Harris Corporation has been selected by The Boeing Company, St. Louis, Missouri, to provide anti-jam GPS (AJ GPS) electronics for the U.S. Air Force’s Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). Harris’ initial two-year contract includes design and development work.
With the anticipated production phase, Harris estimates the overall value of the SDB AJ GPS program to the company could reach $500 million by 2020. Boeing indicated in an earlier news release that first delivery of the munition is scheduled for October 2005.
The SDB is a 250-pound class precision-guided weapon launched from a jet fighter, bomber or unmanned aircraft that will destroy targets from a range of greater than 40 miles and penetrate more than three feet of steel-reinforced concrete.
“Harris is a Boeing Gold Supplier and a long-time provider of AJ GPS technology, including equipment for the Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM), and most recently the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM),” said Bob Henry, corporate senior VP and president, Harris Government Communications Systems Division (GCSD).
“We are very pleased that Boeing has once again selected Harris AJ GPS electronics for one of its precision munition programs.”
The Harris AJ GPS technology makes SDB and other weapons resistant to unintentional or intentional RF interference or jamming of their satellite guidance receivers. Miniaturized electronics such as AJ GPS also help to enable the SDB’s compact size (70-inch length and 6-inch diameter), allowing for increased weapons loads on each aircraft.
