The U.S. Air Force is seeking alternative sources to build the BRU-57 smart bomb rack by L3Harris Technologies [LHX].
The Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-16 Block 40 and above fighters are able to carry the rack, which has served for two decades as a carrier of 500-pound and 1,000-pound munitions, such as the Boeing [BA] Joint Direct Attack Munition and the Raytheon Technologies [RTX] Joint Standoff Weapon.
The BRU-57 consists of two BRU-46 pyrotechnic racks and doubles the number of smart weapons that can be carried by a single F-16 weapons station. With two BRU-57 racks, the F-16 is able to port four smart weapons.
The BRU-57 also has a strong back assembly; seven Electronic Component Assemblies, which control and program the appropriate weapon; and associated wiring.
“We are conducting market research to identify potential sources that possess the expertise, capabilities, and manufacturing experience to produce BRU-57 smart bomb racks,” the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Armaments Directorate at Eglin AFB, Fla. said in an Apr. 30 notice.
If Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) is unable to obtain the full technical data package for the BRU-57 from L3Harris, “then it will be necessary to re-engineer portions of the electronics and possibly rewrite software/firmware code,” per the notice. “Furthermore, any re-engineering will likely need to be qualified to the BRU-57 system specifications, and pass environmental testing, integration, and flight testing. The government believes a significant amount of reverse engineering or development on the part of the vendor will be required.”
AFLCMC wants interested companies to respond to the notice by May 31.
Kristin Jones, a spokeswoman for L3Harris, wrote in an email that the company “continues to support the U.S. government with the BRU-57 and has several other active contracts.”
AFLCMC’s Armaments Directorate did not respond to emailed questions on the notice by press time on Apr. 30.