Paveway IV
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Paveway IV is a dual mode
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 ...
/
INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies * INS, the gene for the insul ...
and
laser-guided Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...
bomb manufactured by
Raytheon UK Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
(formerly Raytheon Systems Limited). It is the latest iteration of the
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 ...
series. The weapon is a guidance kit based on the existing Enhanced Paveway II Enhanced Computer Control Group (ECCG) added to a modified
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 ...
general-purpose bomb A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings. Characteristics ...
with increased penetration performance. The new ECCG contains a Height of Burst (HOB) sensor enabling
air burst An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over ...
fusing options, and a SAASM (Selective Availability Anti Spoofing Module) compliant GPS receiver. It can be launched either IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) only, given sufficiently good Transfer Alignment, or using GPS guidance. Terminal laser guidance is available in either navigation mode.


History

The Paveway IV entered service with the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in 2008. It has yet to be accepted into service with the United States, which has pursued the development of the Laser-JDAM and dual mode Small-Diameter Bomb (SDB). The Paveway IV's first export sale was to the
Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, ‎الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...
in a deal worth approximately £150 million (US $247 million). The deal had been delayed for several years by the U.S. State Department which had to authorise the bomb's sale due to its use of American components. A contract was signed in December 2013 with Congressional approval given two months later, with deliveries to begin within 18 months. The Paveway IV was first used operationally by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
during
Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assis ...
in Afghanistan. It was later used operationally during
Operation Ellamy Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Nation ...
in Libya, and
Operation Shader Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground s ...
in Iraq and Syria. In December 2015, the Royal Air Force began strike operations in Syria as part of Operation Shader, and deployed Paveway IV operationally from its
Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
s for the first time. In January 2015, Eurofighter Typhoons of the
Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, ‎الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...
dropped Paveway IVs on ISIL targets in Syria. This was the first operational deployment of Paveway IV from Typhoon. Paveway IVs were also used in the
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Saudi may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is c ...
. In 2015 for a period export licences were withheld over concern about how they might be used in Yemen, but after some assurances were made exports were resumed. The sales are being investigated by the
Committees on Arms Export Controls The Committees on Arms Export Controls (formerly the Quadripartite Committee) is the name for the concurrent meeting of four House of Commons select committees, comprising the International Trade Select Committee, the Defence Select Committee, t ...
. Raytheon UK is conducting preparatory work to equip the Paveway IV with a bunker-busting warhead as part of the Selective Precision Effects At Range (Spear) Capability 1 program. The compact penetrator has the same outer mold line and mass of the regular Paveway IV and uses a discarding shroud design. A penetrating 500 lb Paveway IV would replace the RAF's previous 2,000 lb Paveway III bunker buster. The penetrating version of the Paveway IV will enter service on the Typhoon in early 2019. Raytheon claims the new warhead has the performance of the
BLU-109 The BLU-109/B is a hardened penetration bomb used by the United States Air Force (BLU is an acronym for Bomb Live Unit). As with other "bunker busters", it is intended to penetrate concrete shelters and other hardened structures before exploding ...
penetrating bomb, despite being one-quarter of its weight. In December 2016, the Obama administration blocked a transfer of Paveway IV bombs to Saudi Arabia because of concerns about civilian casualties which officials put down to poor targeting. On 19 June 2015, a Royal Air Force test pilot released two inert Paveway IV laser-guided bombs from a
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
during trials in the United States. This marked the first successful firing of a non-US munition during the F-35's development programme. Paveway IV is a future candidate for integration on the aircraft, and will be used operationally by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy when the F-35 enters service with both arms.


Operators


Current operators

; :*
Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, ‎الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...
; :*
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...


Former operators

; :*
Naval Strike Wing The Naval Strike Wing (NSW) was a flying unit of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was formed on 9 March 2007 (following the re-forming of 800 Naval Air Squadron in 2006, and 801 Naval Air Squadron on 9 March 2007). It included elements o ...


Future operators

; :*
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
;
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
:*
Qatar Air Force The Qatar Emiri Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الأميرية القطرية , Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Amiriyah Al-Qatariyah) (QEAF) is the air arm of the armed forces of the state of Qatar. It was established in 1974 as a small aer ...


References


External links


RAF Tornados lock on latest guided munition
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Raytheon Company products Aerial bombs of the United Kingdom Military equipment introduced in the 2000s