Dec. 7 (UPI) -- General Dynamics is receiving $264.8 million for MK80 and BLU-109 Tritonal bomb components.
The production contract will run through at least October 2023. It falls under the U.S. Army's Rock Island Arsenal, which supervises much of the U.S. military's' conventional weapons production.
The MK80 series of air-dropped, general purpose bombs are a standard weapon in use by many countries since the Vietnam War. It comes in many sizes, ranging from 250 pounds to 2,000 pounds.
The BLU-109 is a 2,000-pound bomb with a hardened casing meant to penetrate fortifications like concrete bunkers. It includes laser-guided variants for precision strikes such as the GBU-27 Paveway II and the electro-optical GBU-15.
The MK80 family of bombs can use many types of explosives, including the high-yield compound Tritonal. It is modular and can use many other types of fillers depending on the mission and user.
They can be built in high or low drag models. Low drag will reduce the wind resistance against the bombs while attached to the airframe, while high drag are meant to help aircraft avoid being damaged by their own bomb explosions using retarding fins or parachutes.
