F-4D 13th TFS 432nd TRW with Pave Sword laser 1971

PAVE is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

program identifier relating to electronic systems. Prior to 1979, Pave was said to be a

code word In communication, a code word is an element of a standardized code or protocol. Each code word is assembled in accordance with the specific rules of the code and assigned a unique meaning. Code words are typically used for reasons of reliability, ...

for the Air Force unit responsible for the project. ''Pave'' was used as an inconsequential prefix identifier for a wide range of different programs, though

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

s and alternative meanings have been used. For example, in the helicopters

Pave Low The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a retired long-range special operations and combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stall ...

and Pave Hawk it was said to mean ''Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment'', but in

Pave Paws PAVE PAWS (PAVE Phased Array Warning System) is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". With the first solid-st ...

it was said to mean ''Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry''.

PAVE systems

* Pave Eagle – Modified Beechcraft Bonanza drone aircraft for low altitude sensor monitoring. * Pave Hawk – Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk special operations and combat search and rescue helicopter. * Pave Nail - OV-10 Bronco with Pave Spot target laser designator pod. *

Pave Knife The Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-10 Pave Knife was an early targeting pod developed by the USAF and US Navy to designate and guide laser-guided bombs. Pave Knife was developed in 1969 to replace the original, essentially improvised Airborne Laser Desi ...

– Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-10 Pave Knife early laser targeting pod. *

– Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low special ops and combat search and rescue helicopter. *

Pave Mint PAVE is a United States Air Force program identifier relating to electronic systems. Prior to 1979, Pave was said to be a code word for the Air Force unit responsible for the project. ''Pave'' was used as an inconsequential prefix identifier for ...

– Upgrade of the AN/ALQ-117 electronic warfare system to the AN/ALQ-172. *

Pave Mover PAVE is a United States Air Force program identifier relating to electronic systems. Prior to 1979, Pave was said to be a code word for the Air Force unit responsible for the project. ''Pave'' was used as an inconsequential prefix identifier for ...

– Demonstration program to develop the AN/APY-7 radar wide-area surveillance, ground moving target indicator (GMTI), fixed target indicator (FTI) target classification, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR), for the

E-8 Joint STARS The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) is a United States Air Force airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, col ...

. *

Pave Onyx PAVE is a United States Air Force program identifier relating to electronic systems. Prior to 1979, Pave was said to be a code word for the Air Force unit responsible for the project. ''Pave'' was used as an inconsequential prefix identifier for ...

– Vietnam era Advanced Location Strike System c.1973. *

Pave Pace PAVE is a United States Air Force program identifier relating to electronic systems. Prior to 1979, Pave was said to be a code word for the Air Force unit responsible for the project. ''Pave'' was used as an inconsequential prefix identifier for ...

– A fully integrated avionics architecture featuring functional resource allocation. *

PAVE PAWS PAVE PAWS (PAVE Phased Array Warning System) is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". With the first solid-st ...

– The Phased-Array Warning System which replaced the three

BMEWS The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, "474L System", Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve ra ...

radars. Pave in this case is a

for Perimeter or Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry. *

Pave Penny The Lockheed Martin AN/AAS-35(V) Pave Penny is a laser spot tracker carried by US Air Force attack aircraft and fighter-bombers to enable them to track a laser spot on the ground. It is a receiver only, allowing the pilot to see which targets ma ...

– Lockheed-Martin AN/AAS-35(V) laser spot tracker. *

Pave Pillar PAVE is a United States Air Force program identifier relating to electronic systems. Prior to 1979, Pave was said to be a code word for the Air Force unit responsible for the project. ''Pave'' was used as an inconsequential prefix identifier for ...

– Generic core avionics architecture system for combat aircraft. *

Pave Pronto The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, na ...

– Lockheed AC-130 Spectre gunship program. *

Pave Spectre The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, naviga ...

– Lockheed AC-130E gunships. *

Pave Spike The Westinghouse AN/ASQ-153\AN/AVQ-23 Pave Spike is an electro-optical laser designator targeting pod used to direct laser-guided bombs to target in daylight, visual conditions. It contained a laser boresighted to a television camera, which disp ...

– Westinghouse AN/ASQ-153\AN/AVQ-23 electro-optical laser designator pod. *

Pave Sword PAVE is a United States Air Force program identifier relating to electronic systems. Prior to 1979, Pave was said to be a code word for the Air Force unit responsible for the project. ''Pave'' was used as an inconsequential prefix identifier for ...

– AN/AVQ-11 Pave Sword laser tracker. *

Pave Tack The Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack is an electro-optical targeting pod for military attack aircraft. It uses a laser and a forward looking infrared to find and designate targets for laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided munitions. Pav ...

– Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 electro-optical targeting pod. Used first on

F-4 The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...

and then later on

F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons ca ...

F model aircraft. *

Paveway Paveway is a series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs). ''Pave'' or PAVE is sometimes used as an acronym for ''precision avionics vectoring equipment''; literally, electronics for controlling the speed and direction of aircraft. Laser guidance is a ...

– A family of laser-guided bomb conversion kits, to be fitted to standard unguided bombs.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* - Contains a list of PAVE program names relating to Laser Guided bombs * {{PAVE US Equipment of the United States Air Force

PAVE systems

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography