The US Navy, through the Department of Defense, has reached an agreement with Boeing to produce more JDAM Laser Guidance Kits.
The contract is a modification of another previously signed with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where Boeing was supposed to produce LJDAMs for the Navy, Air Force and Foreign Military Sales customers. The new agreement allows for the production of up to 24.000 additional pump kits.
“The JDAM laser enables precise attacks against moving threats while minimizing collateral damage”, said Karl Jeppesen, Vice President of Armaments at Boeing. “We are proud to continue to provide this critical capability for our of the armed forces.”
JDAM kits transform a conventional bomb into a precision weapon guided by GPS and inertial navigation system (INS). However, this type of guidance limits the bomb to being used against static targets such as buildings and pillboxes. Therefore, Boeing created the Laser JDAM, where the bombs received a 'receiver' in the frontal section, allowing the acquisition and guidance through laser. In this way, they can be used to attack moving vehicles.
JDAM kits are available for the Mk.82, 83 and 84 bombs of various variants.
