Lockheed Martin was awarded a $76 million contract to build Paveway II Plus laser-guided bomb kits, which will include guidance and tail assemblies for GBU-10 and GBU-12 bombs. Deliveries are slated to begin in the second quarter of 2016, according to a Lockheed release. The company has delivered more than 140,000 training rounds, along with 70,000 Paveway II kits and 7,000 dual-mode systems to the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and 20 international customers, states the release. GBU-10 and GBU-12 bombs have been used extensively in recent combat, including in Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. and U.K. launched a new wave of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan. 22, hitting radars, missile support systems, and underground weapon storage areas, the Pentagon said. The strikes were in response to Houthi attacks on American commercial ships in the Red Sea.