Paveway is a series of

laser-guided bomb A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly p ...

s (LGBs). ''Pave'' or PAVE is sometimes used as an acronym for ''precision

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

vectoring equipment''; literally, electronics for controlling the speed and direction of

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

. Laser guidance is a form of Pave. Pave, paired with other words, is the first name for various laser systems that designate targets for LGBs, for example

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 ...

, Pave Spike,

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 ...

and Pave Knife, and for specialized military aircraft, such as AC-130U Pave Spectre, MH-53 Pave Low, and

HH-60 Pave Hawk The Sikorsky MH-60G/HH-60G Pave Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk and incorporates the US Air Force PAVE electronic system ...

Development

The Paveway series of laser-guided bombs was developed by

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...

, with the project starting in 1964. The program was conducted on a shoestring budget, but the resultant emphasis on simplicity and economical engineering proved to be a benefit, and a major advantage over other more complex guided weapons. The first test, using a

M117 bomb The M117 is an air-dropped demolition bomb used by United States Armed Forces, United States military forces. The weapon dates back to the Korean War of the early 1950s. Although it has a nominal weight of its actual weight, depending on fuze a ...

as the warhead, took place in April 1965. Early version featured aerodynamic designs led by Richard Johnson. In January 1967 the US Air Force authorized Project 3169 as the formal engineering program for development of precision guided munitions, renewing its contract with TI in March to redesign the M117 kit, with a very aggressive timeline, projecting deployment for combat testing in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in one year. Direction of the program was assigned to the Guided Bomb Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in August and flight testing begun in November at

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

under the direction of an interagency organization called the Pave Way Task Force. At that time the program had three divisions: * Paveway 1 – laser-guided munitions * Paveway 2 – an electro-optical guidance (TV) munition developed by

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...

designated HOBO ("''Ho''ming ''Bo''mb"), of which 4,000 were eventually produced and 500 launched in combat, and * Paveway 3 – an

infrared homing Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radi ...

system that was never deployed. Paveway 1 became the emphasis of the program because Paveway 2, although considerably more accurate and capable, cost 4-5 times more per unit and was much less applicable to most targeting situations in Vietnam. Prototype weapons were sent to Southeast Asia for combat testing with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing from May to August 1968. In the combat evaluations the BOLT-117 achieved a

circular error probability In the military science of ballistics, circular error probable (CEP) (also circular error probability or circle of equal probability) is a measure of a weapon system's precision. It is defined as the radius of a circle, centered on the mean, wh ...

(CEP) of while the Paveway achieved a CEP of with one in every four bombs scoring a direct hit. Paveway kits attach to a variety of warheads, and consist of a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker, a computer control group (CCG) containing guidance and control electronics,

thermal battery A thermal energy battery is a physical structure used for the purpose of storing and releasing thermal energy—see also thermal energy storage. Such a thermal battery (a.k.a. TBat) allows energy available at one time to be temporarily stored an ...

, and pneumatic control augmentation system (CAS). There are front control canards and rear wings for stability. The weapon guides on reflected laser energy: the seeker detects the reflected light ("sparkle") of the designating laser, and actuates the canards to guide the bomb toward the designated point. The original Paveway series, retroactively named Paveway I, gave way in the early 1970s to the improved Paveway II, which had a simplified, more reliable seeker and pop-out rear wings to improve the weapon's glide performance. Both Paveway I and Paveway II use a simple 'bang-bang' control system, where the CAS commands large

canard Canard is French for duck, a type of aquatic bird. Canard may also refer to: Aviation *Canard (aeronautics), a small wing in front of an aircraft's main wing * Aviafiber Canard 2FL, a single seat recreational aircraft of canard design * Blé ...

deflections to make course corrections, resulting in a noticeable wobble. This had relatively little effect on accuracy, but expends energy quickly, limiting effective range. As a consequence, most users release Paveway I and II weapons in a ballistic trajectory, activating the laser designator only late in the weapon's flight to refine the impact point. In 1976, the USAF issued a requirement for a new generation, dubbed Paveway III, that finally entered service in 1986. The Paveway III system used a much more sophisticated seeker with a wider field of view and proportional guidance, minimizing the energy loss of course corrections. Paveway III has a considerably longer glide range and greater accuracy than Paveway II, but it is substantially more expensive, limiting its use to high-value targets. Although Paveway III kits were developed for the smaller

Mk 82 The Mark 82 (Mk 82) is an unguided, low- drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used. Development and deployment W ...

weapons, limited effectiveness caused the USAF to adopt the kit only for the larger 907 kg (2,000 lb) class weapons (the

Mk 84 The Mark 84 or BLU-117 is an American general-purpose bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb (due to the amount of high-explosive conten ...

and BLU-109). Paveway III guidance kits were also used on the

GBU-28 The GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound (2,268 kg) class laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb produced originally by the Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York. It was designed, manufactured, and deployed in less than three weeks due to an urgent need ...

/B penetration bomb fielded at the close of the

1991 Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. The Paveway III system was also used during the Indian offensive in the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

of 1999 by the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

with the

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...

as a launch platform. Raytheon, the sole provider of Paveway III variants, is currently delivering both standard and enhanced versions to the

US Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

and foreign customers. Existing LGBs in US service can be upgraded to Dual Mode Laser Guided Bombs (DMLGB) by adding

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

receivers which enable all

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

employment.

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

won the initial contract to provide DMLGBs to the US Navy (USN) in 2005, however subsequent-year money has been "zeroed" in favor of a follow-on Direct Attack Moving Target Capability (DAMTC) program. Raytheon's version, the "Enhanced Paveway II", has been contracted both within the US and abroad. Raytheon's advanced

Paveway IV Paveway IV is a dual mode GPS/INS and laser-guided bomb manufactured by Raytheon UK (formerly Raytheon Systems Limited). It is the latest iteration of the Paveway series. The weapon is a guidance kit based on the existing Enhanced Paveway II E ...

225 kg (500 lb) bomb has been in service since 2008 with Britain's RAF. In US service it is designated the GBU-49. In 2017 the F-35 program office rushed to field the GBU-49 to use its ability to strike moving targets and fill the gap left by the early retirement of the CBU-103 cluster bomb. In March 2017, Lockheed rebranded its Paveway Dual-Mode Plus weapon as the "Paragon" with the aim of competing against the laser-guided variant of the JDAM, as it offers the same capability while being "at least 30 percent cheaper" due to new, less costly

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

s and engineering for the guidance electronics.

Variants

The Paveway series of bombs includes: *

GBU-10 Paveway II The GBU-10 Paveway II is an American Paveway-series laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 84 general-purpose bomb, but with laser seeker and wings for guidance. Introduced into service c. 1976. Used by USAF, US Navy, US Marine Corps, Royal Australia ...

–

or BLU-109 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb *

GBU-12 Paveway II The GBU-12 Paveway II is an American aerial laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 82 500-pound (227 kg) general-purpose bomb, but with the addition of a nose-mounted laser seeker and fins for guidance. A member of the Paveway series of weapons, ...

–

500 lb (227 kg) bomb *

GBU-16 Paveway II The GBU-16 Paveway II is an American Paveway-series laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 83 general-purpose bomb, but with laser seeker and wings for guidance. The GBU-16 was introduced into service around 1976 and is used by the U.S. Air Force, ...

– Mk 83 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb *

GBU-58 Paveway II 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 ...

– Mk 81 250 lb (113.4 kg) bomb * GBU-22 Paveway III –

500 lb (227 kg) bomb. Developed at the same time as GBU-24, with some limited export success, but was not adopted by United States as it was felt to be too small a warhead for the desired effects at the time. * GBU-24 Paveway III – Mk 84/BLU-109 2,000 lb (907 kg) class bomb *

GBU-27 Paveway III The GBU-27 Paveway III (Guided Bomb Unit) is a laser-guided bomb with bunker buster capabilities, it is a GBU-24 Paveway III (fitted on the warhead of the BLU-109 bomb body) that has been redesigned to be used by the F-117A Nighthawk stealth groun ...

– BLU-109 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb with penetration warhead, specially designed for F-117 because the large fins of GBU-24 couldn't fit into the bomb bay of F-117. *

Paveway III – During the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, the deepest and most hardened Iraqi bunkers could not be defeated by the BLU-109/B penetrator warhead, so a much more powerful "bunker buster" GBU-28 was developed. The latest warhead used in the GBU-28/B series is the BLU-122/B, a development of earlier BLU-113 on early GBU-28s. *

– 500 lb (227 kg) bomb * GBU-48 Enhanced Paveway II – Mk 83 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb. Raytheon's Enhanced dual-mode GPS and Laser guided version of the laser-only GBU-16. * GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II – BLU-133 500 lb (227 kg) bomb. Raytheon's Enhanced dual-mode GPS and Laser guided version of the laser-only GBU-12. * GBU-50 Enhanced Paveway II – Mk 84 or BLU-109 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb. Raytheon's Enhanced dual-mode GPS and Laser guided version of the laser-only GBU-10. * GBU-59 Enhanced Paveway II – Mk 81 250 lb (113.4 kg) bomb. Raytheon's Enhanced dual-mode GPS and Laser guided version of the laser-only GBU-58. Although GBU-48 etc. are the formal designation for the versions with GPS/INS, they are widely referred to as EGBU-16 etc. ("Enhanced GBU-16").

Numbering systems

Due to the aforementioned numbering systems, there is considerable scope for confusion regarding weapons called 'Paveway X'. The numbering systems include: * The original numbering system from 1-3, with the different planned variants differing in types of guidance. As 2 and 3 never entered service, this numbering system is obsolete. * The system used currently by US forces, which numbers in chronological order * The system used by the RAF, which numbers earlier versions of the Paveway as 2 and 3 - with 2 referring to a 1,000 lb bomb and 3 referring to a 2,000 lb bomb - and Enhanced Paveway 2 and 3 to refer to GPS/INS-added versions of the same. The Paveway 4 is the same weapon in this and the above system.

Assembly

File:US_Navy_030129-N-5362F-001_Aviation_Ordnanceman_assembles_a_500-pound_GBU-12_bomb.jpg, File:US Navy 030327-N-1328C-514 Aviation Ordnancemen prepare Computer Control Guided Bomb Units (GBU) assembly aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).jpg, File:US Navy 030327-N-1328C-515 Aviation Ordnancemen assemble bombs aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).jpg, File:US Navy 030129-N-5362F-003 Aviation Ordnancemen assemble a 500-pound GBU-12 bomb.jpg,

Trademark

and Raytheon compete to supply LGBs to the

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 ...

, and others. Raytheon claimed the exclusive right to use ''Paveway™'' as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

for selling LGB-related products. Lockheed Martin claimed ''Paveway'' is a generic term in the defense industry. Lockheed objected to Raytheon's registration of ''Paveway'' in

opposition proceeding An opposition proceeding is an administrative process available under the patent and trademark law of many jurisdictions which allows third parties to formally challenge the validity of a pending patent application ("pre-grant opposition"), of a gr ...

s before the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

. On September 27, 2011, the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decided that ''Paveway'' is a generic term, in the United States, for LGBs. Raytheon subsequently sued

in Arizona federal court alleging

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...

, Lockheed filed counterclaims in the suit. In September, 2014 the companies agreed that Raytheon is the exclusive owner of "Paveway™" for

s and related goods and services and that "Paveway" is a protectable

, but that Raytheon will license the mark to Lockheed for use in connection with single-mode

kits. The two companies compete each year for U.S. and foreign orders.Lockheed advancing Dual Mode Plus and Scalpel bombs
- Flightglobal.com, 29 March 2016

References

External links

Paveway - Designation Systems
{{Raytheon Guided bombs of the United States Laser ranging Raytheon Company products Texas Instruments