Boeing has scored the first international sale of the Laser JDAM, signing a commercial contract with the German government for an undisclosed amount of the munitions, the company announced yesterday. The work will include support for integrating the modified 500-pound bombs on Tornado strike aircraft. Delivery is expected to begin in mid-2009, with options for additional units in 2009, Boeing said. Laser JDAM is a GPS-guidance-aided joint direct attack munition with a laser kit added so that the bomb can be used to attack both stationary and fast moving targets. Boeing said it expects additional orders in the near future. The US Air Force took delivery if its first Laser JDAMs earlier this year to address one of pressing warfighter needs in Southwest Asia: countering fleeting targets with precision.
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…