PARIS — Raytheon Missiles secured its first production order for the Small Diameter Bomb II in a $30.9 million deal with the US Defense Department, revealed just ahead of the Paris Air Show opening June 15.
The low rate initial production contract will see 144 weapons, 156 single weapons containers and various training equipment and data delivered, the company said in a statement.
Signed June 12, it's the first of three LRIPs planned before full production go-ahead.
The LRIP could be the trigger for a production run for thousands of bombs over more than a decade to arm many of the combat airframes in the US military inventory.
Deliveries of this initial lot of weapons set to come off the production line at the company's facilities in Tuscon, Arizona, is scheduled to be complete by May, 2017, said Raytheon said.
The LRIP award follows Raytheon's achievement of what is called Milestone C, a requirement for 11 flight tests, including two live firings.
Earlier issues with flight tests delayed the LRIP contract several months.
The multi-attack mode bomb is a key weapon destined for deployment on use on the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighter. combat jet.
The plan is for the F-15E to achieve initial operating capability in late summer 2017, followed by the F-35 and, F/A-18EF between 2020 and 2022, said a Raytheon spokesman.
The unpowered weapon has a range in excess of 40 nm. SDBII features a tri-mode sensor guidance pack involving a millimeter wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared and a semi-active laser giving it the capability to engage stationary and moving targets.
The weapon is also being offered to potential export customers including the British, who have a requirement known as Spear Capability 3 for a medium range stand-off.
A decision whether to adopt the Raytheon weapon or buy a new guided missile being developed by European missile company MBDA is expected in 2018 the British MoD said recently.
Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.
