Eglin team awarded Theodore von Karman Award Published Sept. 8, 2009 By Leslie Brown Team Eglin Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 308th Armament System Wing's Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition Program team here received the 2009 Air Force Association's Theodore von Karman Award. The award is given for outstanding excellence to national defense in the field of science and engineering in aerospace. The 45-member team, part of the 678th Armament Systems Squadron, consisted of military, civilians and contractors working for the Air Force and Navy. During 2008, the team delivered a $32 million quick reaction capability to support U.S. Central Command's urgent need to defeat moving ground targets. The program team integrated a bolt-on laser-seeker kit to proven JDAM technology, turning standard all-weather precision munitions into lethal weapons capable of engaging enemy combatants traveling at speeds greater than 70 mph. The program team worked with Air Force and Navy operational testers to evaluate weapon performance and prove combat capability against moving targets, merging development and operational testing into a single Air Force and Navy test plan, and completing all tests necessary for production certification and flight clearance. The technical innovation of the program team achieved early combat readiness for both the Air Force and Navy and complete success in the weapon's first combat employment, where an F-16 used a Laser JDAM to destroy an insurgent truck fleeing an improvised explosive device emplacement site in Iraq. "For the Laser JDAM team to be selected for this national award is a testament to the caliber of our acquisition professionals within the 308th Wing and the Air Armament Center, as well as our industry partners," Lt. Col. Bob Mitchell, 678th ARSS commander. "The warfighter in the field has already engaged enemy moving targets using this new technology with pin-point accuracy and lethality." The award will be presented to the team during the AFA's Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition later this month in Washington.