AIR International’S Mark 12 Issues £34.99 Ayton Provides a Pro Le of the Raytheon Paveway IV Precision-Guided Bomb
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FREE APP with sample issue IN APP ISSUES £3.99 SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Monthly £2.99 Precision 6 issues £19.99 for Strike Typhoon AIR International’s Mark 12 issues £34.99 Ayton provides a pro le of the Raytheon Paveway IV precision-guided bomb Above: An RAF Typhoon T3 assigned to No.17(R) Squadron (the former Typhoon Operational Components Electronic Fuse Evaluation Unit) loaded with four inert Paveway IV A Paveway IV weapon comprises various components, and from front to tail The fuse was designed to withstand the forces imposed upon the bomb when practice bombs. Jamie Hunter these are a laser detector, colloquially called the birdie head, which sits on two penetrating a hardened target, which is why it contains no mechanical moving Main: This shot shows the Paveway IV’s ‘birdie fl oating gimbals. The detector aligns to the wind which is the velocity vector of parts. Consider the physics of a small fi ring pin and how it would become a head’ seeker, canards, hardback, lugs, the weapon. When the weapon is falling, regardless of manoeuvre or angle of big mass when suddenly subjected to high acceleration forces. So the design and tail planes. Raytheon UK attack, the detector remains fi xed upon the target. of the fuse allows it to survive the same penetration and force as the warhead. The next component aft of the detector is the cowling that fi ts over the It continues to function throughout the delay used in post-impact detonation. GAINS, which is part of the ECCG (enhanced computer control group), Paveway IV is the fi rst air-to-surface weapon on which the guidance section and and then there’s the CAS (control actuation system), a pneumatically driven the fuse have been fully integrated and the two communicate with each other system (powered by gas) that gets charged immediately after release from throughout the bomb’s fl ight to the target. Without this ‘smart’ fuse the weapon’s the aircraft. The system comprises two pairs of canards that steer the different modes of operation can’t be selected and adjusted by the pilot. weapon through either full defl ection or trail commands from the guidance system, often referred to as a bang-bang control. Solenoids pressurise the Combat Air Control canards which bang into the required position. When the control Paveway IV was designed as a combat air control weapon. This means the command is complete the solenoid is closed and the canards bomb can be employed to suit the conditions of different targets during the return to their trail position. The moving canards mission. Target information can be updated at any time and transmitted to displace and drive the pitch, at a given number of the weapon. What’s more, a Paveway IV can be employed using one of three degrees per second, to steer the weapon as it detonation modes: works through the guidance loop. Because • Height of burst, which allows the altitude at which the bomb detonates he Paveway I Raytheon the CAS uses a minimum number of parts (a above the ground to be selected. laser-guided bomb won that gas bottle, a couple of valves and piping) the • Point impact where the bomb detonates on impact. was fi rst used in competition with weapon’s guidance is very reliable. • Post-impact delay in which the bomb detonates a set time after it has combat by the US its 500lb (227kg) class Aft of the ECCG is the warhead, the main penetrated the target. during the Vietnam Paveway IV, which was part of the weapon, which forms its primary The pilot can select any of the modes while airborne. For example if he or she War. Paveway is developed specifi cally for the structure. Developed specifi cally for is directed to a target area and the forward air controller calls for a strike using SEARCH: AIR International derived from the MoD’s requirements. Paveway IV, the warhead has two main height of burst, that’s the mode selected for releasing the weapon. term ‘precision The RAF’s lead platform for Paveway IV features; the capability to penetrate In a strike using height of burst detonation, the guidance section knows the avionics vectoring equipment’ (PAVE) the name used for systems that control was the Harrier GR9, when it entered frontline service hardened targets, such as bunkers, bomb’s exact orientation and speed throughout its fl ight to the target. Even fl ying the speed and direction of an aircraft. PAVET was adopted by the US Air Force in Afghanistan in November 2008. The Tornado GR4 and is ‘insensitive’ to fi re and a different trajectory than pre-planned, the guidance section corrects for that, the as an identifi er of various weapon systems including, what is probably, the most followed in 2009 and work continues toward a release-to- bullets. In the event that bomb comes through a set point, the antenna signals to the fuse with the time familiar name ever given to a type of bomb. service on the Typhoon FGR4 which is expected in 2014. the bomb ignites in an remaining, the fuse counts down and detonates on command. The pilot doesn’t Many variants of the Paveway family remain in service with the United States, Raytheon’s integration work culminated with a guided- accident situation it have to worry about the timing because the weapon does that for him, all he the UK and other Allied nations. drop from a Typhoon in December last year. will burn out and selects is the preferred mode and the time in milliseconds required. But guiding a bomb with a laser becomes ineffective when the target is neither detonate Paveway IV is also capable of coming in to the target at a specifi ed impact obscured by cloud and sometimes dust. Those limitations have been overcome Paveway IV or propel itself angle from 30 to 90° and on a particular impact heading. But the launch aircraft by installing a GPS-aided inertial navigation system (GAINS) on Paveway weapons Raytheon’s design had to deliver one standard weapon that thanks to its has to be in a given position in the sky, so Paveway IV automatically generates to accurately determine the position of the weapon throughout the fl ight and could be carried on four aircraft types: Harrier GR9, Tornado GR4, insensitive cuing information for the pilot via implementation of LARs (launch acceptability hence provide an all-weather, day-night guidance capability. The GPS-feed allows Typhoon FGR4 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Using Paveway IV’s munitions regions). corrections to be made to remove any drift out of the inertial measurement unit. unique universal hardback enables the weapon to be loaded on all four aircraft features, The weapon uses its position and the target location, the target constraints GAINS was fi rst installed on Raytheon’s 1,000lb (454kg) Enhanced Paveway II types. Sway brace pads on the hardback provide a full interface with all which include input by the pilot, and the attack orientation to calculate an in-range LAR and an bomb which entered RAF service in 2001. This was the fi rst bomb to be employed designated aircraft types. the ability in-zone LAR. Both are projected in the HUD to show the pilot his or her position in combat by Typhoon FGR4s over Libya during Operation Ellamy in 2011. Each Paveway IV is delivered with bale lugs and mace lugs, which enable RAF to vent. relative to the LARs and when he or she is in range to release and hit the target. In 2003, the UK Ministry of Defence issued a systems requirement document armourers to build and confi gure the weapon at the forward deployed base for Positioned immediately behind the warhead is the fuse made by Thales Missile The aircraft has to be within the in-range LAR for the weapon to reach the for a bottoms-up weapon under a project called Precision Guided Bomb. carriage by either Tornado or Typhoon and in the future for the F-35. Electronics in Basingstoke. target. The release position can be from anywhere within the area for the 34 35 Read on your iPhone & iPad Android PC & Mac kindle fi re Blackberry Windows 8 SEARCH: SEARCHBritain at War SEARCH COMBAT AIRCRAFT AVIATION NEWS ALSO FREE APP FREE APP AVAILABLE FOR with sample issue with sample issue IN APP ISSUES £3.99 IN APP ISSUES £3.99 DOWNLOAD NEW Aviation Specials App FREE DOWNLOAD How it Works. Simply download the AIR International IN APP ISSUES app and receive your sample issue completely £3.99 free. 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