Bloomberg: Delay in the Development of Raytheon’s SDB

Raytheon may have to pay millions of dollars to cover part of a 28 percent cost overrun on development of the smart bomb planned for the new F-35 jet and 11 other US military aircraft

Bloomberg: Delay in the Development of Raytheon’s SDB

Locked and loaded, the F-15E fighter aircraft can carry seven groups of four Small Diameter Bomb IIs, for a total of 28 weapon - raytheon.com

The Air Force and the Defense Contract Management Agency estimate that Raytheon’s $392 million development contract for the Small Diameter Bomb-II (SDB) will cost an extra $109 million because of development setbacks and two flight-test failures, according to Bloomberg News.

The 250-pound (113 kg) air-launched glide bomb is equipped with three different sensors and designed to attack stationary or moving targets 40 miles (64 kilometers) away in all weather. Pilots or ground-based Air Force controllers will be able to beam in-flight changes to the weapon, which eventually would be deployed on aircraft from the B-2 bomber to the MQ-9 Reaper drone.

The program “has experienced delays due to technical discoveries, flight-test failures” and software deficiencies, said Major Rob Leese, an Air Force spokesman. Leese said the technical issues are either resolved or on the way to resolution. The contract management agency calls the issues “minor and typical” for a weapon this complex.

The Pentagon plans to buy as many as 17,000 of the munitions. The first production bomb is scheduled for delivery in June 2017 instead of this November.