The PGM 500 and PGM 2000 are

guided bomb A guided bomb (also known as a smart bomb, guided bomb unit, or GBU) is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP). The creation of precision-guided munitions resulted in the retroactive renaming of ...

s developed by

Alenia Marconi Systems Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS) was a major European integrated defence electronics company and an equal shares joint venture between BAE Systems and Finmeccanica (now Leonardo S.p.A.) until its dissolution on 3 May 2005. AMS was formed in 1998 by ...

and now marketed by MBDA. The PGM 500 carries a 500 lb (227 kg) warhead, and the PGM 2000 a 2000 lb (909 kg) one. The weapons are available with interchangeable laser, TV, or infra-red seekers. The PGM 500 is known as the ''Hakim'' in

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

service.

Development and design

In 1984, the US company International Signal and Control (ISC) began work on a series of guided bombs and missiles for the

. ISC was purchased by the British company

Ferranti Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm was known ...

in 1987, with Ferranti in turn becoming part of GEC-Marconi in 1991. Development of the missile programme continued through these changes, with the missiles first displayed in public at the 1994

Farnborough Air Show The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...

. There are two major versions of the missile family, one with a warhead, called the PGM-500, and one with a warhead, called the PGM-2000. Four large wings in a "squashed-X" arrangement are fitted at the rear of the missile, with small horizontal fins just behind the missile's nose. The PGM-2000 has an additional stabilising fin under the missile's nose. Both versions are rocket powered, with the PGM-500 having a single solid-fuel rocket slung under the missile body, while the PGM-2000 has two similar rocket engines. This gives a range of at low-level and at altitude. Both missiles can be fitted with semi-active laser guidance, TV guidance or imaging infra-red guidance, with a date-link pod required aboard the launch aircraft for the latter two options. An unpowered version, called Lancelot, was proposed in 1993 to meet a UK requirement for a laser-guided bomb, but this was unsuccessful. A

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

-powered version called Pegasus was offered for the UK's Conventional Armed Standoff Missile (CASOM) programme, with a range of over and revised guidance, but this was rejected in favour of the MBDA Storm Shadow missile. A revised version, called Centaur was offered to the UAE, but this too was rejected in favour of a version of Storm Shadow, called Black Shaheen.

Service

Production of the laser- and TV-guided variants began in 1990, entering service with the United Arab Emirates Air Force in 1992. The IR-guided weapons entered production in 1993 and entered service in 1995.

Development and design

Service

Combat use

References

External links