Boeing Wins $75M Contract to Turn JDAMs into Long-Range Cruise Missiles

The US Navy has awarded Boeing a $75 million contract to develop and build a new missile kit that turns cheap bombs into long-range cruise missiles. The BSU-111/B Payload Delivery Unit kits will add a turbojet engine built by Kratos to the existing JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) system, allowing it to strike targets from more than 345 nautical miles.

This new capability combines the traditional JDAM with the glide-kit of the JDAM-LR, giving operators an affordable and mass-producible option for striking targets beyond enemy defenses. The kit will also include onboard power generation, enabling the use of electro-optical targeting sensors to target ships, as well as a maritime mining kit that can detect and detonate only when it detects the specific signature of its intended target.

The GBU-75 JDAM-LR, as it will be known, has already completed its first flight test off the coast of California, meeting all objectives. The Navy has not yet announced a timeline for the weapon's entry into service, but Boeing claims that any platform capable of dropping JDAMs today can launch JDAM-LRs tomorrow.