Spice and Raytheon’s Enhanced Paveway, and the contracts issued under the JDAM program and its derivatives.

Precision bombing has been a significant military goal since the invention of the Norden bomb sight in the 1920s, but its application remained elusive. Over 30 years later, in Vietnam, the destruction of a single target could require 300 bombs, which meant sending an appropriate number of fighters or bombers into harm’s way to deliver them. Even the 1991 Desert Storm war with Iraq featured unguided munitions for the most part; the US Air Force did use some laser and TV-guided weapons like Paveway bombs and Maverick missiles, but they were very expensive and only effective in good weather. If precision bombing was finally to become a reality throughout the Air Force, a new approach would be needed. The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) became that alternative, an engine of military transformation that was also a model of procurement transformation.

• JDAM: A History of Transformation
• JDAM: Program & Variants [updated]
• JDAM: Contracts and Key Events, 1996 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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GBU-39: Gotcha.
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March 10/10: Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO won an $8.8 million contract for 100 “focused lethality munition” variants of the GPS-guided Small Diameter Bomb Phase I. At this time, the entire amount has been committed by the 681th ARSS at Eglin Air Force Base, FL (FA8672-10-C-0013, P00002).

The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb is a specially shaped 250-pound bomb. Its thin and pointed shape gives it extra punch against buildings and hardened targets, its pop-out wings give it very good glide range, and its JDAM-like GPS/INS guidance kit gives it precision. GBU-39 Phase II bombs will add the ability to strike moving targets.

While there have been true stories of “cement bombs” designed to lower collateral damage, “Focused Lethality Munitions” take a higher-tech tack. This Small Diameter Bomb variant changes the bomb’s casing and internal fill, in order to produce more devastating effects within a smaller area. A carbon-fiber bomb body disintegrates instead of fragmenting, which adds explosive force nearby but largely removes sharpnel issues beyond. Inside, metal particles turn the explosive material into short-range projectiles. The result is especially useful in urban areas, in situations where friendly elements are close to the impact zone, and in campaigns fought using contemporary American counter-insurgency doctrine.

AASM test from
Mirage 2000D
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France’s Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) is similar in concept to the American GPS-guided JDAM bomb, but its execution includes several key differences. The global trend toward GPS-guided weapons makes a French entry important for industrial as well as operational reasons, and Sagem/MBDA hope that AASM will earn them a market niche.

AASM’s execution also included delays, however, which was very inconvenient for the new Rafale fighters. The laser variant was especially missed, even though Thales’ Damocles surveillance and laser targeting pod hasn’t been integrated onto Rafales yet, and the planes required escorts from laser-capable Mirage 2000s and Super Etendards during missions over Afghanistan. A 2008 contract to add GPS guidance kits to American Paveway laser-guided bombs provided an interim solution for all French fighters, but France really wanted Sagem’s AASMs – and has now begun to order them in quantity.

• The AASM Family
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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US Spectrum Chart
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With the explosion in the number of cell phones and other commercial wireless devices, the US Federal Communications Commission has had to take spectrum used by US government agencies and shift it over to commercial use.

To fund this spectrum transition, the US Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2004 the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act, which provided over $1 billion to federal agencies to pay for the shift.

The largest US government user of spectrum is the Department of Defense. So DoD got the largest chuck of that money – $355.4 million.

From that pool, the USAF recently awarded Raytheon a $37.9M delivery order to modify weapons data link equipment used for F-15 pilot training…

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F-16F “Desert Falcon”
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Aircraft costs don’t stop after purchase, or even maintenance. Now, the UAE wants its most advanced fighters to carry equally advanced dual guidance mode bombs.

The most advanced F-16s in the world are not American. That distinction belongs to the United Arab Emirates, whose F-16 E/F Block 60s are a half-generation ahead of the F-16 C/D Block 50/52+ aircraft that form the backbone of the US Air Force, and of many other fleets around the world. The Block 60 has been described as a lower-budget alternative to the forthcoming F-35A Joint Strike Fighter – and is being treated as such in countries like India and the Netherlands, as they contemplate their future fighter needs.

The UAE invested in the type’s development, and with that investment comes inevitable fielding, training, and equipping needs. This DID article showcases the F-16 E/F “Desert Falcon,” and offers a window into its associated costs and life cycle.

• The F-16E/F “Desert Falcon”
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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GBU-39 SDB, Deployed
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Italian defense company Oto Melara and Boeing Defense, Space & Security in St. Louis, MO, agreed to co-produce the Small Diameter Bomb Increment I (SDB I) weapon system (GBU-39 SDB) for the Italian Air Force.

SDB I [pdf] is a 250-pound precision strike weapon with a GPS-aided inertial guidance system. It incorporates a steel case and penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead, as well as deployable wings for extended range.

Under the terms of the $34 million contract, Boeing will provide SDB I mechanical and electrical components and test equipment to Oto Melara for production of 500 tactical weapons (GBU-39 SDBs), 50 four-place weapon carriages (BRU-61/A), and associated support equipment…

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“Grand Slam”
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During the Second World War, attacking heavily protected targets like U-boat pens and protected “V-weapon” facilities was a key challenge. Enter a brilliant British engineer named Barnes Wallis, fresh off the dam-busting “Upkeep” bouncing bomb. His next trick was a 12,000 pound weapon called the “Tallboy,” a streamlined, spin-stabilized bomb with a claimed terminal velocity of Mach 1 when dropped from 20,000 feet. That mass, carrying 5,200 pounds of Torpex D1 explosive, made a crater 80 feet deep x 100 feet across when it hit. By 1945, Wallis’ next “Earthquake bomb” was in production – the 22,000 pound “Grand Slam.” They made short work of U-boat pens.

These bombs went out of fashion with the advent of nuclear weapons, but if you wait long enough, fashion comes around again. Despite additional funding, and October promises of accelerated deployment, the MOP will not arrive by mid-2010, as planned…

• The MOP Program
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
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GBU-39 SDB, Deployed
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Boeing Co. subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO received a $114.6 million contract to provide support for small diameter bomb (SDB) Increment 1 [pdf] production for munitions, carriages and technical support.

The GBU-39 SDB dramatically increases the strike capability of every combat aircraft in the US inventory. This 250 pound guided weapon has the same penetration capabilities as a 2000lb BLU-109 because of its length to diameter ratio, smart fuse and nose shape, demonstrating penetration of more than 6 feet of reinforced concrete with only 50 pounds of explosive…

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A-10 over Germany
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The Precision Engagement modification is the largest single upgrade effort ever undertaken for the USA’s unique A-10 “Warthog” close air support aircraft fleet. While existing A/OA-10 aircraft continue to outperform technology-packed rivals on the battlefield, this set of upgrades is expected to make them more flexible, and help keep the aircraft current until the fleet’s planned phase-out in 2028. When complete, A-10C PE will give USAF A-10s precision strike capability sooner than planned, combining multiple upgrade requirements into one time and money-saving program, rather than executing them as standalone projects. Indeed, the USAF accelerated the PE program by 9 months as a result of its experiences in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the PE program, and for other modifications to the A-10 fleet. It covers the A-10’s battlefield performance and advantages, the elements of the PE program, other planned modifications, related refurbishment efforts to keep the fleet in the air, and the contracts that have been issued each step of the way.

In the latest update, Lockheed Martin receives a $17.8 million contract from the US Air Force to upgrade software that integrates communications and situational awareness capabilities on the A-10C…

• A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II: Experiences on the Ground
• The A/OA-10 Precision Engagement Modification Program
• A-10 Fleet: Other Planned Improvements
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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PAF F-16A drops Mk.82s
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On June 28/06, the US DSCA notified Congress via a series of releases of its intention to provide Pakistan with a $5.1 billion Foreign Military Sales package to upgrade the F-16s that serve as the PAF’s top of the line fighters. Some of these items had been put on hold following the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan & Kashmir, but the request for 36 new F-16 Block 50/52s is now going ahead following the required 30-day review period, along with new weapons, engine modifications, 60 F-16 upgrade kits that would cover Pakistan’s older F-16 A/Bs plus other aircraft it might buy second-hand, and related equipment.

These items are detailed below, along with controversies the proposed sales have created, and some of the conditions attached to the sale by the US government. By the end of July 2008, Pakistan was expected to have its first 10 planes. The first new-build F-16, on the other hand, just had its acceptance ceremony this month…

• Item 1: 36 New F-16 Block 50/52s – $3 billion
• Item 2: Weapons for the New F-16s – $650 Million
• Item 3: F-16A/B Mid-Life Update Modification Kits – $1.3 billion
• Item 4: F-16A/B Engine Modifications & UP/STAR – $151 Million
• Deal Updates and Progress [updated]
• Potential Controversies (July 5, 2006)
  
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