Paveway is a series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs).
31-542: 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 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 , Pave Spike , Pave Tack and Pave Knife , and for specialized military aircraft, such as AC-130U Pave Spectre , MH-53 Pave Low , and HH-60 Pave Hawk . The Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
62-526: A F-4D during the Vietnam War , 1971. 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 wide range of different programs, though backronyms and alternative meanings have been used. For example, in
93-417: A crater 50 feet (15 m) wide and 36 ft (11 m) deep. It can penetrate up to 15 inches (38 cm) of metal or 11 ft (3.4 m) of concrete, depending on the height from which it is dropped, and causes lethal fragmentation to a radius of 400 feet (120 m). Many Mark 84s have been retrofitted with stabilizing and retarding devices to provide precision guidance capabilities. They serve as
124-688: A list of PAVE program names relating to Laser Guided bombs Nicknames and Practice Terms , Department of the Air Force, 15 March 1979, p. 30 , retrieved 31 January 2022 v t e US Air Force PAVE Electronics Systems PAVE Eagle PAVE Hawk Pave Knife PAVE Low PAVE Mint PAVE Mover PAVE Onyx PAVE Pace PAVE PAWS Pave Penny PAVE Pillar Pave Pronto PAVE Spectre Pave Spike PAVE Sword Pave Tack Paveway Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PAVE&oldid=1250762643 " Category : Equipment of
155-466: A simple 'bang-bang' control system , where the CAS commands large canard 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
186-549: Is a generic term, in the United States, for LGBs. Raytheon subsequently sued Lockheed Martin in Arizona federal court alleging trademark infringement , Lockheed filed counterclaims in the suit. In September, 2014 the companies agreed that Raytheon is the exclusive owner of "Paveway™" for laser-guided bombs and related goods and services and that "Paveway" is a protectable trademark , but that Raytheon will license
217-711: 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 microprocessors and engineering for
248-587: Is substantially more expensive, limiting its use to high-value targets. Although Paveway III kits were developed for the smaller Mk 82 weapons, limited effectiveness caused the USAF to adopt the kit only for the larger 907 kg (2,000 lb) class weapons (the Mk 84 and BLU-109 ). Paveway III guidance kits were also used on the GBU-28 /B penetration bomb fielded at the close of the 1991 Gulf War . The Paveway III system
279-734: The 8th Tactical Fighter Wing from May to August 1968. In the combat evaluations the BOLT-117 achieved a circular error probability (CEP) of 75 feet (23 m) while the Paveway achieved a CEP of 20 feet (6.1 m) 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 , and pneumatic control augmentation system (CAS). There are front control canards and rear wings for stability. The weapon guides on reflected laser energy:
310-715: The Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war . In 2023 and 2024, the United States transferred over 14,000 Mark 84 bombs to Israel. They have been used extensively in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas War . At least one of the bombs was used in the 13 July 2024 al-Mawasi attack that killed Hamas commander Rafa Salama and 90+ civilians. According to the US Senator Mark Kelly , Israel used
341-676: The United States Air Force , and others. Raytheon claimed the exclusive right to use Paveway™ as a trademark 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 proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office . On September 27, 2011, the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decided that Paveway
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#1732794143627372-406: The 30,000 lb (14,000 kg) Massive Ordnance Penetrator . The Mark 84 has a nominal weight of 2,000 lb (907 kg), but its actual weight varies depending on its fin, fuze options, and retardation configuration, from 1,972 to 2,083 lb (894 to 945 kg). It is a streamlined steel casing filled with 945 lb (429 kg) of tritonal high explosive. The Mark 84 can form
403-777: The AN/ALQ-117 electronic warfare system to the AN/ALQ-172. Pave Mover – 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 . Pave Onyx – Vietnam era Advanced Location Strike System c.1973. Pave Pace – A fully integrated avionics architecture featuring functional resource allocation. PAVE PAWS – The Phased-Array Warning System which replaced
434-578: The Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program (Report). Champaign, IL: U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN 97020912 . Archived from the original on December 1, 2012 . Retrieved 2013-04-23 . Bibliography [ edit ] "Laser Guided Bombs" . Federation of American Scientists . Retrieved 24 May 2015 . - Contains
465-899: 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 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 under
496-543: The United States Air Force Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Mark 84 bomb The Mark 84 or BLU-117 is a 2,000-pound (900 kg) American general purpose aircraft 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 . At
527-533: The direction of an interagency organization called the Pave Way Task Force. At that time the program had three divisions: 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
558-829: The early 1970s. See also [ edit ] Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) LANTIRN References [ edit ] Notes [ edit ] ^ Engineering Panel on the PAVE PAWS Radar System (1979). Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System (PDF) (Report). National Academy of Sciences. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2014 . Retrieved 2014-06-05 . ^ "Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR)" . Federation of American Scientists . Retrieved 24 May 2015 . ^ Photographs / Written Historical and Descriptive Data: Cape Cod Air Station Technical Facility/Scanner Building and Power Plant (PDF) (Report). p. 2. Archived from
589-430: The guidance electronics. The Paveway series of bombs includes: 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"). Due to the aforementioned numbering systems, there is considerable scope for confusion regarding weapons called 'Paveway X'. The numbering systems include: Lockheed Martin and Raytheon compete to supply LGBs to
620-754: The helicopters Pave Low and Pave Hawk it was said to mean Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment , but in PAVE PAWS it was said to mean Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry . PAVE systems [ edit ] 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 – Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-10 Pave Knife early laser targeting pod. Pave Low – Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low special ops and combat search and rescue helicopter. Pave Mint – Upgrade of
651-402: 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
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#1732794143627682-535: 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 225 kg (500 lb) bomb has been in service since 2008 with Britain's RAF . In US service it
713-487: The mark to Lockheed for use in connection with single-mode laser-guided bomb kits. The two companies compete each year for U.S. and foreign orders. Source(s): [REDACTED] Media related to Paveway at Wikimedia Commons PAVE United States military electronic system program This article is about a military electronic system. For other uses, see Pave (disambiguation) . [REDACTED] An early Pave Sword laser pod on
744-487: The original (PDF) on 2014-07-15 . Retrieved 2014-06-10 . ^ "The Acronym That Wasn't" . Aerofiles . Retrieved 24 May 2015 . ^ Smith, John Q.; Byrd, David A (1991). Forty Years of Research and Development at Griffis Air Force Base: June 1951 – June 1991 (Report). Rome Laboratory. p. 130. Archived from the original on April 8, 2013 . Retrieved 2014-03-10 . ^ Winkler, David F; Webster, Julie L (June 1997). Searching
775-415: 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
806-916: The three BMEWS radars. Pave in this case is a backronym for Perimeter or Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry. Pave Penny – Lockheed-Martin AN/AAS-35(V) laser spot tracker. Pave Pillar – Generic core avionics architecture system for combat aircraft. Pave Pronto – Lockheed AC-130 Spectre gunship program. Pave Spectre – Lockheed AC-130E gunships. Pave Spike – Westinghouse AN/ASQ-153\AN/AVQ-23 electro-optical laser designator pod. Pave Sword – AN/AVQ-11 Pave Sword laser tracker. Pave Tack – Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 electro-optical targeting pod. Used first on F-4 and then later on F-111 F model aircraft. Paveway – A family of laser-guided bomb conversion kits, to be fitted to standard unguided bombs. Pave COIN /Project Little Brother - A USAF program evaluating counter insurgency aircraft during
837-404: The time, it was the third largest bomb by weight in the US inventory behind the 15,000- pound (6,800 kg ) BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" and the 3,000-pound (1,400 kg) M118 "demolition" bomb . It is currently sixth in size due to the addition of the 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) GBU-28 in 1991, the 22,600 lb (10,300 kg) GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) in 2003, and
868-419: The wake of the 1967 USS Forrestal fire , the cooking off time for a Mk 84 is about 8 minutes 40 seconds. MK 84 were used by U.S. forces in the Vietnam War , Operation Desert Storm , Iraq War and Afghanistan War and bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, and by Israel in the 2014 Gaza War and 2023-2024 Gaza War . According to a forensic investigation by Human Rights Watch , MK 84 bombs were also in
899-570: The warhead of a variety of precision-guided munitions, including the GBU-10 / GBU-24 / GBU-27 Paveway laser-guided bombs , GBU-15 electro-optical bomb, GBU-31 JDAM and Quickstrike sea mines . The HGK is a Turkish guidance kit used to convert 2000-lb Mark 84 bombs into GPS/INS guided smart bombs. According to a test report conducted by the United States Navy's Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB) established in
930-765: Was also used during the Indian offensive in the Kargil War of 1999 by the Indian Air Force with the Mirage 2000 as a launch platform. Raytheon , the sole provider of Paveway III variants, is currently delivering both standard and enhanced versions to the US Government and foreign customers. Existing LGBs in US service can be upgraded to Dual Mode Laser Guided Bombs (DMLGB) by adding GPS receivers which enable all weather employment. Lockheed Martin won
961-495: Was developed by Texas Instruments , 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 as the warhead, took place in April 1965. Early version featured aerodynamic designs led by Richard Johnson . In January 1967