USAF Gets First Production Small Bomb

Boeing officials in St. Charles, Mo., yesterday heralded the delivery of the first production Small Diameter Bomb I system to the Air Force. The SDB system includes a four-bomb capacity carriage, which officials say is compatible with all USAF fighters and bombers. The Air Force plans to purchase more than 24,000 SDB Is and 2,000 carriages; production is to continue through 2015. The first operational unit to get the new 250-pound class bomb, which has a standoff range of 60 nautical miles, will be RAF Lakenheath, Britain, for deployment on F-15E Strike Eagles.