Saudi Arabia and Oman have emerged as potential customers for the Raytheon Systems Paveway IV precision-guided bomb (PGB) now in development for the UK Ministry of Defence, says the company. The US Marine Corps is also interested in acquiring elements of the GPS-aided inertial navigation/laser-guided weapon for its Boeing AV-8B Harrier II strike aircraft.
Saudi Arabia is likely to follow the UK in integrating the Paveway IV with the Panavia Tornado as part of an anticipated upgrade to the type, says Raytheon Systems business development executive Ray Minhas. The weapon could also be selected to equip Oman’s Sepecat Jaguars, he says.
Raytheon has accelerated its critical design review for the Paveway IV by four months to November 2005 and will conduct a similar review on the weapon’s Thales Missile Electronics-supplied fuze next month.
Equipped with a unitary penetration/blast fragmentation warhead, the 225kg (500lb) Paveway IV will be integrated with the UK’s BAE Systems Harrier GR9 and Tornado GR4 fleets and is under consideration for its Eurofighter Typhoons and Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. It will enter UK service with the GR9 in mid-2007 after six test releases, says UK Defence Procurement Agency PGB integrated project team leader Capt Howard Holdsworth.
CRAIG HOYLE/LONDON
Source: Flight International
