Boeing to progress GBU-56 LJDAM integration onto Hornet fighter

[Zarvan]

A weapons loader prepares a BLU-109-based GBU-31 JDAM for a mission at a forward-deployed location. The GBU-56 adds a laser-guided seeker to the GBU-31 for a moving target capability. Source: US Air Force
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Boeing a USD9.97 million contract related to testing and integration of the GBU-56(V)4/B 2,000 lb precision guided munition (PGM) onto the F/A-18 Hornet combat aircraft.

The contract, awarded on 6 September, covers the systems engineering and logistic support planning required for production acceptance testing and evaluation of the DSU-42/B precision laser guidance set and the KMU-558 series guidance set of the GBU-56(V)4/B PGM. It also includes integration onto the Hornet aircraft for the US Navy and US Marine Corps.

Work is expected to be complete by the end of February 2019.

The GBU-56/B is the dual-mode (laser and GPS/inertial navigation system [INS])-guided variant of the GBU-31/B 2,000 lb Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) that utilises the MK 84 (general purpose) and BLU-109 (penetrating) bombs to afford a moving target capability. For the MK 84 version of the bomb, this is likely designated as the GBU-56(V)2/B and fitted with the DSU-40/B semi-active laser (SAL) and KMU-556/B guidance set. For the BLU-109 version of the bomb, this is designated as the GBU-56(V)4/B and is fitted with the DSU-42/B SAL seeker and KMU-558/B guidance set. It is the latter configuration that is the subject of this DoD contract for the Hornet.

Flight trials of the GBU-56/B Laser JDAM (LJDAM) began in 2010, with inert weapons being dropped from a US Air Force (USAF) Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon over the Eglin ranges in Florida. The bomb has been cleared for carriage on the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16, F/A-18, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier, Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, Rockwell B-1B Lancer, Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, Panavia Tornado, and Eurofighter Typhoon. Testing and integration of sensors for the GBU-56B is in the final stage of development.

The DoD already fields the GBU-54/B LJDAM based on the MK 82 or BLU-111 500 lb bombs.

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