Paveway is a series of laser guided missiles that have revolutionized tactical air-to-ground warfare. Paveway has been crucial in delivering precision strikes missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Raytheon Company developed and produced the Paveway family, which is the world's premier generation of air-to ground laser guidance systems. It includes three generations Paveway weapons and many other Paveway-related technology and tactics.
Paveway II is a 1,000-lb (454kg) general purpose bomb. It is designed to be used against light armor or vehicles that are moderately well protected. It employs a seeker equipped with a fixed focus beam to illuminate the target and a control canard to slightly move the bomb to guide it. This proportional guidance saves energy, increases accuracy and allows delivery aircraft to engage targets at a greater distance.
In 1976, the USAF issued a requirement for a new generation of LGBs, which would use a sophisticated seeker with a wider field of view to minimize energy loss when course corrections are made. Paveway III was born, and it entered service in 1986.
Like the Paveway II's seeker, the Paveway III offers more detail imagery and proportional guidance. The Paveway III also has less energy for course corrections. The Paveway III glides farther and has greater accuracy than the Paveway II. However, it is much more expensive.
It is the most advanced LGB in America and the only one that includes global positioning and inertial Navigation System capabilities. This innovation allows for Paveway bombs to be more accurate in bad conditions and when the illuminating light is off. It makes it less likely that a weapon misses its target.
The Paveway III can also be used with any of the standard weapons, including the Mk 82 (500 lb), and the Mk 84 (907 lb). It can also be used in conjunction with the BLU109 Penetrator Warhead, which, while heavier and more powerful than the Mk 82, is also available.
A GPS/INS module was also added to the Paveway III. It is designed to be used in Paveway III Guidance Kits. The GPS/INS module uses satellite information to provide the Paveway III with real-time, three-dimensional positional information. This gives the weapon an accurate position and allows the bomb to launch with a shorter delay.
A newer generation of Paveway-based weapons, the Paveway IV, is an enhanced version of the Enhanced Paveway II guidance kit that is designed to be fitted to a 227 kg (500 lb) general purpose bomb. Its dual-mode, laser-guided laser guidance combines laser guidance's accuracy with GPS guidance's all-weather performance. This allows it to be used in almost any environment against a wide range of targets.
The UK has been using the Paveway IV as a secondary weapon on its RAF fighter aircraft in Iraq and Syria, in support of ground forces who are coming under fire from ISIS aircraft. In September 2015, the UK MoD announced that it was ordering 900 Paveway IVs for its Typhoon fleet. In stealth mode, they will be carried internally inside the jets bomb bay.