Air Force orders more Paveway II bomb kits

ARCHBALD, Pa., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin is to provide the U.S. Air Force with follow-on production Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb kits under a $87 million contract.

The contract for the LGB kits covers the guidance and tail assemblies for GBU-10 (2,000-pound) and GBU-12 (500-pound) LGB configurations.

"Our efficient and cost-effective manufacturing enables us to offer the U.S. Air Force and our allies a cost-effective solution for their LGB requirements," said Joe Serra, Precision Guided Systems director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Paveway II Plus LGB provides U.S. and allied warfighters with a reliable direct-attack capability to help them achieve their mission in today's air-to-ground engagements."

Lockheed Martin's Paveway kits convert freefall, or dumb, bombs into precision weapons through the addition of a semi-active laser seeker for guidance and pneumatically controlled canards. In addition to the kits for 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs, the company also produces a kit for a 1,000-pound weapon, the Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round and Dual Mode LGB kits.

The company has so far delivered more than 150,000 training rounds and more than 75,000 Paveway II LGB kits to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and more than 20 international customers.

Information as to a delivery schedule under the new contract was not disclosed.