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The Daily Insight

How much does a JDAM cost

Author

William Taylor

Published Feb 13, 2026

Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM)Unit costAbout US$25,000 (Depends on acquisition lot. Foreign sales have considerably higher prices.)VariantsSee variantsSpecificationsLength9.9–12.75 feet (3.02–3.89 m)

How much does a 500lb JDAM cost?

SpecificationsAverage unit cost (40,000 units)$18,000 current estimate $42,200 initial estimateQuantityNavy: 12,000 Air Force: 62,0005,000–kits to be added to basic JDAMPlatformsB-52, B-1, B-2, F-22, F-16, F-15E, F- 117, F-14 A/B/D, F/A-18C/D, F/A-18E/F, AV-8B, P-3, S-3B-52, B-1, B-2, F-16, F-15E, F-117

How much do precision bombs cost?

Per the Air Force budget, a standard, unguided Mk 82 500-pound class bomb has a unit price of $4,000, while 2,000-pound class Mk 84 unguided bombs cost $16,000 apiece.

How much does a smart bomb cost?

GBU-12 Paveway IIUnit costUS $21,896SpecificationsMass230 kg (510 lb)Length3.27 m (10.7 ft)

How much does a laser guided bomb cost?

SpecificationsClass2000 lb. Paveway I & II Laser Guided WeaponsAcquisition unit costNot availableProduction unit costAir Force: $23,700 Navy: $26,100PlatformsA-7, A-10, B-52, F-111, F-117, F-15E, F- 16 , F/A-18 C/D, A-6, F-14

How heavy is a JDAM?

The 1,000-pound JDAM kit reached initial operational capability (IOC) in fiscal year 2002, and IOC for the 500-pound weapon occurred during the second quarter of fiscal year 2005.

Can JDAM hit a moving target?

During FY2004, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force began testing of the laser guidance capability for JDAM, with these tests demonstrating that the system is capable of targeting and destroying moving targets.

How much does Hellfire missile cost?

AGM-114 HellfireUnit costUS$150,000 (FY 2021)US$117,000 (FY2017)Produced1974–presentSpecificationsMass100–108 lb (45–49 kg)

How much is a Tomahawk missile?

TomahawkUnit cost$1.87M (FY2017) (Block IV) $1,537,645 (FY2021) (Block V)SpecificationsMass2,900 lb (1,300 kg), 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) with booster

How much money is spent on war?

On 28 September 2018, Trump signed the Department of Defense appropriations bill. The approved 2019 Department of Defense discretionary budget is $686.1 billion. It has also been described as “$617 billion for the base budget and another $69 billion for war funding.”

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How much does a missile cost?

up to 20 Air-Launched Cruise Missiles(incl. W80-1 warheads) ~$8.4 million each. or up to 20 Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missiles ~$3.8 million each or up to 20 Advanced Cruise Missiles (incl. W80-1 warheads) ~$16.3 million each.

How does a JDAM bomb work?

In the air, the JDAM’s GPS receiver processes signals from GPS satellites to keep track of its own position. As with other smart bombs, the control system adjusts the flight fins to “steer” the bomb in the right direction. … When everything goes exactly right, the bombs generally hit within a few feet of their targets.

How much does a jet missile cost?

AIM-120 AMRAAMUnit cost• $300,000–$400,000 for 120C variants • $1,786,000(FY2014) for 120D US$1,090,000 (AIM-120D FY 2019)VariantsAIM-120A, AIM-120B, AIM-120C, AIM-120C-4/5/6/7/8, AIM-120DSpecificationsMass335 lb (152 kg)

How much does a Stinger missile cost?

StingerManufacturerRaytheon Missile SystemsUnit costFIM-92A: U.S.$38,000 (missile only, 1980 FY) ($119,320 2020 FY)Produced1978–presentVariantsFIM-92A, FIM-92B, FIM-92C, FIM-92D, FIM-92G

Why do missiles cost so much?

It’s because it’s a high performance solid fuel rocket or ram jet engine ( neither of which are cheap), a pile of high explosive ( a couple hundred at least), and of course, the guidance and sensor system, which is easily the most costly component of any missile, and is easily going to cost ten’s if not 1 or 2 hundred …

What is a cluster bomb?

A cluster munition, or cluster bomb, is a weapon containing multiple explosive submunitions. Cluster munitions are dropped from aircraft or fired from the ground or sea, opening up in mid-air to release tens or hundreds of submunitions, which can saturate an area up to the size of several football fields.

What aircraft drops JDAMs?

A B-1B Lancer flying out of Edwards AFB, Calif., on Feb. 11 dropped a satellite-guided joint direct attack munition, or JDAM, at China Lake test range.

When was the first JDAM dropped?

The first JDAMs were delivered in 1997 with initial operational testing conducted in 1998 and 1999. More than 450 JDAMs were dropped during this testing, recording an unprecedented 95 percent system reliability while achieving a 9.6-meter accuracy rate.

What does JDAM stand for?

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or “dumb bombs” into all-weather “smart” munitions.

What is the fastest missile?

Hypersonic missiles travel at Mach 5, five times the speed of sound while maneuvering in the atmosphere. That’s faster than 3,800 mph. Ballistic missiles can reach 15,000 mph while ascending into space.

How much is a tomahawk?

Each Tomahawk missile, made by Raytheon, costs about $1 million.

What is the most powerful missile in the world?

R-36M (SS-18 Satan) This Russian Intercontinental ballistic missile is the heaviest and most powerful in the world. It is part of a family of R-36 models which have been used since the Soviet ICBMs were first cold-launched in 1971.

How much does a Scud missile cost?

How cheap are missiles? North Korean Scud C missiles were sold to Syria for around USD$3 million per copy. Scud B’s were bought by Iraq for less than that – USD$1 million including operations and support costs for several years. By contrast, advanced strike aircraft cost around USD$40 million a copy.

How much do military rockets cost?

As of 2001 the BGM-109 Tomahawk missile model has become a significant part of the United States naval arsenal. It gives ships and submarines an extremely accurate, long-range, conventional land attack weapon. Each costs about US$1.99 million.

How much does the military spend on bombs?

On average, the United States has spent $98 billion a year on nuclear weapons.

How much is America in debt?

By the end of 2021, the federal government had $28.43 trillion in federal debt. How did we end up with $28.43 trillion in federal debt? When the U.S. government has a deficit, most of the deficit spending is covered by the government taking on new debt.

What is NASA's budget for 2021?

NASA’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2021 is $23.3 billion. This represents a 3% increase over the previous year’s amount. It was passed by Congress on 21 December 2020—nearly three months into the fiscal year.

How much did ww2 cost?

Though it lasted fewer than four years, World War II was the most expensive war in United States history. Adjusted for inflation to today’s dollars, the war cost over $4 trillion and in 1945, the war’s last year, defense spending comprised about 40% of gross domestic product (GDP).

How much is the cheapest nuke?

B61DesignerLos Alamos National LaboratoryDesigned1963ManufacturerPantex PlantUnit cost$28 million (Mod 12)

How much does a nuclear bomb weigh?

A thermonuclear weapon weighing little more than 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg) can release energy equal to more than 1.2 million tons of TNT (5.0 PJ).

How much is a Trident missile?

Under the agreement, the United Kingdom paid an additional 5% of their total procurement cost of $2.5 billion to the US government as a research and development contribution. The total cost of the Trident program thus far came to $39.546 billion in 2011, with a cost of $70 million per missile.