The U.S. Army Contracting Command announced in a Jan. 14 notice posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website that Army is looking to buy Mk-80 series general-purpose and BLU-109 hardened penetration bomb kits.
In a notice posted on the Federal website, the Contracting Command in Rock Island said it is issuing sources sought announcement in an effort to identify capable sources for the production and delivery of all of the Tritonal Bomb Kits for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2027.
The proposed deal most notably includes MK-80 Series Bombs (MK-81, MK-82, MK-83, and MK-84) and BLU-109/B tritonal bomb kits.
Also notes that the anticipated minimum guaranteed quantity is 5,000 each bomb bodies, which can be comprised of any combination of the Tritonal Bomb Kit configurations. Each ordering period (FY 2024 – FY 2027) is anticipated to have a maximum quantity available for award of 25,000 each of any combination of Tritonal Bomb Kit configurations.
These munitions are required to support the United States Air Force and the United States allies in bombing missions. Tritonal Bombs Kits are used as building blocks for numerous variants of non-guided and precision-guided air delivered munitions.
In addition, its notice says that MK-80 series bombs are steel forged, similar in construction and include various configurations of 250 pound, 500 pound, 1,000 pound, and 2,000 pound bombs. The aerodynamically designed steel case houses a high explosive fill that accounts for 40-50 percent of the bomb’s weight. The bomb bodies include wells in the nose and are tail compatible with proximity sensors and mechanical, electrical, or electronic fuzes. They can be used with conical, non-retard or retarding fin assemblies, or with electro-optical, laser and/or Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance airfoil kits. The MK80 Series Tritonal Bomb Kits consist of the empty case assembly, two lugs, and sufficient TNT and aluminum powder for the Tritonal fill (80/20).
The BLU-109/B is a 2,000 pound penetrator bomb deployed from various fixed-winged aircraft. The BLU-109’s advanced technology one-piece high-strength forged steel casing is one inch thick. The BLU-109/B Tritonal Bomb Kits consist of the empty case assembly delivered in a CNU-417/E Container and sufficient TNT and aluminum powder for the Tritonal fill (80/20).