2LT National News

Boeing to build billions of dollars worth of small diameter bombs

Sep 26, 2020

CHICAGO, Illinois – Boeing is to provide small diameter bombs for sale to Australia, Belgium, Israel, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands and Norway.

On Friday the Chicago-based company was awarded a $2.24 billion fixed-price-incentive, as part of the Small Diameter Bomb Increment I weapon program.

The works will be carried at St Louis, Missouri and are expeceted to be completed by September 2027.

The contract provides for a guaranteed minimum Lot 15 award and a five-year ordering period for Small Diameter Bomb Increment I, focused lethality munition, containers and carriages for the Department of Defense and Foreign Military Sales partner nations.

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.

It has been a big week for Boeing. The company on Monday announced a firm order from an unidentified customer for two 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF), as well as agreements to open additional conversion lines in Guangzhou, China, and Singapore to meet strong market demand.

Primarily used to carry express cargo on domestic or short-haul routes, the airplane is capable of carrying up to 23.9 tonnes (52,800 pounds) and flying up to 2,000 nautical miles (3,750 kilometers).

The 737-800BCF now has 134 orders and commitments.

The new 737-800BCF line at Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Limited (GAMECO) is scheduled to open in early 2021. To date, Boeing has delivered 36 737-800BCF to more than 10 operators across four continents.