Boeing To Integrate GBU-56 Laser Guided Bomb Onto Hornet Fighter

Boeing has won a $9.9 million contract to integrate the GBU-56(V) 4/B laser-guided bomb on to the F/A-18 Hornet's weapons platform.

The contract involves systems engineering and logistic support planning required for the production acceptance test and evaluation of the DSU-42/B precision laser guidance set and the KMU-558 series guidance set on the GBU-56(V) 4/B laser-guided bomb.

The effort also includes integrating that munition on to the F/A-18 weapons platform, the company announced Tuesday. 

Work will be performed in Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, Minnesota and other locations in the continental United States.

Work is expected to be completed by February 2019. Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

The GBU-56/B is the dual-mode, laser and GPS/inertial navigation system [INS], -guided variant of the GBU-31/B 2,000 lb Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) that utilizes the MK 84 (general purpose) and BLU-109 (penetrating) bombs to afford a moving target capability.

For the MK 84 version of the bomb, this is likely designated as the GBU-56(V)2/B and fitted with the DSU-40/B semi-active laser (SAL) and KMU-556/B guidance set.

For the BLU-109 version of the bomb, this is designated as the GBU-56(V)4/B and is fitted with the DSU-42/B SAL seeker and KMU-558/B guidance set.