AGM-130
The AGM-130 is a powered version of the US GBU-15 precision-guided modular glide bomb, which in turn evolved from the Mk 84 2,000-lb (907-kg) bomb. Commonality between the two weapons includes the TV seeker, body, and short-chord wings. Warheads for the GBU-15 are the Mk 84, a submunitions dispenser (SUU-54), or the more powerful BLU-109 (I-2000) unitary warhead.
In addition to its rocket motor, the
AGM-130 differs from the GBU-15 in the provision of a digital autopilot and radar altimeter. The rocket motor extends the range of the AGM-130 up to three times farther than the GBU-15 under similar launch conditions.
The AGM-130 can be launched from low altitudes against high-value fixed targets. Its flight profile consists of a glide phase, a powered phase (after which the rocket separates from the missile), and a final glide phase. Midcourse corrections are passed through a jam-resistant data link that is an improvement over the GBU-15′s AXQ-14. Targeting options can be Lock-On Before Launch (LOBL) or After Launch (LOAL), which provides for automatic tracking, or through joystick control by the weapons system operator on board the launch aircraft. The weapons systems officer can also update a locked-on AGM-130 during the flight.
GBU-15s have either a television (TV)
(GBU-15 (V) l/B) or Imaging Infrared (IIR) (GBU-15(V)2/B) seeker; the IIR
seeker has 90% commonality with the AGM-65D Maverick IIR air-to-surface missile.
The AGM-130 serves as a standoff weapon for the F-4E, F-15E, and
F-111F.
DEVELOPMENT •
The initial operational capability of the GBU-15 (TV) was in 1983, the GBU-15 (IIR) in 1987. Air Force conducted nine initial operational test and evaluation launches, beginning in June 1989 and ending in January 1990. Eight of the nine launches were successful, with six scoring direct hits.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
The GBU-15 was used effectively against Iraqi targets during Operation Desert Storm.
SPECIFICATIONS •
MANUFACTURER Rockwell International (prime)
MISSILE WEIGHT
GBU-15: 2,617 lb (1,187 kg) AGM-130: 2,980 lb (1,352 kg)
warhead 2,000 lb (907 kg)
DIMENSIONS
configuration
thick cylinders, with small cruciform foreplanes, and large rectangular mainplanes at the tail;
AGM-130 has a strap-on
ventral rocket
length GBU-15: 12 ft 10.5 in (3.92 m) AGM-130: 12 ft 11 in (3.94 m)
diameter (both)
1 ft 6 in (460 mm)
wingspan (both)
4ft 11in(1.50m)
propulsion Hercules solid-fuel
booster weighing 480 lb (218 kg) with 9 in (0.27 m) diameter
PERFORMANCE
max range GBU-15: 4.3 nm (5 mi; 8
km)
AGM-130: 26 nm (30 mi;
48 km)
WARHEAD Mk-84 conventional high explosive or SUU-54 explosive submuni-tions
SENSORS/FIRE CONTROL
guidance: manual command through 2-way data link or automatic TV or IIR guidance through pre- or postlaunch lock-on
Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS)
The US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a long-range tactical missile for deployment in modified M270 Armored Vehicle-Multiple Rocket Launchers (AVMRL), which are already used for the Multiple-Launch Rocket System (MLRS) . The MLRS AVMRL is modified by changing the pods from two six-round to two M39 Missile/Launch Pod Assemblies (M/LPA) single-round units and updating the fire control software to Version 6. The Improved Stabilization Reference Platform (ISRP) provides more precise pointing, the Program Interface Module (PIM) allows the launcher and the missile to exchange more data, and the Improved Electronics Unit (IEU) gives better flexibility for processing types of munitions.
ATACMS is a semiballistic missile, with inertial guidance provided by a Honeywell H700-3A ring laser gyroscope system. Launch can be as much as 30″ off axis, and the missile is steered aerody-namically by electrically actuated control fins during the descent, modifying the flight path from a ballistic parabola, Offsetting the launch angle and descending semiballistically complicates the enemy’s ability to trace trajectory back to the launch vehicle. Its disadvantage is that accuracy is less precise than a straightforward flight path would achieve.
The missile was deployed with an M74 warhead that dispenses 950 M42 Antipersonnel/Antimateriel (APAM)
submunitions that are cast forward at a 45″ angle over the target area, producing a 600-^2 (183-mA2) footprint. Effectively,
18 ATACMS would equal the impact of
792 155-mm artillery rounds.
DEVELOPMENT •
The Desert Storm conflict resulted in rushing the operational test battery, being deployed to Saudi Arabia in late 1990. The original, tightly scheduled development contract was awarded in late March 1986. The first
flight test was on April 26, 1988. The development test phase ended in December 1989 after 26 missiles had been fired. The operational test phase ran from March to June 1990.
Delivery of the first production missile to the US Army was in June 1990. A $66.4 million contract for the low-rate initial production of 104 missiles was awarded in February 1990. The $126.3-million contract for full-scale production of 318 missiles was awarded in November 1990. First delivery from this lot occurred in June 1991. Further $30.5-million-contract modification in June 1991 added 55 missiles and some LPAs.
When the development test phase ended in December 1989, only 26 of 35 planned test launches had been conducted. South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia France, Turkey, Italy, and Great Britain’ may purchase the ATACMS. Italy and France will participate in producing Block II warheads for the missile. ATACMS will also carry the brilliant antitank (BAT) missile as a submunition.
VARIANTS •
Block II (follow-on warhead), Terminal Guided Warhead/TGW (US/German/French/British consortium), SADARM (Sense and Destroy Armor) submunition, Brilliant Antitank
(BAT) submunition, AGM-137/MGM-
137/TSSAM (Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile).
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
The AT-ACMS was successful in Saudi Arabia dur-
ing Desert Storm. More than 30 ATACMS
missiles were launched against Iraqi fixed targets, mostly Russian-made SA-2 Guideline and SA-3 Goa missile launchers.
In at least one instance, 200 un-armored vehicles attempting to cross a bridge were also destroyed. According to official reports, all missiles hit, and destroyed or rendered inoperable, their targets, some of which were more than 54 nm (62 mi; 100 km) from the launch site.
SPECIFICATIONS •
manufacturer Loral Vought
weight with block 1 WARHEAD 3,687
lb (1,672 kg)
DIMENSIONS
length 13 ft (3.96 m)
diameter 24 in (610 mm) propulsion Atlantic Research 40,000-
lb (18,144kg) static thrust solid-
propellant rocket MAX RANGE 81 nm (93.2 mi; 150 km) warhead M74 containing approx 950
M42 bomblets sensors/fire control missile guided by Honeywell H700-3A ring laser gyro; overall ATACMS command and control managed by DEC MicroVAX computers
Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
The MLRS is a 227-mm system with tracked, self-propelled, launcher loader, disposable pods, and fire control equipment. The M270 Armored Vehicle-
Mounted Rocket Launcher (AVMRL)
consists of an M269 Launcher Loader Module (LLM) with two six-cell rocket Launch Pods/Containers (LP/C) mounted on an M993 carrier vehicle. Its mission is to bombard enemy field artillery and air defense systems as far as 20 mi (32 km) away. A full salvo of 12 227mm ripple-fired rockets with the M77 submunition warhead will saturate a 60-acre (24hectare) area with 7,728 antipersonnel bomblets in less than one minute. Other warheads include the AT2 antitank
A Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
U.S. GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
mine dispenser and a Terminally Guided
Warhead (TGW) . The M993 vehicle is a modified M2
Bradley armored personnel carrier. Above the tracks, the superstructure has an armored cab forward and the bulky traversable launcher behind. When traveling, the cab and launcher roofs form a flat roofline. The M269 LLM has a twin-
boom crane for reloading the six-round LP/C that requires no personnel other than the three-man crew. (One crew member can serve the launcher from emplacement to departure if necessary.)
US MLRS batteries are served by three ammunition sections, each of which has six Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT) towing a Heavy Expanded Mobility Ammunition Trailer
(HEMAT); total capacity is 108 LP/Cs.
British MLRS reloads come on Reynolds Broughton two-axle trailers carrying specially adapted flatracks.
The entire fire mission can be conducted from within the cab. The Norden fire control system can be programmed with three different fire missions, each with 12 aim points. The maximum rectangular target size for each aim point is 2,187yd X 1,094yd (2,000m X l,000m), square target is 1,094 yd (1,000 m) square, and maximum circular target radius is 547 yd (500 m) .
The Fire Control System’s (FCS) ballistic computer calculates the necessary trajectories. Operation is semiautomatic, the FCS leading the crew through the sequence and automatically reaiming the system during ripple fire. The rrew ran also designate targets manually. The FCS can also accept inputs from other battlefield surveillance radars and sensors. The FCS also controls the loading and unloading of launch pods.
Version 9 fire control software was introduced in 1990 for the battery’s Fire Direction System (FDS) that links the launchers to the Tactical Fire Direction System (TACFIRE) . Version 9 permits an MLRS fire direction specialist to control
launching in a Lance missile battery or to mix Lance and MLRS launchers. The FDS is now fielded at the platoon level, increasing flexibility and redundancy. In addition, the system can store four fire plans with up to 78 total targets and interact with the Airborne Target Handoff System
(ATHS) on the OH-58D Kiowa and the
Automatic Fire Control System (AFCS)
developed for the M109A6 Paladin 155mm self-propelled gun. Version 9 allows up to six firing units-platoons and batteries (depending on the size of the organization) -to mass their fires on a target.
DEVELOPMENT •
The system’s initial operational capability was in 1983, and it entered service in 1988. A year later, the Army awarded a five-year contract to the former LTV for the supply of 235 launchers and 127,000 rockets through 1995. The US Marines begin receiving their AVMRLs in 1995.
In December 1986, the Netherlands signed a $190-million agreement with the US government for 22 launchers, rockets, and spare parts. Its first units became operational in 1990.
In December 1987, the US government announced a 12-system sale to Turkey for $60 million. LTV (51%), EHY (34%), and MVKEK (15%) are shareholders in a program to produce 168 systems and 55,000 rockets over a lo-year period in a factory near Burda, Turkey.
A European Production Group (EPG) was established in 1981 with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The group was to produce MLRS systems for the nations in the consortium, Aerospatiale (France), RTG (Germany), Hunting Engineering
(Great Britain), and SNIA BPD SpA (Italy).
The first production contract was let on
May 27, 1986. Aerospatiale began MLRS
production for the EPG in October 1988; Wigmann is assembling German vehicles.
MLRS International Corp. (MIC),
headquartered in London, England, is the marketing entity for all international sales. Vought Corp. (formerly LTV) owns
70% of the enterprise, with the EPG holding the other 30%.
The British (72 launchers), French (48 launchers), and Italian (22 launchers) armies have deployed their MLRS at the corps level. German MLRS is fielded in a nine-launcher battery composed of a four-launcher and a five-launcher platoon, two of which are assigned to each of eight division-level rocket artillery battalions. A US Army MLRS battery consists of nine AVMRLs.
Funding for Japanese production began in FYl991. As many as 150 launchers may be manufactured in Japan.
In addition to the US Army and Marine Corps, Bahrain, Japan, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are or will be operating the US-produced MLRS
VARIANTS •
XR-M77 Extended Range, AT2 (Germany warhead), Terminal
Guided Warhead (TGW) , XM-135 Binary Chemical Warhead, SADARM (Sense
and Destroy Armor) submunition, ABRS (shipboard).
COMBAT EXPERIENCE • Although the manufacturer claimed higher numbers, the official report on the conduct of
the Persian Gulf War stated that 189 SPLLs had fired 9,660 rockets.
Most of the launchers were with US Army forces; the first US combat use came in mid-February as part of the preparation for the ground campaign. Generally, reports on the effectiveness of the weapon were very favorable, with a large percentage of Iraqi targets destroyed.
According to some reports, the rate of fire was described as “steel rain,” allegedly coined by Iraqi soldiers to describe MLRS bombardments.
12 British MLRS launchers. fired over 2,500 rockets during Desert Storm. As evidence of the system’s destructive power, the British noted an Iraqi brigade that began with 80 artillery pieces and lost only 20 to air attacks over a period of weeks. After the MLRS barrages, only seven pieces remained operable.
SPECIFICATIONS •
MANUFACTURER
FMC (AVMRL chassis) Loral Vought (MLRS)
European Production Group (EPG)
(see above) Nissan Motors (Japan) ROCKET ARMAMENT
number of cells 12
launcher elevation
+3Bg (+1,067 mils); rate
0.9″ (15.5 mils)/sec
traverse +/-194″ each side of centerline; rate 5deg/sec
rocket caliber
227 mm
weight rocket
Phase I: 677 lb (307 kg) AT2: 568 lb (257.5 kg)
warhead
Phase I: 339.5 lb (154 kg) AT2: 236 lb (107 kg)
rocket length
Phase I: 12 ft 11 in (3.93 m)
diameter 9 in (227 mm) max range Phase I: 19.9 mi (32 km) AT2: 24.8 mi (40 km)
rate ofjire
less than 1 min for 12 missiles
LAUNCH VEHICLE
weight combat: 55,536 lb (25,191
kg)
unloaded: 44,509 lb
(20,189 kg) launch pod: 5,004 lb
(2,270 kg)
dimensions hull length: 22 ft 10 in
(6.97 m) width: 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) height: 19 ft 5 in (5.93 m)
elevated, 8 ft 7 in (2.62
m) traveling length of track on
ground: 14 ft 2 in (4.33
m)
track width: 21 .in (530
mm)
ground clearance: 17 in
(430 mm)
propulsion Cummins VTA-903 903-ins (14.8-liter) liquid-cooled 4stroke turbocharged V-8 diesel engine General Electric
I IMPT-500
hydromechanical transmission; 3 forward/l reverse ranges (variable ratios) max power: 500 hp at
2400 rpm
power-to-weight ratio 19.85 hp/metric ton performance speed: 40 mph (64 km/
h)
range: 300 mi (483 km)
fuel capacity: 163 US gal
(517 liters)
obstacle clearance:
vertical 3 ft 3 in (1 .0 m) ,
trench 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) ,
fording 3ft 7in (1.1 m), gradient 60% Sensors/Fire Control
Norden FCS
Bendix stabilization reference package/ position determining
system (SRP/PDS)
Crew 3 (section chief, gunner,
driver) ; crew can fire entire load from cab and can reload MLRS without other help Suspension torsion bar, 6 dual road
wheels, front drive, rear idler, 2 shock absorbers, 4 return rollers Vehicle protection
armor against small-arms fire on cab and louvers on windows
overpressure protection against Nuclear, Biological, and
Chemical (NBC)
warfare electronics hardened against an
Electromagnetic Pulse
(EMP)
SLAM (AGM-84E- 1)
The Standoff Land-Attack Missile
(SLAM) is an Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker, man-in-the-loop-terminally guided missile that is a derivative of the AGM-84A Harpoon antiship missile. SLAM is launched from aircraft and surface ships against high-value targets while maintaining collateral damage and risk to the launch aircraft and aircrew. The SLAM was developed by integrating the existing assets of the AGM-84 Harpoon, the Hughes Maverick IIR seeker, the Collins Global Positioning System (GPS), and the Walleye data link.
SLAM is capable of two modes of attack: Preplanned (PP) missions against high-value fixed or relocatable land targets and Target of Opportunity (TOO) missions against ships at sea.
The SLAM shares common control, warhead, and sustainer sections with the Harpoon. Its navigational heart is the 12.5-lb (5.67-kg) Rockwell-Collins single-channel GPS receiver/processor that determines the missile’s three-dimensional location within 52 ft (16 m) and its velocity within 0.65 fps (0.2 mps)
In addition to using Harpoon-common components, SLAM adopts the IIR seeker of the AGM-65 Maverick and
the AN/AWW-9 (later replaced by the
more reliable AN/AWW-13) data link of
the AGM-62 Walleye. The full-duplex
slam
U.S. GOVERNMENT nr.PAHTMtPfT OT DEFENSE
datalinkoperates on one of eight transmit-and-receive frequency pairs, with the frequencies being widely separated.
Four missions (typically three PP and one TOO) can be loaded into the missile’s Electronically Erasable Programmable
Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) before takeoff, using a portable Prelaunch Data
Memory Loader (PDML) . The PDML can store up to 16 sets of mission data (64 missions) for an eight-hour period before self-purge occurs. Transfer of mission planning data to the missile takes about five minutes. At the same time, the missile’s GPS clock data is updated. The pilot/weapons controller chooses one of the four missions before launch.
After launch, the SLAM flies autonomously to the area of the target via its GPS-aided inertial system. At a preprogrammed point approximately one minute before impact, the seeker turns on and, because of GPS-aided navigation accuracy, should be looking directly at the target. The controller views the target scene and selects an aim point for the terminal phase via the SLAM’s data link, and the missile flies autonomously to that point.
The missile can also be controlled from an aircraft other than the firing platform. Additionally, the SLAM provides the capability to attack targets of opportunity selected by scanning the missile’s seeker at 4deg/sec.
The combination of an A-6E launching a SLAM and an A-7 pilot performing the locking-on was used during its first operational flights against Iraqi targets in January 1991. F/A-18 Hornets have also successfully launched and guided the SLAM.
The SLAM incorporates a fuze-wiring modification into the same warhead used in the Harpoon to allow for instantaneous detonation (for certain land targets) and delayed detonation (for ship targets).
DEVELOPMENT •
The SLAM’s initial operational capability was in 1990. Its first test flight was in June 1989 launched from an A-6E Intruder. First production missile was delivered in November 1988.
160 missiles were funded in FY1991. After success in Desert Storm, FYl993 funding was appropriated by Congress but not authorized.
The missile is used on A-6E Intruder,
F/A-18 Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon, P-3
Orion, and B-52 Stratofortress.
The first ship-launched SLAM test was conducted in June 1990 from the USS Lake Champlain (CG 57). Target lock-on was commanded by an air tactical officer flying in the ship’s SH-GOB Seahawk LAMPS III helicopter, which also served as data link for the ship’s Combat Information Center (CIC).
VARIANTS •
Ship Launch SLAM (SLS/ cruise missile), SLAM-ER.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
SLAMs were used during Desert Storm against Iraqi targets. Defense Department videos showed two SLAM strikes on a building, the second entering the hole made by the first. The SLAMs were launched from A-6E Intruders, but given midcourse corrections by A-7E Corsair pilots through the Walleye data link. Overall, seven SLAM missileswere successfully fired during the Persian Gulf conflict, even though the AWW-9 data link was very unreliable and required considerable maintenance.
SPECIFICATIONS •
manufacturer Douglas Missile Systems
combat weight 1,366 lb (619.5 kg)
warhead section
500 lb (226.8 kg)
dimensions
configuration
thick cylinder with rounded nose, cruciform trapezoidal wings at midbody,
cruciform in-line swept “cropped delta” control fins at tail; engine has nearly flush ventral air intake
length 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
diameter 13% in (343 mm) propulsion Teledyne Continental
660-lb (299-kg) static thrust CAE-J402-
CA400 turbojet sustainer burning
JP-10 fuel
performance
speed Mach 0.85 (high
subsonic)
range 60+ nm (69+ mi; 111+
km)
midcourse accuracy
52 ft (16 m)
warhead DESTEX blast/fragmentation high explosive with preselected instantaneous or delay fuzing
data link AN/AWW-9, -13 Walleye datalink pods
sensors/fire control
on-board midcourse guidance unit
Rockwell Collins (R-2387/DSQ-51)
Global Positioning System (GPS)
receiver IBM digital computer Smith’s or Northrop 3-axis attitude
reference assembly Honeywell AN/APN-194 short-pulse
radar or Kollsman Frequency-
Modulated Continuous Wave
(FMCW) altimeter
terminal homing through AGM-65F Maverick Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker (using -65G centroid-biased software developed to attack large targets) and Harris Corp. AGM-62
Walleye data link (RT-1608/ DSQ-51)
Tomahawk (BGM-109)
The Tomahawk is a long-range cruise missile for both surface and submarine launch against both surface-ship and land targets. It was subsequently adapted for land launch as the US Gryphon Ground-Launch Cruise Missile (GLCM) as part of the US Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) that were deployed in Western Europe.
Initially known as the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM), the Tomahawk’s principal roles are antiship (TASM) , land attack with a conventional warhead (TLAM-C), and land attack with a nuclear warhead (TLAM-N). All versions operate at very low altitudes and have a radar cross section of approximately 10.76 f2 (1 m^) The missile is sealed in its launch canister at the factory and can be treated as a “wooden round.”
Both TLAM versions have an inertial guidance phase using a Litton P-1000 in-ertial platform and Litton LC-45/16/C computer, after which the missile’s accuracy is updated using the McDonnell Douglas Electronics AN/DPW-23
Terrain-Contour Matching (TERCOM).
TERCOM measures actual land contours with its on-board radar altimeter and compares them to stored digitized profiles. The profile’s land area shrinks as the missile nears its target. TERCOM is also used to update the TERCOM-Aided Inertial Navigation System (TAINS) .
While TLAM-N uses inertial and TER-COM guidance alone, TLAM-C uses a Loral Digital Scene-Mapping Area Correlator (DSMAC) as it nears the target for still greater accuracy. DSMAC correlates the optical view of the target area-obtained with a Fairchild Weston Schlumberger Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensor-with digitized target maps, refining the missile’s terminal flight. For night flights, the DSMAC can flash a strobe light when needed.
Target map updating involves relatively simple DSMAC reprogramming. Either Tomahawk version can fly preprogrammed evasive flight paths between guidance updates; a “Flex-Targeting” upgrade, which permits retargeting during flight, has been tested.
The antiship Tomahawk is fitted with a modified Harpoon active radar seeker. The missile flies a preprogrammed profile at sea-skimming height for most of its flight. When the missile nears the target’s estimated position, the active radar seeker takes over. The latest antiship variant is reported to have a reattack mode.
The missile’s great versatility and adaptability are based largely on having been constrained to the size of the standard 21-inch (533-mm) submarine torpedo tube. Later US submarines have 12 vertical-launch tubes for Tomahawks. The submarine-launch canister is made of stainless steel.
On board US Navy surface ships, the Tomahawk is launched from the four-missile Mk 143 Armored Box Launcher
(ABL) or from the Mk 41 61-cell Vertical-
Launch System (VLS). The ABL is deck-mounted and elevates hydraulically to 35″ in 35 seconds to fire. As in the submarine-launched versions, a TRW Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system steers the missile during the first 15 seconds of flight.
The VLS combines weapons launcher and magazine and occupies the same below-decks volume as the 44missile magazine of the older twin-rail missile launchers. In 1984, the Navy reported in congressional testimony that the nominal “load-outs” were 26 Tomahawks (6 TLAM-N) in the Bunker Hill (CG 52) and Aegis cruisers and 45 (two TLAM-N) in the Spruance-class destroyer VLS. Tomahawk load-outs for Operation Desert Storm were believed to be much higher in some ships.
DEVELOPMENT •
The missile achieved initial operational capability in 1982 for
TASM in surface ships, 1983 for TASM in
submarines, 1984 for TLAM in surface
ships, and 1987 for TLAM-N. On September 27, 1991, President Bush announced that all tactical nuclear weapons would be removed from US Navy surface ships and attack submarines. The order included all TLAM-Ns, which were placed in storage.
The 1,000th Tomahawk was delivered to the Navy by McDonnell Douglas on July 10, 1991. The missile is deployed on US Navy submarines, cruisers, and destroyers. Hughes became sole-source producer in 1994.
VARIANTS •
BGM-109A/TLAM, BGM-
109B/TASM, BGM-109C/TLAM Block
IIA, BGM-109D/TLAM Block IIB,
BGM-109E/TASM, BGM-109F/TLAM, BGM-109G/GLCM, Block III/TLAM, Block IV.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
During Desert Storm, 264 BGM-109Cs (unitary warhead) and 27 BGM-109Ds (cluster
bombs) were launched from the battleships Missouri and Wisconsin, several cruisers and destroyers, and at least two submarines, mostly in the early days of the war.
An analysis of Tomahawk results suggested that 85% of the 242 target aim points were hit. The United States suggested that two missiles may have been shot down.
Tomahawks attacked Iraqi targets twice more in 1993. The January attack directed 45 missiles against nuclear facilities (one hit a hotel instead). In June, 20 of 23 launched hit the Iraqi intelligence headquarters; three others landed in a residential area.
SPECIFICATIONS •
MANUFACTURER
‘Hughes (prime)
McDonnell Douglas Missiles (secondary)
WEIGHTS
VLS, loaded: approx 255.7 short tons
(232 metric tons) VLS, empty: approx 129 short tons
(117 metric tons)
ABL: 55,000 lb (24,948 kg)
missile 2,650 lb (1,202 kg)
booster 550 lb (249 kg) capsule 1,000 lb (454 kg) for
submarine launch
warhead 1,000 lb (454 kg) TASM
DIMENSIONS
configuration
torpedo-shaped fuselage with ventral pop-out turbofan intake, pop-out wings and tail surfaces
missile: 18 ft 2 in (5.54 m)
booster: 2 ft (0.61 m)
diameter 21 in (533 mm) wingspan 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
PROPULSION
Atlantic Research 6,000-lb (2,722-kg)
static thrust solid-fuel booster that burns for 12 sec
Williams Research F107-WR-400 600-
lb (272-kg) static thrust turbofan sustainer
PERFORMANCE
speed 331-496 kts (381-571 mph; 613-919 km/h) or Mach 0.50-0.75
cruise altitude
50-100 ft (15-30 m)
max range BGM-109B: more than
250 nm (288 mi; 464 km)
BGM-109C/D: approx
’700 nm (806 mi; 1,297
km)
BGM-109A: approx 1,350 nm (1,555 mi; 2,500 km)
WARHEAD conventional high-explosive
in TASM; nuclear 5-150-kiloton W80 in TLAM-N
ACCURACY
Circular Error Probable (CEP)
TERCOM: less than 100 ft (30.5 m) TERCOM + DSMAC: approx 33 ft (10.0 m)
GUIDANCE
Ships with Mk 143 ABL have AN/
SWG-2 weapons control system
Ships with Mk 41 VLS have AN/
SWG-3 weapons control system Submarines have Mk 117 fire control system
TASM: inertial; terminal is active radar homing (similar to Harpoon)
TALM-C: inertial; terminal is Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) with Digital Scene-Mapping Area Correlator (DSMAC); Block IIA has a preselectable pop-up terminal maneuver
TLAM-N: inertial and TERCOM Paveway Bomb Series (GBU-)
The Paveway II and III unpowered Precision-Guided Munitions (PGM) are based on the Mk 80 series low-drag general-purpose unguided bombs originally developed in the 1950s. The Mk 82 500-lb (227-kg) is the smallest of the three, followed by the l,000-lb (454kg) Mk 83 and the 2,000-lb (907-kg) Mk 84. This bomb series also formed the basis for the Destructor air-dropped bottom sea mines used extensively during the Vietnam War.
The first of the Paveway series of Laser-Guided Bombs (LGB) were originally given KMU designations but were later redesignated GBU. Paveways increased the standoff distance for attacking aircraft while improving bombing accuracy, which was unacceptably low. Using a spot seeker tuned to the 1.064-micron wavelength of the widely deployed Neo-dymium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet
(Nd:YAG) laser, Paveways entered service
in Vietnam in the late 1960s. (25,000
Paveways were dropped for 18,000 targets claimed destroyed.)
In fundamental configuration and operation, these bombs have changed little since Vietnam. Each Paveway has several elements; from nose to tail they are: detector assembly, computer section, control section, the bomb itself, and the pop-out wing assembly. All are designated GBU-, the designation changing depending on bomb size and Paveway generation:
Paveway III TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Paveway II
GBU-10E/B Mk 84 GBU-12E/B Mk 82 GBU-16C/B Mk 83
(British l,OOO-lb Mk 13/18 bombs are similar to the GBU-16.)
Paveway II detector assemblies have a small seeker that swivels on a universal joint and has an annular ring that aligns it in the slipstream; it does not scan independently. The optical silicon detector staring array behaves analogously to a monopulse semiactive radar-homing seeker. The array is subdivided into four parts that receive reflected laser energy. A computer analyzes the relative reflection strengths and sends steering commands to the Airfoil Control Group system to the control fins. The fins operate on a full-on, full-off (“bang-bang”) gas-operated system, adjusting the bomb’s flight path until the reflections are equal in all four quadrants, thus refining its descent on the target. The pop-out rear wings stabilize the bomb and extend its range.
Paveway III
GBU-24A/B Mk 84
I-2000 steel-encased pene-trator
GBU-27 steel-case 2,000-lb bomb
delivered by the F-l 17
Paveway III GBU-24 Low-Level LGB (LLLGB) 2,000-lb bombs expand the launch envelope with a lower minimum altitude and greater standoff range.’ In addition, the more sensitive seeker has a wider field of view and several scan modes that move the seeker on gimbals in a search for the laser spot. The guidance electronics have a more powerful microprocessor that allows for delivery mode (level, loft, or dive) and trajectory shaping (to achieve the best terminal angle).
The midcourse autopilot is gyro-referenced (to establish its position relative to “up” and “level”) and uses barometric sensors to determine the rate of descent. Texas Instruments claims that in the dive mode, the pilot only has to “place the target in the windscreen and ” ‘pickle.’ ” The control system introduced proportional control with infinite fin-angle positioning in place of the bang-bang method. At the tail, much larger wings confer a glide ratio of 5:l on the bomb.
GBU-24A/B Penetrators are the LLLGB with the BLU-109/B I-2000 warhead that has a hardened case and delayed fuze to greatly increase effectiveness against concrete bunkers and hardened aircraft shelters. In tests, the I-2000 penetrated up to 3 in (76 mm) of steel plates and 6 ft (1.83 m) of concrete.
GBU-27/B is a 2,000-lb penetrator with smaller wings and radar-absorbing materials delivered by the F-1 17A, and guided by a specially modified Paveway III guidance kit that ensured its accuracy. According to press reports, the kit has doubled the price of each bomb. 60% of GBU-27s in the inventory were used during Operation Desert Storm.
InJanuary 1991, the GBU-28 didn’t even exist. This is significant because during Desert Storm, the GBU-28 was developed, tested, shipped, and dropped by the time of the cease-fire at the end of February. The remarkable 17-day ad hoc effort combined the Air Force Systems Command, Watervliet Arsenal in New York, Lockheed Aeronautical and Space Systems, Texas Instruments, and LTV (now Vought).
At the suggestion of Lockheed engineers, who had been contemplating such an idea for approximately a year, Water-vliet remachined surplus 8-in artillery piece tubes, boring them to 10 in (254 mm) and reshaping the outside.
As the casing took shape, Texas Instruments modified its GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided-bomb guidance kit to account for the altered ballistics of the more cylindrical shape and greater weight of 4,700 lb (2,132 kg). Tests
showed that the bomb could penetrate 100 ft (30.5 m) of earth or more than 22 ft (6.71 m) of concrete. (In the concrete test, the sled-driven bomb crashed through the 22-ft-thick slab and continued for another half mile before stopping.)
The bombs were then rushed to Eglin
AFB, Florida, to be filled with 650 lb (295kg) of explosive,
a process so compressed that the bombs hadn’t completely cooled before they were flown to Saudi Arabia. A total of 30 GBU-28s were made.
DEVELOPMENT •
Initial operational capability for Paveway I was in the late 1960s. Paveway II went into production in 1977; Paveway III entered service in 1987.
In FY1988, the unit cost of a 2,000-lb hard target bomb was $12,686; in FYI992 the cost had dropped to $11,608. As of 1991, a standard “dumb” bomb cost roughly $2 per pound. A Paveway II costs
between $10,000 and $15,000 depending
on the length of the production run. Paveway 111s cost approximately $40,000-
$50,000.
VARIANTS •
In addition to the variants listed above, three other members of the Paveway III family were proposed but not produced: GBU-21 (2,000-lb weapon), GBU-22 (500-lb, began development but not produced), GBU-23 (l,OOO-lb USN development variant).
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
During Desert Storm, 7,400 tons of precision-guided munitions were dropped on Iraqi targets. Most of the unpowered weapons were Paveways. In the official conduct of the Persian Gulf War report issued in April 1992, the totals were given as:more than 2,500 GBU-10 more than 4,500 GBU-12 more than 200 GBU-16 (virtually all by USN aircraft) almost 2,000 GBU-24/-27; 1,600 were penetrators
The US Air Force described how F-1 11s using GBU-12s destroyed 150 armored vehicles per night. Most of the large LGBs were GBU-10s although hardened targets were reserved for the GBU-24 with the I-2000 warhead, the GBU-27, which was delivered solely by the F-l 17 Stealth fighter, and GBU-28. 60% of GBU-27s in the inventory were used.
Two GBU-28s were dropped by two F-1 11F Aardvarks on a command and control bunker in Baghdad only days before the cease-fire. One missed its mark (because of faulty laser spotting); the other penetrated, destroying the bunker and reportedly killing several Iraqi military leaders.
The US Navy reported delivering 202 GBU-1 Os, 2 16 GBU-12s and 205 GBU-16s. An additional 611 LGB kits were fitted to other bombs. The British Royal Air Force reported dropping 1,000
LGBs.
SPECIFICATIONS •
DIMENSIONS
length GBU-10: 14 ft 2 in (4.31
m)
GBU-12: 10 ft 11 in (3.33
m)
GBU-28: 18 ft 9 in (8.42
m)
bomb diameter
GBU-10: 1 ft 6 in (457 mm)
GBLJ-12: 10 3/4 in (273
mm)
GBU-28: 1 ft 4 1/2 in (368 mm)
control fin span
GBU-10: 2 ft 7 f4 in (794 mm)
GBU-12: 1 ft 5 |3 in (448 mm)
wingspan GBU-10: 5 ft 5 in (1.67
m)
GBU-12: 4ft 4in (1.32m)
AIRBORNE TARGETING PODS
AN/AAS-33
TRAM A-6E Intruder
AN/AAS-37 IR
detection set OV-1 OD Bronco
AN/AAS-38 laser
designating F/A-18 Hornet AN/ASQ-153 Pave
Spike British Buccaneers AN,’AVQ-14
LANTIRN F-15E Eagle
F-16A/C Fighting
Falcon
AN/AVQ-26 Pave
Tack F-l 11 Aardvark
Mast-Mounted
Sight OH-58D Kiowa
Warrior
TADS/PNVS AH-64 Apache
ATLIS French Jaguars
TIALD British Tornados
GROUND-BASED DESIGNATORS
AN/PAQ-1 handheld laser target designator
AN/PAQ-3 Modular Universal Laser
Equipment (MULE) AN/TVQ-2 Ground/Vehicular Laser
Locator Designator (G/VLLD)
Other aircraft such as the AV-8B Harrier, the A-10 Warthog, and the British Jaguar that did not have-laser designators used their laser spot seekers to deliver LGBs against remotely marked targets.
GBU-15
The GBU-15 precision-guided modular glide bomb is based on the original Pave Strike GBU-8, which was used to great effect in the latter part of the Vietnam War. The weapon comprises a television (TV) or Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker, warhead adapter section, warhead, fuze adapter, short-chord wings, and data link.
Warheads for the GBU-15 are the Mk 84,a submunitions dispenser (SUU-54), or
the more powerful BLU-109 (I-2000) unitary warhead. Midcourse corrections are passed through a jam-resistant AN/AXQ-14 data link.
Targeting options can be Lock-On Before Launch (LOBL) or After Launch (LOAL), which provides for automatic tracking, or through joystick control by the weapons system operator on board the launch aircraft. GBU-15s have either a
TV (GBU-15(V)1/B) or IIR (GBU-
15(V)2/B) seeker; the IIR seeker has
90% commonality with the AGM-65D
Maverick IIR air-to-surface missile.
DEVELOPMENT •
The initial operational capability for the GBU-15 (TV) was in 1983 and for the GBU-15 (IIR), 1987.
In April 1989, the General Accounting Office criticized Rockwell for overstating prices on 13 material items by almost $5.6 million under a $114 million contract awarded in January 1984. Rockwell denied the criticism, arguing that although it had inadvertently failed to disclose some data, the contracting officer had not relied on Rockwell’s information, an allegation denied by the contracting officer.
VARIANTS •
GBU-15-I (with BLU-109
I-2000 penetrator warhead), AGM-130.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
GBU-15s were delivered to F-15Es and F-11 1s during Operation Desert Storm, primarily to use against targets that were likely to be heavily defended or offering good contrasts to permit effective lock-on by the TV or IIR seekers. A typical GBU-15 pay-load was two weapons and a data link pod. A typical strike was flown at night using the IIR seeker, with a launch altitude between 10,000 and 23,000 ft (3,048-7,010 m).
To counter low visibility caused by bad weather, GBU-15s were dropped above the clouds but only locked onto their targets after they glided below the cloud deck.
The GBU-15s were effective against bridges, chemical plants, building complexes, command facilities, mine entrances, and bunkers and were also used to destroy the opened oil valves that were letting oil flow into the Persian Gulf. In the oil-manifold closure mission, one aircraft launched the missile, but a second one controlled it until impact.
SPECIFICATIONS •
manufacturer Rockwell International missile weight 2,617 lb (1,187 kg) warhead 2,000 lb (907 kg)
dimensions
configuration
thick cylinder, small cruciform foreplanes,
large rectangular mainplanes at the tail
length 12 ft 10% in (3.92 m)
diameter 1 ft 6 in (460 mm) wingspan 4ft 11 in (1.5 m) propulsion GBU-15 is unpowered
performance
max range 4.3-22.6 nm (5-24.9 mi;
8-40km), depending on launch altitude warhead Mk-84 conventional high explosive or SUU-54 explosive sub-munitions
sensors/fire control guidance: manual command through Hughes AN/AQX-14 P-way data link or automatic TV or IIR guidance through pre- or postlaunch lock-on
