BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK
The U.S. Air Force’s Small Diameter Bomb II program has seen such large cost overruns that the service will force the manufacturer, Raytheon, to absorb some of the increases, amounting to nearly $40 million. Both parties insist that the present production and delivery schedule won’t suffer, which is important given the present plan is for the precision guided munitions to become a core weapon system for a variety of American combat aircraft, especially the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
On Oct. 18, 2017, the Air Force acknowledged that Raytheon had run out of “financial liability” in its deal to develop the small precision glide bomb, also known as the SDB II or GBU-53/B, as well as in two limited production run contracts. In a not uncommon move, when it signed the deals, the service had set a maximum allowable amount by which costs could grow, with the defense contractor agreeing it could not seek reimbursement for any issues afterward. So far, the Massachusetts-based firm could have to shell out up to $39 million, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the issue.The company “has worked diligently to address technical discoveries and is implementing the necessary factory infrastructure improvements to meet current contract requirements,” Captain Emily Grabowski, an Air Force spokesperson told Bloomberg. Still, the service “believes Raytheon Missile Systems is able to reliably and consistently build” the weapon.
This assessment is important for both parties, since the Air Force is already planning to buy up to 17,000, as well as help American allies purchase the bombs. Earlier in October 2017, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the U.S. government had approved the sale of 3,900 SDB IIs, plus a variety of other equipment and support services, to Australia, a deal worth approximately $815 million.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15257/usaf-and-raytheon-say-cost-overruns-wont-slow-delivery-of-vital-new-bomb
