WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) ─ The U.S. Air Force placed a $262 million order with Boeing for the delivery of Joint Direct Attack Munition tailkits.
Under the The order, placed under an existing contract, Boeing will provide strap-on inertial guidance kits to enhance the capability of receiving guidance updates fromGlobal Positioning Systems to increase weapon accuracy.
Work will be performed at St. Louis, Mo. The U.S. Defense Department expects the work to be completed by November 2017.
Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, kits convert existing unguided bombs into precision-guided “smart bombs.” GPS aids an inertial navigation system to enhance guidance.
Targets can be engaged with JDAM after coordinates are loaded into the aircraft before takeoff, manually before the weapon is launched, and automatically entered with onboard aircraft sensors. Information is passed from the aircraft to the weapon.
