Kaman gets $53M Air Force bomb fuze option

Bloomfield-based Kaman Corp. said today the U.S. Air Force has exercised an option worth about $53 million for Kaman to continue supplying bomb fuzes assembled at its plants in Middletown and Orlando, Fla.

Deliveries of the electro-mechanical devices used for safing and arming bombs will begin in spring 2010, the aerospace manufacturer said. It currently produces more than 2,000 fuzes per month at both plants.

Kaman began supplying fuzes to the U.S. and its defense allies under a 1997 contract, which granted the Air Force three options to buy more at new prices and quantities, the company said.

The value of the other two options, Kaman said, will depend on the quantity options chosen by the Air Force, add-ons, foreign military orders and future funding.

"We expect sales to the USAF under this revised contract to be profitable and support our long-term strategy and expectations for the Precision Products business." Kaman Chairman and CEO Neil Keating said.