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2d ago

Air Force Clears Boeing’s GBU-75 JDAM Long Range for Initial Production

The $75 million undefinitized award lets Boeing begin producing kits that add a turbojet plus folding wings to 500‑lb JDAMs to extend their reach past 300 nautical miles.

Interesting Engineering
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A VX-31 F/A-18E Super Hornet releases a GBU-75 JDAM Long Range during a test in April 2026. (Image credit: NAVAIR via Boeing)
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Overview

  • The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a $75 million undefinitized contract action to start initial production of the BSU-111/B Payload Delivery Unit for the GBU-75 JDAM Long Range in a move first announced Wednesday.
  • The kit adds a compact turbojet and folding wings to the existing JDAM guidance and aircraft interface to convert a 500‑lb bomb into a powered, cruise‑like munition with more than 300 nautical miles of range.
  • U.S. Navy flight tests in April showed safe separation from an F/A-18, engine start, sustained powered cruise and guided terminal flight on roughly 200‑nm profiles with impacts reported within meters of the planned target.
  • The award is an undefinitized contract action, so exact order quantities, per‑unit prices and delivery dates were not disclosed and the UCA structure leaves those details subject to later negotiation and oversight scrutiny.
  • Boeing funded roughly $100 million of development, plans production work in St. Charles, Missouri, and says the design leverages existing JDAM infrastructure to enable high‑volume, low‑cost production as a complement to pricier cruise missiles.