The Air Force is paying Lockheed Martin $50 million to manufacture GBU-12 laser-guided bomb kits—which convert the 500-pound free fall bombs into precision guided weapons. According to Lockheed, the order represents over half the Air Force’s requirements for the current fiscal year.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
