The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Singapore of air-to-ground munitions kits, and related equipment and services for an estimated cost of $55 million. The principal contractor will be Raytheon Missile and Defense, Tucson, AZ. The Government of Singapore has requested to buy:
- one hundred (100) KMU-556 Tail Kits for Joint Direct-Attack Munition (JDAM) GBU-31;
- nine hundred (900) KMU-572 Tail Kits for JDAM GBU-38 and Laser JDAM GBU-54;
- two hundred fifty (250) MAU-169 Computer Control Group for 500lb Paveway-II (PWII) GBU-12; and
- two hundred fifty (250) MXU-650 Air Foil Group for 500lb PWII GBU-12.
Also included are DSU-38 laser guidance sets; Common Munitions Built-In-Test (BIT)/Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE); spare parts, consumables, and accessories, and repair and return support; aircraft and munitions support and support equipment; personnel training and training equipment; unclassified software; unclassified technical books and other publications; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, studies and surveys; and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated total cost is $55 million. The proposed sale will support the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s capability to contribute to coalition operations and meet its national defense requirements.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or “dumb bombs”, into all-weather precision-guided 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 to 2,000 pounds (230 to 910 kg). The JDAM’s guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the “joint” in JDAM.[2] When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is not a stand-alone weapon; rather it is a “bolt-on” guidance package that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (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 November 2016, Boeing completed more than 300,000 JDAM guidance kits. In 2017 it built more than 130 kits per day. As of February 2020, 430,000 kits had been produced.
