cross-referenced news and research resources about
Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)
JDAM attached to a conventional bomb
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs" into all-weather "smart" munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles (28 km). JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 pounds (227 kg) to 2,000 pounds (907 kg). When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) nomenclature, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.
The JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon, rather it is a "bolt-on" guidance package that converts unguided gravity bombs into Precision-Guided Munitions, or PGMs. The key components of the system consist of a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces, a (body) strake kit, and a combined inertial guidance system and GPS guidance control unit.
The JDAM was meant to improve upon laser-guided bomb and imaging infrared technology, which can be hindered by bad ground and weather conditions. Laser seekers are now being fitted to some JDAMs.
From 1998 to August 20, 2013, Boeing delivered 250,000 JDAM kits, producing over 40 guidance kits per day.
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updated Sat. February 17, 2024
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Inside Defense
April 18, 2018
Air Force again crafting new acquisition baseline estimate for JDAM. The Air Force is updating its acquisition baseline for Boeing's Joint Direct Attack Munition program for the third time after it again overran expected procurement costs, according to a December 2017 Selected Acquisition Report recentlyÃâà...
Telegraph.co.uk
April 15, 2018
A US Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet at Santiago international airport earlier this month Credit: Ivan Alvarado/Reuters. In September 2015 the USAF said it had 183 of the jets, with each one costing 143 million dollars (Ãâã100 million). It can carry two 1,000 lb (450 kg) Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)Ãâà...
Inside Defense
April 6, 2018
The Air Force increased Boeing's contract for the Joint Direct Attack Munition program by $311.8 million, the Defense Department said April 2. "This ceiling increase provides for JDAM strap-on inertial guidance kits with the capability to receive guidance updates from global positioning systems to increaseÃâà...
Nasdaq
April 5, 2018
... Space and Security segment recently won a $312-million ceiling increase modification contract for providing Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits. ... Per the terms, Boeing will offer additional JDAM strap-on inertial guidance kits that would receive guidance updates from global positioning systems.
Defense Industry Daily
April 3, 2018
Boeing has been awarded a ceiling increase modification to a previously awarded contract for the provision of Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits. The modification is valued at over $311 million. The deal provides for JDAM strap-on inertial guidance kits with the capability to receive guidanceÃâà...
GovConWire
April 3, 2018
Boeing (NYSE: BA) has received a $311.8 million ceiling increase modification under a U.S. Air Force contract for the production of Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kits. The company will supply the military service with JDAM inertial guidance kits designed to increase bomb accuracy through globalÃâà...
DefenseNews.com
April 3, 2018
For the Air Force, the Joint Direct Attack Munition program showed the biggest cost growth of about $1.2 billion or almost 12 percent. ... The report also stated that increased demand for JDAM production, growing requirements for “weapons instrumentation telemetry kits” for the Air Force, and revised NavyÃâà...
Defenseworld.net
April 1, 2018
The F-35A stealth fighter is capable of carrying precision-guided bombs such as Joint Direct Attack Munition and other devices for electronic warfare. Those capabilities allow the F-35A to operate deep in the North Korean territory without being shot down by the heavily-dense anti-missile system inÃâà...
St. Louis Business Journal
March 31, 2018
... its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent and Ground Based Midcourse Defense missile interceptors, its Joint Direct Attack Munition and other weapons, Defense One reported. Vice President Norm Tew, who led the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program, will lead the Missile and Weapon Systems unit.
The Aviationist (blog)
March 31, 2018
As a side note, along with the AGM-88B and E, the Italian Tornado ECR can carry JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions)as part of the Tornado ECR RET8 “IT Full MLU” retrofit program. The 155Ãâð Gruppo (Squadron) has achieved the mission capability qualification with the new GBU-32 JDAMs (the sameÃâà...
Flightglobal
March 30, 2018
It will include Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent and Ground-Based Midcourse Defense programmes, as well as Joint Direct Attack Munition and other weapons that are produced by the company outside St. Louis, Missouri. Norm Tew, currently head of engineering for what today is called the Space andÃâà...
The National Interest Online (blog)
March 15, 2018
Alternately, the B-21 could be used as a missile truck, launching up to sixteen JASSM-ERs at enemy targets from a distance, or penetrating less sophisticated enemy defenses to deliver JDAMs on target. The B-21 will also need to carry the thirty-thousand-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, theÃâà...
The Drive
February 28, 2018
The Air Force fields the bomb in just one configuration, combined with a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GPS-guidance kit and the service refers to the complete system as the GBU-38(V)5/B. Ground crews will often assemble the weapons with air burst fuzes with DSU-33/B proximity sensor, whichÃâà...
The Drive
February 26, 2018
Airmen work to assemble a number of 500-pound class GBU-38/B JDAMs. ... By using standard bomb shapes, the Air Force will be able to combine both weapons with existing Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GPS-guidance and Paveway II and III-series laser-guidance kits to create new precisionÃâà...
We Are The Mighty (blog)
February 23, 2018
The Joint Direct Attack Munition gets a lot of the press these days because of how precise and lethal it is. Its GPS guidance, however, is actually just one of three general approaches to precision-guided weapons. Outside of GPS guidance systems, ordnance is directed by lasers and television. All of theseÃâà...
IHS Jane's 360
February 16, 2018
Boeing is to be contracted to double the annual production rate of its DSU-38A/B laser guidance kit for the US military. The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has announced in an amended notification posted on 15 February that Boeing is to increase the production capacity for the DSU-38A/BÃâà...
The National Interest Online (blog)
February 13, 2018
A video of the test not only shows the number of bombs a B-2 can carry, but it also shows just how accurate JDAMs are. Note, the runways are also thoroughly ... For instance, the B-2 is capable of dropping precision-guided weapons, namely the Joint Direct Attack Munition. The GBU-31 is a 2,000-poundÃâà...
GovConWire
February 2, 2018
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing (NYSE: BA) a two-year, $195 million contract modification to produce additional tail kits for the service branch's Joint Direct Attack Munitions. The modification will increase the cumulative face value of a previously awarded JDAM tail kit production contract to nearlyÃâà...
fox2now.com
October 9, 2017
ST. CHARLES, MO - Boeing is already one of the largest employers in St. Charles County, now they're bringing more business to the region thanks to their Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits. Senator Bill Eigel of Missouri's 23rd district said, “Several more JDAM kits have been ordered and it'llÃâà...
Southern Maryland Online
December 31, 1999
F-35 aircraft, CF-2, completed the final SDD flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, April 11, 2018. The F-35C completed a mission to collect loads data while carrying external 2,000-pound GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles. (Photo byÃâà...
Aviation International News
December 31, 1999
... conventional weapons continues. When completed, this will allow internal carriage of eight JDAM GPS-guided bombs, eight Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs) or eight Miniature Air Launched Decoys (MALDs). The B-52 can already carry 16 JDAMs or 12 JASSMs externally on wing pylons.
The National Interest Online (blog)
December 31, 1999
The first increment of IWBU integrates an internal weapons bay ability to fire a laser-guided JDAM. A second increment, to finish by 2022, will integrate more modern or cutting-edge weapons such as the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, JASSM Extended Range (ER) and a technology calledÃâà...
IHS Jane's 360
December 31, 1999
It has also been cleared for the carriage of two GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs and the GBU-38 500 lb variant of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), and for mixed loads of these weapons. To date, the Reaper has been employed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) andÃâà...
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