Delays to Raytheon’s Smart Bomb May Extract a Cost for the Company
- Contractor may have to absorb millions from cost overruns
- Air Force sees Raytheon meeting delivery schedule for new bomb
Pilots or ground-based Air Force controllers will be able to beam in-flight changes to the weapon, which eventually would be deployed on aircraft from the F-35 and the B-2 bomber to the MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Photographer: Airman 1st Class Connor MarthThis article is for subscribers only.
Raytheon Co. will probably have to absorb millions of dollars in cost overruns from development and initial production of a new smart bomb that will be the F-35 fighter jet’s primary weapon, the U.S. Air Force said.
Citing Defense Contract Management Agency estimates, the Air Force said Raytheon, the Pentagon’s top missile-maker, is exceeding the service’s financial liability on all three initial contracts for the Small Diameter Bomb II. The contractor is responsible for overruns above the Air Force’s liability.