Actually they are about as cheap as precision guided bomb gets, although laser guided ones are also pretty cheap. As far as being limited in numbers, I've read more than once that Boeing has greatly ramped up production starting shortly after 9-11. The numbers aren't so limited as they were when the sinkmeister left office, even though we used up a potfull in Afghanistan since then. From a May 8th article :
Fewer than 30 workers are needed to produce about 70 kits a day that turn dumb bombs into very smart ones, kits that will be needed by the thousands if the nation goes to war against Iraq. With supplies greatly diminished from the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, production eventually could reach 150 kits a day. But even at that rate, only a handful more workers would be needed.
And this from a 15 July article:
About 9,000 new JDAMs have been built this year, compared with about 10,000 total by the end of last year. Analysts have estimated that more than half of the first 10,000 JDAMs were used in Afghanistan and even more would be needed for an attack on Iraq.
So they built 9,000 from January to July, and have ramped up production rates since then, or started doing so shortly before then. I suspect we've got plenty of them, at least for Iraq. N. Korea and Iran will have to wait their turn as the test ground for the latest upgrades and varients. :)
Boeing makes JDAMS. It is the same Boeing that is now standing accused of exporting sophisticated weapons technology to China. The same Boeing that has been given the pass-go-slap-on-the-wrist by both Clinton and Bush administrations. Who wants to bet some of the Boeing technology didn't drift from China to North Korea and even...to Iraq?