JDAM to Revamp Australia's F/A-18 Fleet

Released on Wednesday, October 19, 2005

The Commonwealth of Australia Department of Defence has awarded Boeing a contract to provide the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) weapon system for the AIR 5409 Bomb Improvement Program.

JDAM was offered in response to the program's requirement for an upgraded weapon system for the Australian fleet of Boeing-built F/A-18 aircraft. The Company's offer included JDAM guidance kits, F/A-18 weapon system integration, and operational support. A GPS-aided, near-precision weapon, JDAM guidance kits are capable of guiding inventory warheads ranging in size from 500-2000 pounds and have been used extensively in global operations by the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

Since 1998, the Boeing Weapons Enterprise Capability Center has produced more than 120,000 JDAM guidance kits for US and international customers. JDAM is the world standard for GPS/inertial guidance kits. A transformational system, it has changed weaponeering metrics from sorties per target to targets per sortie. This capability contributes directly to aircraft efficiency and survivability due to reduced sortie requirements. JDAM also provides significant reduction in collateral damage due to its inherent accuracy that permits use of fewer and smaller weapons.