Boeing, Oto Melara Sign Contract for SDB Co-production in Italy

The Boeing Company has signed a contract with Italian defense company Oto Melara to co-produce the Small Diameter Bomb Increment I (SDB I) for the Italian Air Force.

“We are proud to team with Oto Melara to bring SDB and its precision, low-collateral-damage capabilities to the Italian Air Force,” said Debra Rub, Boeing Weapons Programs vice president. “SDB has the potential to be the weapon solution of choice for many of our friends and allies around the globe. This agreement lays the foundation for continued growth in the international market place.”

Under the terms of the contract, Boeing will provide major SDB I mechanical and electrical components and test equipment for production of 500 tactical weapons, 50 four-weapon carriages, and associated support equipment. In addition, Boeing will provide technical assistance in establishing a production facility in Italy. Oto Melara will provide various components and complete final weapon assembly and testing.

“With the SDB Program we have the opportunity to support again the needs of the Italian Air Force with a coproduction in Italy. Our decennial relationship with Boeing has had and will have the scope to make available the state of the art precision weaponry and to manage directly in Italy all needs of our Italian Customer" said Mr. Carlo De Rossi, Head of Oto Melara BMB Business Unit.


Boeing will begin subcomponent work in the first quarter of 2010, with first deliveries to Oto Melara in 2011. The weapon deliveries to the Italian Air Force will begin in 2012 and complete in 2013.


SDB I is a 250-pound class, low-cost and low-collateral-damage precision strike weapon. It incorporates a steel case and penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead. The weapon’s smaller size, coupled with its four-place carriage, enables more weapons to be carried on each aircraft to improve mission effectiveness and reduce the number of sorties required per mission.


A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.

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