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.
A yearslong effort to find an affordable way to turn cargo planes into strike platforms is now an official program with anticipated fielding in 2027.