Precision: the Next Generation

Smaller, highly accurate, designer weapons will increase the lethality of USAF aircraft. Artist’s conception by Erik Simonsen Precision: The Next Generation

By John A. Tirpak, Executive Editor

N THE rapid US victories in Af- In the world of guided weapons, Ighanistan and Iraq, precision weap- today’s gold standard is the Joint ons were a major factor—both op- Direct Attack Munition. The JDAM, erationally and psychologically. which is guided by signals from Glob- In this artist’s conception, a B-2 drops Operationally, the accuracy of new al Positioning System satellites, was a load of Joint Direct Attack satellite guided munitions expanded a direct outgrowth of Gulf War I. In Munitions. The JDAM is now the gold the effectiveness of each strike air- 1991, when a target area was ob- standard of guided weapons—widely craft and dramatically accelerated scured by smoke or bad weather, available and offering near-precision the pace of the ground advance. Psy- pilots often would abandon laser chologically, guided munitions de- guided bomb attacks, returning to accuracy. In September, the B-2 molished the enemy’s confidence, base with their ordnance. Before that demonstrated its ability to release 80 replacing it with the certain knowl- brief war ended, USAF leaders de- independently targeted 500-pound edge that American bombs would cided the service must develop a pre- JDAMS. find their targets even at night, in cision or near-precision weapon that bad weather, or through smoke or would work in any weather. blowing sand. Now, the Air Force is about to Instant Star usher in a new generation of preci- JDAM was ready for Operation sion weapons that will even further Allied Force, the 1999 Balkans con- expand its power. Smaller, more ac- flict. However, quantities were lim- curate bombs with tailorable explo- ited, and, at that time, it could only sive effects will nearly quadruple be used on the B-2 stealth bomber. the number of targets that a single The JDAM became an instant star aircraft can destroy in one mission. and was so highly sought by strike Stealthy, longer-ranged weapons will planners that USAF quickly ran extend USAF’s reach through rings through its available stock. of heavy anti-aircraft defenses, mak- By 2001, JDAM was certified on ing it possible to strike high-value practically all combat aircraft in the targets without undue risk to air- fleet and was available in 1,000- craft. pound and 2,000-pound versions. It USAF expects this new genera- was used extensively in Operation tion of weaponry—coupled with ad- Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan vances in networking of sensors and and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in instantaneous distribution of infor- Iraq, where it took away most of mation to the warfighter—to carry it the enemy’s traditional defenses— through the next two decades. weather, darkness, and camouflage.

1 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 1 Smaller, highly accurate, designer weapons will increase the lethality of USAF aircraft. Artist’s conception by Erik Simonsen Precision: The Next Generation

By John A. Tirpak, Executive Editor

1 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 1 Moseley put it in more concrete terms: “The average miss distance on the JDAM has been about the length of the bomb.” (JDAM is 10 to 12 feet long, depending on the vari- ant.) To be considered a “precision” weapon, a munition must be capable

USAF photo by TSgt. Michael Ammons of hitting within 9.9 feet of the aim point. If it hits outside that circle, but closer than 66 feet, it is called a “near-precision” weapon. (Based on its specified circular error probable of 42.9 feet, that puts JDAM in the near-precision class, despite its per- formance in combat.) During OIF, coalition forces released 29,199 bombs and missiles against Iraqi targets. About 68 percent of those munitions were guided. Laser guided bombs still edged out JDAMs as the most-used guided weapons Of the overall total, 22.4 percent in Gulf War II and are as yet unmatched for accuracy. This is a GBU-28 were JDAMs, and 29.5 percent were “bunker buster” LGB being released from an F-15E. laser guided bombs. The next most- used munition was the unguided 500- Moreover, it was able to take advan- building by building had a powerful pound Mk 82 general-purpose bomb. tage of information from airborne effect on the enemy, he said. In what has been described as a sensors, satellites, and special op- Throughout the theater, said Mose- turning point in the war, the Iraqis erations forces on the ground. ley, JDAMs and other guided weap- found that there is no safety in a “The rapid collapse [of the Taliban ons were “the primary preferred sandstorm. Late in March, coalition and al Qaeda] across Afghanistan ... munitions.” aircraft, cued by E-8C Joint STARS was a direct result of being able to tie The reason was clear. JDAM rou- radar airplanes, were able to attack incredibly precise applications of air- tinely exceeded its established pa- Iraqi forces either hunkered down or power to incredibly brave people on rameters. Requirements call for the marching through a sandstorm in the the ground, with the capabilities to munition to hit within 43 feet of a belief that it was concealing them. bring JDAM and [laser guided] weap- target. Brig. Gen. Stephen M. Gold- They were wrong. While coalition ons to bear on a very mobile and fein, USAF director of operational ground forces slowed to a crawl, air elusive opponent,” said Gen. T. Mi- capability requirements, was circum- attacks with JDAM systematically chael Moseley, who commanded coa- spect in his praise. He said the muni- destroyed the Iraqi Republican Guard lition air forces in both conflicts. tion was “a little bit better” than right through the storm. In Afghanistan, JDAM greatly expected. A prime concern for the Air Force, impressed the Northern Alliance fighters, part of the anti-Taliban coalition. Gen. Charles F. Wald, who was the air boss when operations got under way in Afghanistan, said that the Afghan allies were amazed that US special operations forces could call in air strikes on advancing Tali- ban units and get precise results in hours or even minutes. “The idea of bombs coming from USAF photo by SSgt. Lee A. Osberry Jr. way up in nowhere, ... at night, through the weather, is all of a sud- den a psychological tool,” said Wald, who is now vice commander of US European Command. In Iraq, the JDAM effect was even more pronounced. Moseley said that, by using JDAM and other guided weapons, planners could designate air strikes against urban targets that otherwise would have been off-lim- Armed with lasers and handheld GPS units, Air Force controllers are able to its for fear of collateral damage. The call in close air support strikes from 40,000 feet and hit targets that are mere ability to dismantle the Iraqi regime feet away from their own positions with ground forces.

46 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 as it developed its new weaponry, ing Dan Jaspering, SDB program sions in which it dropped 80 Mk 82 has been weapons that could limit manager at Boeing. 500-pound bombs against clustered any collateral damage. The company had to test the muni- Iraqi forces. Those bombs were un- Enemies know that they cannot tion against 14 representative tar- guided. In September, USAF tested “take us on” conventionally—because gets, Jaspering said. The toughest a B-2 dropping 80 of the 500-pound that’s “commonly not in their ball- test called for the SDB to penetrate JDAM bombs. It worked. Gen. John park,” said Goldfein. “So the thing three feet of steel-reinforced con- P. Jumper, Air Force Chief of Staff, they want to do is make things very crete, while the easiest demonstrated said of the test: “Each of these bombs difficult for us, by putting targets in a blast/fragmentation effect against guided to individual targets. Not one difficult places.” Those places may a softer target, such as rocket launch- bomb was more than 10 feet away be near schools, religious sites, or ers and artillery. from its target.” The service plans civilian neighborhoods, all of which The bomb will have wings that, soon to certify the capability for offer a high risk of collateral damage. after release from the aircraft, pop B-2 combat operations. The stealthy out to provide a standoff range of up bomber will be able to strike—with Going Smaller to 46 miles when dropped from alti- near precision—80 different targets The solution is to use smaller weap- tude. It will be guided by an ad- on a single sortie. ons with less explosive effect, Gold- vanced, antijam GPS-aided inertial The JDAM is also getting more ac- fein said. The weapons might have navigation system. It can further re- curate, according to Boeing’s JDAM delayed fuzes causing them to ex- fine its GPS satellite location infor- program manager, Rick Heerdt. plode underground, thus limiting mation by getting data from ground- Heerdt said that USAF has funded damage, or they might have no war- based differential GPS units around a program to give all JDAMs selec- head at all but derive a destructive the world—giving the bomb an ac- tive availability antispoof modules effect just from being dropped from curacy of within 13.2 feet. and antijam electronics—capabili- high altitude. Jaspering said that all the stores ties that will make it harder to jam a The latter tactic was used on oc- management functions will be done JDAM trying to obtain position in- casion in OIF. So-called “concrete” on the SDB’s rack itself, which has formation from GPS satellites. JDAM bombs—inert training shapes fit- its own avionics system and four also will be able to take advantage of ted with real guidance kits—were pneumatic weapon ejectors. Both the differential GPS system that SDB dropped into areas where even a small features simplify aircraft integration, will use, he added. explosion could have done too much enabling it to work easily with vari- “JDAM will be as accurate as Small damage to civilian structures nearby. ous platforms. Diameter Bomb,” Heerdt asserted. The force of the bomb’s physical The F-15E, in 2006, will be the Goldfein said the service acceler- impact was sufficient in those cases first aircraft to receive SDB. Even- ated the 500-pound JDAM buy, and, to achieve the desired effect. tually, nearly all combat aircraft in as a result of that, USAF will buy “a With a smaller munition—but one the USAF inventory will be certified little less” of the 2,000-pound ver- “very precise and very focused”— for the weapon. sion. “And, obviously, as SDB comes the question is whether you can Before the SDB, though, USAF will on, you’ll see additional adjustments” achieve the same effect as with “a field another small, guided weapon— to the number purchased. larger boom,” said Goldfein. a JDAM-equipped 500-pound bomb. Another major advancement in The Air Force believes the answer In Gulf War II, the B-2 flew mis- Continued on p. 50 is yes. In late August, the service selected Boeing as the developer of the Small Diameter Bomb, which likely will be one of the primary weapons for US airpower for the Boeing photo next 20 years. Initially, Boeing will produce about 24,000 SDBs and 2,000 “smart racks” to carry them. Officials expect those numbers to go quite a bit higher. (The initial production run for JDAM was 88,000 units, but the new production target—amended several times in the last two years—is now more than 230,000.) The SDB is a 250-pound- class weapon. Four of them will hang from a smart rack fitted in place of a combat aircraft’s pylon that normally would house a single 1,000- or 2,000- pound bomb. (Some aircraft will also carry them internally.) The SDB will be a highly flexible Small Diameter Bombs (red) likely will become the most ubiquitous ground munition because it can handle a attack weapons in the arsenal. Shown here in an F/A-22, the SDB will qua- range of dissimilar targets, accord- druple the number of targets each aircraft can hit on a single sortie.

AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 47 Continued from p. 47 USAF expects JASSM-ER to re- place the Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile, supplies of which are dwindling with each new operation. CALCMs were converted from Lockheed Martin photo the nuclear version AGM-86B ALCM, and, officials said, USAF has reached the end of its stock of ALCMs available for conversion. Two other new munitions—the Joint Standoff Weapon and the Wind- Corrected Munitions Dispenser— were also used successfully in Gulf War II. The Navy is the lead service on JSOW, an unpowered, stealthy glide vehicle that dispenses submunitions. In 1999, shortly after the Navy de- clared it operational, the GPS/INS- guided weapon was used by aircraft Extending the reach of bombers and fighters alike, the stealthy Joint Air-to- patrolling the southern Iraq no-fly Surface Standoff Missile is already available on the B-52. It will go after heavily zone to strike Iraqi air defenses. It defended targets deep in enemy territory. (An F-16 flies chase during a test.) was also used for Operation Allied Force in the Balkans. JSOW is al- an imaging infrared seeker for ter- ready in full-rate production. Iraq—Munitions Expended minal guidance. The Air Force plans to develop an Like JDAM and SDB, JASSM’s advanced version of the Wind-Cor- Unguided (32%) accuracy will be improved by GPS rected Munitions Dispenser. The enhancements. It also has a unique WCMD, first used in Afghanistan, is feature that the Air Force may incor- a tail kit attached to existing muni- porate in its other high-value munitions, such as the sensor fuzed weap- tions, said Randall K. Bigum, Lock- ons, to make them steerable via INS. heed Martin vice president for strike It also adjusts for windage on its weapons. way down. The Air Force plans to Just before impact, JASSM will develop an extended-range WCMD Guided (68%) feed an image of the target back to by installing a wing set and GPS. its launch aircraft, said Bigum. This will help war planners with the al- Small and Powered ways-vexing problem of bomb dam- Lockheed Martin independently Guided 19,948 age assessment. If JASSM calls in developed the Low Cost Autonomous Unguided 9,251 and shows that it’s about to hit the Attack System submunition, a small, target, “it’s a pretty good bet” that powered missile—about three feet— Total 29,199 target will be destroyed, he said. that carries a laser-radar seeker in its With many other cruise missiles, nose. Bigum said that LOCAAS can there’s no feedback after the weapon fly “for about 45 minutes,” loitering precision attack—the Joint Air-to- has left the launch area, so the Air over and scanning the target area. If Surface Standoff Missile—began Force has to wait for poststrike re- it sees something that matches the operational service on the B-52 connaissance to find out if the target target it’s been programmed to find, bomber in September. was destroyed. The call-back fea- it attacks and, like JASSM, relays a ture will speed up the decision about message to its launch aircraft that it Long-Range Penetrator whether the target has to be struck is doing so. The objective for JASSM—a again. Should it not find the target, or if stealthy, long-range missile—is to Lockheed Martin also is develop- the attack is aborted, Bigum said, the penetrate highly defended airspace ing an extended-range version called weapon will fly high and destroy it- and hit fixed or moving high-value JASSM-ER. It will have “two to three self, rather than cause unintended targets. It is meant to be fired well times greater range,” Bigum said. destruction on the ground. At its self- outside enemy air defenses. A deci- Lockheed expects to add fuel capac- destruct altitude, the blast dispersion sion to go into full-rate production ity without changing the outer shape from the small missile is so great of JASSM was expected soon. of the missile, simply by changing there would be no risk to those below. JASSM can autonomously fly an the packaging and the engine—nei- The Air Force now has funded evasive route to a target more than ther of which will slow certification LOCAAS as a research project that 230 miles away. It has a 1,000-pound of the weapon. JASSM-ER should it has dubbed the Autonomous Wide- penetrating and blast/fragmentation enter production in four years, with Area Search Munition. Initially, the warhead and uses both GPS/INS and deliveries the year after that. service expected to put three AWASMs

48 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 Iraq—Most Popular Munitions in one dispenser, but that plan may moving target is going to be criti- change since tests of the weapon cal,” said Goldfein. have shown such high reliability. Asked if weapons today—particu- All Other (29%) “You probably only need one per larly through the employment of GPS target,” Bigum said. (The AWASM guidance—are as accurate as they project has led the Air Force to con- need to be, Goldfein hedged. On the sider adding a terminal seeker to the one hand, he said, it would be “ex- SDB, giving it the capability to search tremely wise” for the Air Force to the target area for a moving object.) take advantage of miniaturized tech- Although there is no formal re- nologies which could, in a few years, quirement for a weapon like LOCAAS put multiple types of seekers on vir- yet, Goldfein said, “I think that the tually all munitions, adding to their ability to get into a very difficult, capability and flexibility. anti-access area, to loiter and then On the other hand, there is a point LGB, JDAM, Mk 82 (71%) have the sort of guidance where you in time when capabilities are “ex- can find and geo-locate targets is ceeding your real need,” he said. clearly ... attractive.” “Clearly, we need to balance the Iraq—Munitions Use By Type It is so attractive that USAF has available dollars and make sure we given Boeing a three-year contract don’t waste any.” LGB 8,618 29.51% to work on a similar idea—a 1,000- Goldfein also pointed out that the GPS–JDAM 6,542 22.40% mile-range cruise missile that could Air Force plans to ensure it is not fit in the space of a 1,000-pound exclusively dependent on GPS to Mk 82 5,504 18.85% JDAM. Once over its target area, the preclude being shut down if a GPS Mk 83 1,692 5.79% missile would drop to low altitude jamming threat succeeds. The ser- and begin a search of up to 15 min- vice must start thinking about oper- M117 1,625 5.57% utes to find its moving or relocatable ating without GPS “just in case,” he Maverick 918 3.14% target. It would carry three submu- said. “You wouldn’t want that to be nitions. such a long pole in our tent that you GPS–WCMD 908 3.11% Goldfein believes USAF will find couldn’t act if there was some issue itself “with weaponry that has that with GPS.” TLAM 802 2.75% sort of ability.” One reason, he said, Now that most of the munitions Allied guided 679 2.33% is that the “art of the possible helps niches have been filled, Goldfein drive your concept of operations.” said, the Air Force will shift empha- Hellfire 562 1.92% He said another reason is one of the sis toward obtaining fine-grained, HARM 408 1.40% “likely lessons” from the global war real-time battlefield knowledge to on terror: USAF needs to be able to provide the new munitions with tar- JSOW 253 0.87% strike moving targets with the same geting information. Without real- CBU-99 182 0.62% sort of precision it employs against time information, he said, no matter fixed targets. In many circumstances, how good the weapon is, “it’s a CALCM 153 0.52% “the ability to get at that fleeting, waste.” ■ Allied unguided 124 0.42% CBU-87 118 0.40% GPS–LGB 98 0.34% Other guided 7 0.025%

Mk 84 6 0.021% Lockheed Martin photo Total 29,199

How Many PGMs USAF Plans To Buy

System Number JASSM 2,853 JASSM-ER 1,426 JDAM 240,882 JSOW 3,000 SDB 24,000 WCMD 24,644 Smaller, smarter, and able to loiter—that’s the future of PGMs. Lockheed Martin’s tiny LOCAAS attacks in swarms and ignores targets other than its own. If it can’t WCMD-ER 7,500 strike its designated target, it destroys itself in air, avoiding collateral damage.

AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2003 49