The first test of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) with GPS guidance apparently was a bust, reports GPNN’s sister publication DEFENSE DAILY. The U.S. Air Force said that the JDAM missile system failed to receive the GPS signal in tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

JDAM, which is manufactured by McDonnell Douglas [MD], uses Rockwell International‘s [ROK] GPS embedded module and a Honeywell Military Avionics [HON] guidance kit.

The Air Force and McDonnell Douglas are trying to determine what went wrong during the tests, said Oscar Soler, Air Force JDAM director. "We had two simulated releases a short time before the [guided] test, and both times the GPS signals were received by [the JDAM]. [However,] the weapon did not receive the GPS signals during the actual flight," said Soler, who did not think that the failure was a major setback for the program.

The JDAM kits fit on 1,000 to 2,000 pound bombs and, with the use of GPS receivers, are supposed to turn those bombs into guided munitions. The JDAM-equipped bombs will go to the F-16, B-52 and B-1 Air Force aircraft. In addition, the U.S. Navy will get the system for bombs dropped from the F/A-18 and AV-8B fighters.

In October, the Air Force made its first guided JDAM drop from an F-16 flying at 20,000 feet to hit a target within 31 yards. However, GPS was not used during those tests. GPS was not used because it is being phased in to the testing, said Lt. Col. Jim McClendon, JDAM deputy program director.

Overall, the Air Force plans to buy as many as 62,000 JDAMs during an 11-year production period. The Navy plans to buy 25,496.

…Successful Testing Critical to FMS

McDonnell Douglas, with a $126 million contract award for JDAM (GPNN, Oct. 19, 1995, p. 8), can earn as much as $2 billion in total production sales. The company also may find a lucrative foreign military sales market for JDAM–if the system successfully is tested.

Last year, Pentagon acquisition chief Paul Kaminski opened the door for potential JDAM foreign military sales when the program passed a Defense Acquisition Board review. Rockwell’s GPS piece of JDAM could be worth as much as $150 million if all production options are exercised.