Laser Guided Bombs

[Manticore]

"In World War II it could take 9,000 bombs to hit a target the size of an aircraft shelter. In Vietnam, 300. Today we can do it with one laser-guided munition from an F-117."
USAF, Reaching Globally, Reaching Powerfully: The United States Air Force in the Gulf War (Sept. 1991), p. 55

With the assistance of build-up guidance kits, general GP bombs are turned into laser-guided bombs (LGBs). The kits consist of a computer- control group (CCG), guidance canards attached to the front of the warhead to provide steering commands, and a wing assembly attached to the aft end to provide lift. LGBs are maneuverable, free-fall weapons requiring no electronic interconnect to the aircraft. They have an internal semiactive guidance system that detects laser energy and guides the weapon to a target illuminated by an external laser source. The designator can be located in the delivery aircraft, another aircraft, or a ground source.

All LGB weapons have a CCG, a warhead (bomb body with fuze), and an airfoil group. The computer section transmits directional command signals to the appropriate pair(s) of canards. The guidance canards are attached to each quadrant of the control unit to change the flightpath of the weapon. The canard deflections are always full scale (referred to as "bang, bang" guidance).

The LGB flightpath is divided into three phases: ballistic, transition, and terminal guidance. During the ballistic phase, the weapon continues on the unguided trajectory established by the flightpath of the delivery aircraft at the moment of release. In the ballistic phase, the delivery attitude takes on additional importance, since maneuverability of the UGB is related to the weapon velocity during terminal guidance. Therefore, airspeed lost during the ballistic phase equates to a proportional loss of maneuverability. The transition phase begins at acquisition. During the transition phase, the weapon attempts to align its velocity vector with the line-of-sight vector to the target. During terminal guidance, the UGB attempts to keep its velocity vector aligned with the instantaneous line-of- sight. At the instant alignment occurs, the reflected laser energy centers on the detector and commands the canards to a trail position, which causes the weapon to fly ballistically with gravity biasing towards the target.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/104441-quasi-ballistic-missiles.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/99968-medium-range-ballistic-missiles.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/107870-laser-guided-bombs.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/103666-guided-missiles-working.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/19447-air-air-missiles-command-air.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/99878-standoff-missiles.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/120722-anti-tank-missiles.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/121369-military-reentry-vehicles.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/3498-icbms-intercontinental-ballistic-missiles.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/20716-surface-air-missile.html
http://www.defence.pk/forums/wmd-missiles/120722-anti-tank-missiles.html

 

[Manticore]

Target designators are semi-active illuminators used to "tag" a target. Typical laser guided bomb receivers use an array of photodiodes to derive target position signals. These signals are translated into control surface movements to direct the weapon to the target. An airborne detector can provide steering information to the pilot, via his gunsight, for example, and lead him on a direct heading to the target, finally giving him an aim point for a conventional weapon. Alternatively, a laser guided "smart" bomb or missile may be launched when a pilot is satisfied that the detector head has achieved lock-on and the launch envelope requirements are satisfied. In either of these cases, the pilot may never see the actual target, only the aim point as indicated by the laser.

Laser designators and seekers use a pulse coding system to ensure that a specific seeker and designator combination work in harmony. By setting the same code in both the designator and the seeker, the seeker will track only the target designated by the designator. The pulse coding is based on Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF). The designator and seeker pulse codes use a truncated decimal system. This system uses the numerical digits 1 through 8 and the codes are directly correlated to a specific PRF. Dependent upon the laser equipment, either a three digit or a four digit code can be set. Coding allows simultaneous or nearly simultaneous attacks on multiple targets by a single aircraft, or flights of aircraft, dropping laser guided weapons (LGWs) set on different codes. This tactic may be employed when several high priority targets need to be expeditiously attacked and can be designated simultaneously by the supported unit(s).

Fire control laser systems are laser rangefinders (LRFs) and laser designators (LDs). These laser systems can be far more harmful to the eye than laser training devices such as MILES and Air-to-Ground Engagement System/Air Defense (AGES/AD) laser simulators. Consequently, fire control lasers require control measures to prevent permanent blindness to an unprotected individual viewing the laser system from within the laser beam.





Designation --Guideance System --Munition
GBU-2 -KMU-421/B SUU-54/b 2000-lb cluster bomb

PAVEWAY I
GBU-10 A/B -KMU-351 A/B Mk 84 2000-lb bomb
GBU-12 A/B -KMU-388 A/B Mk 82 500-lb SNAKEYE
GBU-12 A/B -KMU-420 /B Mk 20 Mod 2 ROCKEYE 500-lb bomb
GBU-12 A/B -KMU-342 /B M117 750-lb bomb

PAVEWAY II
GBU-10 D/B -KMU-351 E/B Mk 84 2000-lb bomb
GBU-12 C/B -KMU-388 C/B Mk 82 SNAKEYE 500-lb bomb
GBU-16 C/B -KMU-455 /B Mk 83 1000-lb bomb

 

[Manticore]

f-7 with laser giuded bomb

 

[Manticore]

KAB 500L

 

[Manticore]

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs" into all-weather "smart" munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles (28 km).

Integration (JDAM)
Planned-Follow-on integration efforts are currently underway or planned to evaluate compatibility with:
* JF-17 Thunder

GBU-31: Mk84 bomb fitted with JDAM

Paveway IV is a new-generation dual mode GPS/INS and laser guided bomb for use by military aircraft.
The weapon is a guidance kit based on the existing Enhanced Paveway II Enhanced Computer Control Group (ECCG) added to a modified Mk 82 general-purpose bomb with increased penetration performance
Mk 82

GBU-10 Paveway II
American Paveway-series laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 84 general-purpose bomb, but with laser seeker and wings for guidance.

GBU-12 Paveway II
The GBU-12 PAVEWAY II laser-guided bomb is an American aerial bomb, based on the Mk 82 500-pound general-purpose bomb, but with the addition of a nose-mounted laser seeker and fins for guidance

 

[Manticore]

some more..

500-Boeing JDAM

1600-GBU-12/24

GBU-12 Paveway.

GBU-24.

700-BLU-109 Penetrator

Regards:

 

[Manticore]

jf17 Precision guided munitions (PGM):

* GBU-10, GBU-12, LT-2 laser-guided bombs
* H-2, H-4 electro-optically guided,[8] LS-6 satellite-guided glide bombs[111]
* Satellite-guided bombs[8]
http://www.defence.pk/forums/jf-17-...irole-fighter-thread-4-a-106.html#post1565653

 

[KS]

Indian made 1000 pound Sudharsun LGB :-

A Mig-27 of IAF testing the Bomb :-

 

[Manticore]

Low Level Laser Guided Bomb

like the GBU-24 Paveway III

---------- Post added at 10:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:19 AM ----------

 

[Manticore]

snake eye 500 pound

 

[Manticore]

LT2

i'm not sure of the BLU-107 Durandal anti-runway bomb

 

[Aamir Hussain]

Indian made 1000 pound Sudharsun LGB :-

A Mig-27 of IAF testing the Bomb :-

That is a Jaguar -- not Mig 27;-)

 

[Chogy]

A bit of trivia - when looking at photos of ordnance, take note of the color banding on the weapon, and on the overall color. If the weapon has a brown or yellow stripe near the front, it is known as a "war shot" and is fully live and explosive. Practice or captive ordnance is either all blue, or has a blue stripe. They even do this color coding with cannon ammo.

Here's a captive AIM-9 - note the blue color...

A war-shot - brown around the live rocket motor, yellow around the warhead...

At an air show, the displayed ordnance SHOULD have blue, but not always.

 

[SQ8]

A bit of trivia - when looking at photos of ordnance, take note of the color banding on the weapon, and on the overall color. If the weapon has a brown or yellow stripe near the front, it is known as a "war shot" and is fully live and explosive. Practice or captive ordnance is either all blue, or has a blue stripe. They even do this color coding with cannon ammo.

Here's a captive AIM-9 - note the blue color...

A war-shot - brown around the live rocket motor, yellow around the warhead...

At an air show, the displayed ordnance SHOULD have blue, but not always.

For the "real world" demonstrations for serious customers no doubt..

Or sore losers who felt upstaged by the display teams pirouettes in their nimble trainers.. lets see them outfly their way out of a 9X.

As an add-on to the picture of the winder.. the LGB too has something in common with the winder...came out the cheaper alternative to a weapon system..
all out of China lake..
And my fav company TI gets the credit for it.

 

[Manticore]

The PGM 500 and PGM 2000 are guided bombs developed by Alenia-Marconi and now marketed by MBDA. The PGM 500 carries a 500 lb (227 kg) warhead, and the PGM 2000 a 2000 lb (909 kg) one. The weapons are available with interchangeable laser, TV, or infra-red seekers.