Lockheed Martin has received a $131 million contract from the US Air Force for follow-on production of Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) kits.
The contract represents the ninth consecutive year in which the US Air Force selected Lockheed Martin to provide the majority share of LGB kits in the annual competition. The award also includes all available funding for the service's foreign military sales and replacement kits.
"The US Air Force and its foreign military sales partners realize significant savings in their defense budgets with our affordable and combat-proven LGBs," said Joe Serra, Precision Guided Systems director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "This innovative and cost-effective guidance package supports greater precision for warfighters."
Paveway II Plus includes an enhanced guidance package that improves accuracy over legacy LGBs. Qualified for full and unrestricted operational employment in GBU-10, -12 and -16 (1,000 pound) configurations, Paveway II Plus is cleared for use on US Air Force, US Navy and international aircraft authorized to carry and release LGBs. Lockheed Martin has been a qualified supplier of Paveway II LGB kits since 2001 and has delivered over 100,000 kits to customers.
Production of the guidance kits and air foil groups for GBU-10 (2,000 pound) and GBU-12 (500 pound) LGBs will begin in first quarter of 2018.
In addition to the Paveway II Plus LGB, Lockheed Martin's 350,000-square-foot production facility in Archbald, Pa., is the sole provider of the Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round and Paragon™ direct attack munition. Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 160,000 training rounds and 7,000 dual-mode LGB kits to the US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Air Force and 24 international customers.