The Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator (TIALD) was a targeting pod manufactured by Ferranti/GEC Marconi in the late 1980s and 1990s, and was the UK's primary laser designator for its Paveway series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs).
The Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator (TIALD) was a targeting pod manufactured by Ferranti/GEC Marconi in the late 1980s and 1990s, and was the UK's primary laser designator for its Paveway series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs).
The RAF's first laser designators were Westinghouse Electric Corporation Pave Spike pods fitted to Blackburn Buccaneers which entered service in 1979. [1] As these were limited to daylight use, the Ministry of Defence initiated studies for a new laser designator. [1] The first operational use of LGBs by the UK's armed forces were the RAF Harrier attacks on Argentine forces during the Falklands War. Laser designation for these attacks was carried out by a forward air controller using a ground designator. [1]
In 1988 a Ferranti-led consortium was awarded a contract for development of its TIALD laser designator pod for use on the Panavia Tornado. [2] The Ferranti pod incorporated thermal imagers from GEC-Marconi and automatic video tracking equipment from British Aerospace. [2] The first use of the TIALD pod occurred during trials in May 1990 where a Buccaneer guided Paveway II bombs dropped from a Tornado. [1]
The 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait saw the TIALD pod rushed into service on Tornado GR1s in just 46 days. [1] In the resultant Gulf War, two pre-production TIALD pods were used to guide 229 LGBs to their targets. [3] [4]
The TIALD pod was used extensively following the Gulf War including during the Iraqi no-fly zone patrols (1991-2003), [5] the related Operation Desert Fox (1998), [6] Operation Deliberate Force, Bosnia (1995), [7] the Kosovo War (1999) [7] and the 2003 Iraq Conflict.
In March 1995 the RAF received the first upgraded SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft capable of operating the TIALD pod. The upgrade required both hardware and software updates of the type. [8] Integration on the Harrier GR7 commenced in 1996. [9]
Due to the corporate history of its parent companies, the manufacturer of the TIALD pod has been known as Ferranti, GEC-Ferranti/GEC-Marconi, [3] BAE Systems Avionics, [10] and Selex ES. [11]
Experience in Afghanistan lead to the realisation that TIALD was outdated, as described by an RAF Wing Commander:
"[It] was designed in the 1980s, to allow pilots to drop laser guided bombs on targets like bridges, big buildings and aircraft hangars... TIALD as an air interdiction targeting pod is very good and has done this reasonably well over the last decade, as was proved in Deliberate Force (1995), Allied Force (1999), and Operation Telic (2003). Now, however, we need a sensor that is geared more towards urban [ close air support ], where we need to defend particular targets that are very similar to others, like compounds within small towns or villages." [12]
The TIALD pod was replaced by the LITENING targeting pod on Tornados. [13] The Sniper pod replaced TIALD on Harriers following an urgent operational requirement in 2007. [11] [14]
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. It purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company, in 1999 to form BAE Systems.
Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was demerged from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC then renamed itself Marconi plc.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, 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 that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer.
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) fighter-bomber, the Tornado ECR SEAD aircraft and the Tornado ADV interceptor aircraft.
The GBU-12 Paveway II is an American aerial laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 82 500 lb (230 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.
Paveway is a series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs).
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.
ALARM is a British anti-radiation missile designed primarily to destroy enemy radars for the purpose of Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). It was used by the RAF and is still used by the Royal Saudi Air Force. The weapon was retired by the UK at the end of 2013.
Joint Force Harrier, initially known as Joint Force 2000 and towards the end of its life as Joint Strike Wing, was the British military formation which controlled the British Aerospace Harrier II and British Aerospace Sea Harrier aircraft of the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm between 2000 and 2011. It was subordinate to RAF Air Command.
LANTIRN is a combined navigation and targeting pod system for use on the United States Air Force fighter aircraft—the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon manufactured by Martin Marietta. LANTIRN significantly increases the combat effectiveness of these aircraft, allowing them to fly at low altitudes, at night and under-the-weather to attack ground targets with a variety of precision-guided weapons.
Brimstone is a ground or air-launched ground attack missile developed by MBDA UK for the UK's Royal Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire-and-forget" use against mass formations of enemy armour, using a millimetre wave (mmW) active radar homing seeker to ensure accuracy even against moving targets. Experience in Afghanistan led to the addition of laser guidance in the dual-mode Brimstone missile, allowing a "spotter" to pick out specific and the highest priority targets, particularly useful to minimise collateral damage when friendly forces or civilians were in the area. The tandem shaped-charge warhead is much more effective against modern tanks than older similar weapons such as the AGM-65G Maverick missile. Three Brimstones are carried on a launcher that occupies a single weapon station, allowing a single aircraft to carry many missiles.
The British Aerospace Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest development of the Harrier family, and was derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated accordingly as GR7 and GR9.
The Lockheed Martin Sniper is a targeting pod for military aircraft that provides positive target identification, autonomous tracking, GPS coordinate generation, and precise weapons guidance from extended standoff ranges.
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 BAe Sea Eagle is a medium-weight sea-skimming anti-ship missile designed and built by BAe Dynamics. It is designed to sink or disable ships up to the size of aircraft carriers in the face of jamming and other countermeasures including decoys. Its users include the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Force, and the Indian Navy.
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.
The AN/AAQ-28 Litening targeting pod is an advanced precision targeting pod system currently operational with a wide variety of aircraft worldwide. The research and development of the Litening was first undertaken by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' Missiles Division in Israel, with subsequent completion of Litening I for use in the Israeli Air Force.
A guided bomb is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP).
The McDonnell DouglasAV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primarily employed on light attack or multi-role missions, ranging from close air support of ground troops to armed reconnaissance. The AV-8B is used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), the Spanish Navy, and the Italian Navy. A variant of the AV-8B, the British Aerospace Harrier II, was developed for the British military, while another, the TAV-8B, is a dedicated two-seat trainer.
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