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Boeing’s Missouri Facility Wins $2.2 Billion Air Force Contract

  • October 08, 2020

Boeing has been awarded a five-year contract from the U.S. Air Force to produce small diameter bombs (SDB) at its St. Charles, Missouri, facility. The SDB is a long-range weapon known for its accuracy and low collateral damage effects.

“The SDB team has done an amazing job of meeting customer needs and delivering quality products to our customers,” said Cindy Gruensfelder, Vice President, Boeing Weapons. “This award is just another example of the confidence our customers have in our products and the team is excited to continue delivering this effective, accurate and battle-proven capability on time and on budget.”

Under the so-called “indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity” contract, the government can make purchases of up to $2.2 billion at set prices over its five-year term. An initial $307 million order under the contract was finalized this week.

Boeing started developing and building the SDB system for the Air Force in 2003. It has delivered more than 35,000 SDB’s to customers in that time.

In the past 24 months alone, Boeing’s regional workforce has grown by 2,000 people to about 16,000, according to Shelley Lavender, who leads Boeing’s St. Louis operations. The growth is due to numerous contracts won by Boeing’s Missouri team.

The increase in Boeing’s workforce highlights some of the reasons why Missouri is the best location for aerospace and defense companies to invest: talent, a history of success, and an existing supply chain thanks to an abundance of 100+ world-class aerospace and defense companies across the state.

Today, those 16,000 Boeing team members in Missouri build the F/A-18, EA-18, F-15 and T-7 fighter jets, the new unmanned MQ-25 refueling drone, along with a huge array of military ordinance at Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security facilities. 

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