ORLANDO, FL—Boeing is developing a long-range version of its Joint Direct Attack Munition called the Powered JDAM, adding an engine to extend its range by 20x over the conventional glide version of the weapon, company officials said.
The new weapon combines a 500-pound warhead, a wing kit, and a propulsion module into the same form factor as a 2,000-pound bomb. Once fully developed, the weapon would offer a lower-cost alternative to cruise missiles for stand-off attack, adapting a conventional bomb for attacking targets in a contested battlespace.