GBU-10 Paveway II

Last updated
GBU-10 Paveway II
GBU-10 xxl.jpg
Type2,000 lb (910 kg) unpowered guided weapon
Specifications
Length14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)
Diameter18 in (460 mm)

Effective firing rangeMore than 8 nmi (9.2 mi; 15 km)

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 Australian Air Force and various NATO air forces.

Contents

Description

GBU-10 shortly before it impacts a small boat during a training exercise GBU-10 shortly before it impacts a small boat during a training exercise.jpg
GBU-10 shortly before it impacts a small boat during a training exercise

The GBU-10 has been built in more than a half-dozen variants with different wing and fuse combinations. Weight depends on the specific configuration, ranging from 2,055 to 2,103 lb (932 to 954 kg). GBU-10 bombs (along with the balance of the Paveway series) are produced by defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Raytheon began production after purchasing the product line from Texas Instruments. Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to compete with Raytheon when there was a break in production caused by transferring manufacturing out of Texas.

Raytheon production of the Paveway II is centered in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. Lockheed Martin production is centered in Pennsylvania.

Laser-guided bombs are often labeled as "smart bombs", despite requiring external input in the form of laser designation of the intended target. According to Raytheon's fact sheet for the Paveway II, 99 deliveries of guided munitions will yield a circular error probable (CEP) of only 3.6 feet (1.1 m), compared to a CEP of 310 feet (94 m) for 99 unguided bombs dropped under similar conditions.

On 14 February 1991, an air-to-air kill was scored by a GBU-10 when an F-15E Strike Eagle of the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron hit an Iraqi Air Force Mil Mi-24 Hind. 30 seconds after firing, the F-15E crew thought the bomb had missed and was about to fire an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile when the helicopter suddenly exploded. [1]

Both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have developed GPS-guided versions of the GBU-10. [2] [ unreliable source? ] Lockheed Martin calls its version the DMLGB (Dual-Mode LGB) GPS/INS, and the U.S. Navy issued Lockheed Martin a contract in 2005 for further development of the weapon system. The GPS/INS-equipped version of the GBU-10 produced by Raytheon is the GBU-50/B, also informally also known as the EGBU-10 (GPS/INS-enabled LGBs are frequently referred to as Enhanced GBUs or EGBUs). So far, Raytheon-built Paveway II EGBUs have only been produced for export, and have been used in combat by the British Royal Air Force over Afghanistan and Iraq.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-12 Paveway II</span> Laser guided bomb

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, Paveway II entered into service c. 1976. It is currently in service with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and various other air forces.

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 during Operation Desert Storm to penetrate hardened Iraqi command centers located deep underground. Only two of the weapons were dropped in Desert Storm, both by F-111Fs. One GBU-28 was dropped during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and some reportedly during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.

The GBU-27 Paveway III is a laser-guided bomb with bunker buster capabilities, it is a GBU-24 Paveway III that has been redesigned to be used by the F-117A Nighthawk stealth ground attack aircraft. The pilots flying over Iraq during the First Gulf War nicknamed it the "Hammer", for its considerable destructive power and blast radius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-24 Paveway III</span> Laser-guided bomb

GBU-24 Paveway III or simply GBU-24 is a family of laser-guided bombs, a sub-group of the larger Raytheon Paveway III family of weapons. The Paveway guidance package consists of a seeker package attached to the nose of the weapon, and a wing kit attached to the rear to provide stability and greater range.

The Mark 82 is a 500 pounds 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.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles (28 km). JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 to 2,000 pounds. The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM. When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paveway</span> Laser-guided aerial bomb family

Paveway is a series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laser-guided bomb</span> Type of 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 proved their value in precision strikes of difficult point targets. These weapons use on-board electronics to track targets that are designated by laser, typically in the infrared spectrum, and adjust their glide path to accurately strike the target. Since the weapon is tracking a light signature, not the object itself, the target must be illuminated from a separate source, either by ground forces, by a pod on the attacking aircraft, or by a separate support aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle</span> American all-weather multirole fighter aircraft

The McDonnell DouglasF-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic-warfare aircraft. United States Air Force (USAF) F-15E Strike Eagles can be generally distinguished from other US Eagle variants by darker aircraft camouflage, conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) mounted along the engine intake ramps and a tandem-seat cockpit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BOLT-117</span> First laser-guided aerial bomb

The Texas Instruments BOLT-117, retrospectively redesignated as the GBU-1/B was the world's first laser-guided bomb (LGB). It consisted of a standard M117 750-pound (340 kg) bomb case with a KMU-342 laser guidance and control kit. This consisted of a gimballed laser seeker on the front of the bomb and tail and control fins to guide the bomb to the target. The latter used the bang-bang method of control where each control surface was either straight or fully deflected. This was inefficient aerodynamically, but reduced costs and minimized demands on the primitive onboard electronics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-16 Paveway II</span> Type of laser-guied bomb

The GBU-16 Paveway II is an American Paveway-series laser-guided bomb, based on the 1,000-pound (450 kg) 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, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and various NATO air forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paveway IV</span> Precision-Guided Munition

Paveway IV is a dual mode GPS/INS and laser-guided bomb manufactured by Raytheon UK. It is the latest iteration of the Paveway series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guided bomb</span> Bomb controllable from an external device

A guided bomb is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armement Air-Sol Modulaire</span> Precision-guided munition

The Armement Air-Sol Modulaire, commonly called AASM or HAMMER, is a French precision-guided munition developed by Safran Electronics & Defense. AASM comprises a frontal guidance kit and a rear-mounted range extension kit matched to a dumb bomb. The weapon is modular because it can integrate different types of guidance units and different types of bombs.

The Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser or WCMD system is a US tail kit produced by Lockheed Martin for use with the Tactical Munitions Dispenser family of cluster bombs to convert them to precision-guided munitions. In 1997 the United States Air Force issued contracts to complete development and begin production of the WCMD, planning to modify 40,000 tactical munitions dispensers - 30,000 for CEM and 5,000 each for Gator and SFW - at a cost of US$8,937 per unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precision-guided munition</span> "Smart bombs", used to strike targets precisely

A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gulf War guided munitions accounted for only 9% of weapons fired, but accounted for 75% of all successful hits. Despite guided weapons generally being used on more difficult targets, they were still 35 times more likely to destroy their targets per weapon dropped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-53/B StormBreaker</span> American precision-guided glide bomb

The GBU-53/B StormBreaker, previously known as the Small Diameter Bomb II, is an American air-launched, precision-guided glide bomb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb</span> American precision-guided glide bomb

The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a 250-pound (110 kg) precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to provide aircraft with the ability to carry a higher number of more accurate bombs. Most US Air Force aircraft will be able to carry a pack of four SDBs in place of a single 2,000-pound (910 kg) bomb. It first entered service in 2006. The Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) was later developed to enable the SDB to be launched from a variety of ground launchers and configurations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudarshan laser-guided bomb</span> Laser guided bomb

Sudarshan is an Indian laser-guided bomb kit, developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab with technological support from another DRDO lab Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

References

  1. Davies, Steve (2005). F-15E Strike Eagle Units In Combat 1990–2005. London: Osprey Publishing. pp. 29–30. ISBN   1-84176-909-6.
  2. "Raytheon delivers Enhanced Paveway II bombs to undisclosed European country". 7 May 2013.