Raytheon has begun talks with the Royal Air Force about selling its GPS guided Enhanced Paveway guided bomb to allow all-weather precision attacks.
Andy Head, Raytheon Systems Limited's business development director, says the company has discussed providing the Enhanced Paveway as a solution to Britain's requirement.
"The UK Ministry of Defence knows about Enhanced Paveway for its precision strike requirement," says Head. Enhanced Paveway functions like a normal Paveway laser guided bomb but has a GPS capability to guide it to the target using satellite data.
Targets
This eliminates the need to use a laser designator to illuminate targets for the bomb. During the Kosovo conflict cloud and smoke prevented up to half of all RAF bombing missions by obscuring laser designator equipment.
"Our system has huge benefits in terms of saving aircraft integration costs but provides a huge increase in capability," says Head. Five trials of the weapon have taken place in the US over the last couple of weeks, says Head, with five hits. The UK Ministry of Defence issued a request for proposals earlier in the year for a GPS guided weapon. This may be a powered weapon, with an electro-optical or imaging infra-red sensor fitted for additional guidance capability. A number of guided weapons are expected to offer their products. Boeing's in-service Joint Direct Attack Munition is a strong contender and Matra BAe Dynamics is expected to offer a bid. During the Kosovo crisis the USAF dropped some 656 JDAMs from their Northrop Grumman B-2B Spirit stealth bombers, which the USAF claimed were highly accurate.
Source: Flight Daily News
