INTERNATIONAL: The trusted source for defence technology information since 1976

Issue 2/2011 April/May

INTERNATIONAL
The trusted source for defence technology information since 1976

issue 2/2011

Contents

Dawn of the Bomber Era?

E. H. Biass, inputs from T. Withington

The European aerospace industry has started 2011 on a steady keel with the handover by Saab of the Neuron armed drone demonstrator fuselage to Dassault. The ceremony took place on 25 January at Saab Aerostructures facilities in Linkping.

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To See Another Day

Technology

Paolo Valpolini

Far East-bound Conventional Submarine Market Drift Cheap Shot Air to Ground Weapons

Naval: submarines

Franz Rohr

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Missiles

Roy Braybrook

Communication Call from the Front: LandWarNet and the Gig Valry Rousset, inputs from Johnny Keggler

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The Drones Synthetic Eye

Radar

Thomas Withington

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Grenade Launcher Fire Control Systems

This article is found online at www.armada.ch/fcs2-11

Infantry: weapons

Paolo Valpolini

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Index to Manufacturers and Advertisers Business Digest 38

Compendium
by

A New Breed

Compendium Supplement

P. Valpolini, inputs from E. H. Biass and J. Keggler

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New Soldier Equipment

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The INS/GPS-guided, rocketpowered Sagem SBU-38 Aasm, recently named Hammer

Cheap Shot Air to Ground Weapons

Killing Osama bin Laden may warrant the $ 52 million offered by the American Government in combination with the Airline Pilots and the Air Transport Associations. However, run-of-the-mill bad guys must be eliminated for a few tens of thousand dollars, at most.

Roy Braybrook

oday the principal armed forces are mostly concerned with long-enduring counter-terrorist and peaceenforcement operations. The need in regard to air-to-ground weapons is for products that are highly affordable, yet lethal against a broad range of terrorist and insurgency targets. The following review excludes guided rocket projectiles and ultra lightweight missiles, which will be the subject of a separate discussion in our next edition.

Paveway
Precision guided munitions (PGM) have changed the way in which wars are fought. Instead of allocating multiple aircraft to each target, air forces with PGMs can assign multiple targets to each aircraft. The growing acceptance of PGMs may be judged from the fact that only nine percent of the munitions used in Desert Storm of 1991 were guided, but over half of bombs dropped over Afghanistan since 2001 have been PGMs. One of the principal game-changers has been the Paveway laser-guided bomb (LGB), bringing massive reductions in the sorties (and expenditure) required to destroy each ground target. In a 2007 presentation by Maj-Gen David Eidsaune, then commander of the US Air Force Air Armament Center at

Eglin AFB, Florida, it was stated that in 1943 Boeing B-17s had a 1000-metre CEP (the radius of a circle of equal probability containing 50% of bombs dropped). McDonnell F-4s making dive attacks with unguided bombs in South Vietnam around 1970 were more accurate, but a CEP of 122 metres still limited effectiveness against small hard targets. The LGB that brought single-digit CEPs was pioneered by Texas Instruments (TI), whose defence electronics business was bought by Raytheon in 1997. The Paveway I was first used on a significant scale in 1972, alongside less successful electro-optical guided bombs. By the time the Vietnam War ended in 1975, over 10,000 Paveway Is had been dropped by the US Air Force alone. General Eidsaunes presentation compared pre-LGB Vietnam experience with Desert Storm. In 1970 it took 30 F-4 sorties with 176 (227 kg) bombs to

destroy a typical target, whereas by 1991 the Lockheed Martin F-117 with a pair of (907 kg) Paveway II/IIIs and a CEP of only 3.05 metres could reliably take out two targets per sortie. At the time of Desert Storm it was reported that the Paveway II kit cost only around $ 10,000 and the Paveway III four times as much. By 2004 the Northrop Grumman B-2 could achieve the remarkable CEP of 2.15 metres, and destroy 16 separate targets per sortie. More than 56,000 Paveway Is were produced, designated GBU-10/11/12 according to warhead type (900/1360/225kg class respectively). It had small fixed tail surfaces, and its limited manoeuvrability restricted the release envelope. However, its range of more than five km from a 30-degree dive at 16,000 ft put the launch aircraft outside the reach of 57mm guns and the SA-9 (and far beyond 23 mm and the SA-7). The Paveway II was given fold-out wings for improved manoeuvrability, range and accuracy. Maximum range is over nine km from release at 20,000 ft, and later models allow the selection of approach heading and impact angle. However, it retains the bang-bang control system of Paveway I.
The 285-kg Raytheon GBU-49/B, here mounted on a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, is an EGBU-12 Enhanced Paveway II with Mk 82 or BLU111 warhead, INS/ GPS guidance and laser homing. (US Air Force)

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Shown on a Boeing AV-8B, this Enhanced Paveway II Dual Mode LGB augments laser homing with INS/GPS. The GPS aerials are mounted on either side of the front section. (Lockheed Martin)

NGLGB (Next Generation LGB) kit for Mk 82/83/84-series bombs, providing a twelve-km range and five-metre accuracy. In 2009 MBT unveiled its Medium LGB with 80 kg warhead, wing-kit, GPS and laser terminal homing. Israel Military Industries markets its 500-kg PB-500A1 penetration warhead in combination with the Paveway II kit.

EO/IIR
Electro-optical guidance provides a close-up view of the target, facilitating strike-point refinement and damage assessment. Imaging-infrared (IIR) extends operation into night-time and may see through smokescreens, but with reduced image quality. However, the high cost of EO/IIR guidance makes it less

The basic Paveway II variants are the 275-kg GBU-12, the US Navys 454-kg GBU-16C/B, the 960-kg GBU-10 and 1360-kg GBU-11.

Enhanced Paveway
The Enhanced Paveway II Dual-Mode LGB adds GPS/INS for mid-course navigation. This allows post-launch laser acquisition and attacks on offset targets, giving a massive increase in footprint. Adding GPS also allows known targets to be attacked with near precision, regardless of weather, using co-ordinates entered either pre-flight or in-flight. The principal EP2-DMLGBs are the 285-kg EGBU-12 or (more correctly) GBU-49,

The Enhanced Paveway III DMLGB with GPS/INS has a maximum range of 36.5 km. The 308-kg Paveway IV is a Raytheon Systems development for the British services, basically an Enhanced Paveway II DMLGB with anti-spoofing/jamming GPS/INS guidance, an Enhanced Mk 82 penetration warhead and a Thales/Alliant Techsystems Aurora fuze. Most (over 275,000) Paveway IIs come from Raytheon, but Lockheed Martin has produced more than 150,000 GBU-12F/Bs. The latter company also manufactures the Laser-Guided Training Round (LGTR), of which over 50,000 have been built. The US Navy plans to acquire the 45-kg Scalpel armed version of the LGTR. Lockheed Martin is responsible for the Longshot low-cost wing-kit with built-in GPS/INS guidance, extending the range of ordnance such as Mk 82/83 bombs and CBU-58/87/97 submunition-dispensers to 90 km from release at 35,000 ft.

Non-American LGBs
Russias Region (part of Tactical Missiles) markets the laser-guided LGB-250, Kab500L and Kab-1500L, these numbers indicating nominal weights in kilos. The Region Kab-500L was sold to China with the Sukhoi Su-27/30s, and provided the technology for the 565-kg Luoyang/CASC LT-2. This entered Chinese service around 2003 and is exported as the GB-1. Elbit Systems produces the laser-guided Lizard LGB, part of its Whizzard series, which includes the Opher with IIR seeker. The Gal (GPS-Aided Lizard) adds satellite and inertial guidance. The Griffin laser guidance kit is produced by Israel Aerospace Industries MBT division, which is now promoting its

The US Navy plans to buy the Lockheed Martin Scalpel (Small Contained Area Laser Precision Energetic Load), a lethal derivative of the companys unarmed Laser-Guided Training Round. (Lockheed Martin)

The Lizard 4 or Gal (GPS-Aided Lizard) is the latest in the Elbit laserhoming Lizard series. It is part of the companys Whizzard family, which includes the Opher with IIR seeker. (Elbit Systems)

the 503-kg EGBU-16 or GBU-48, and the 953-kg EGBU-10 or GBU-50. Paveway III has proportional controls. Its approach angle and time and speed of impact can all be selected. Variants include the 1050/1077-kg GBU-24 series with large fixed wings to suit the Mk 84 warhead or Lockheed Martin BLU109/B Advanced Unitary Penetrator. The 984-kg GBU-27A/B with BLU-109 or Mk 84, and the 2130-kg GBU-28B/B with General Dynamics BLU-113A/B penetrator, were given swing-wings to suit internal carriage on the Lockheed Martin F-117A and Northrop Grumman B-2A respectively. The 327 kg GBU-22/B with Mk 82 warhead has swing-wings for carriage on the Lockheed Martin F-16.

attractive than laser homing, generally restricting its use to special missions. The US Air Force still stocks the TV/IIR-guided 1125-kg Boeing GBU-15 glide bomb, and its 1315-kg AGM-130 rocket-boosted derivative (both of which have received GPS upgrades). However, they are rarely used, and only from the Boeing F-15E. The service factsheets give their unit costs as $ 250,000 and $ 450,000 respectively. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems markets the Spice 2000 based on the Mk 84 bomb, and the Spice 1000 based on the Mk 83. Each has a CCD/IIR seeker with automatic target recognition facility, and the Spice 1000 has a wing-kit, extending maximum range to well over 60 km.
In September 2010 the US Air Force began trials with the GBU-56/B, a Mk 84 version of the Boeing Laser Jdam, shown here below the wing of a Lockheed Martin F-16 at Eglin AFB, Florida. (US Air Force)

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Boeing Defense Space & Security, with Boeing Aerostructures Australia (formerly Hawker de Havilland) and the Australian Government, has developed a wingkit for the 225-kg version of the Jdam-ER. (Australian Department of Defence)

Region produces the TV-guided Kab500Kr and -1500Kr. Still under development, the Upab-1500 appears to be a rocket-boosted bomb with swing-wings and TV terminal guidance, presumably following satellite/inertial mid-course navigation. Iran is using TV guidance for the GBU-67/9A Qadr glide bomb, based on the Mk 84 warhead, and the rocket-powered AGM-379/20 Zoobin, based on the 340-kg M117.

cisely surveyed target (although 4.9 metres was reportedly achieved in trials), or 30 metres using INS alone. The principal forms of Jdam are the 925/960-kg GBU-31 with Mk 84/BLU-109 warhead, the 460-kg GBU-32 with Mk 83 or BLU110 and the 268-kg GBU-38 with Mk 82, BLU-111 or BLU-126. The GBU-38(V)4/B Jdam employs the US Navys 210-kg BLU-126/B Low Collateral Damage Bomb (LCDB), which is basically the BLU-111 with 85%

gy demonstration programme with the MBDA Diamond Back wing-kit and the BLU-109 warhead. In 2009 Boeing began development of a 900 kg Jdam-ER with a Korean partner, but that effort stalled due to lack of funding, and the company is now looking for an alternative collaborator. Possible future developments include Radar Jdam, with a millimetre-wave seeker giving an all-weather strike capability against targets such as small boats. Jdam may also benefit from the US Navys Damask (Direct Attack Munition - Affordable Seeker) programme, which uses a low-cost ($ 10,000) Raytheon IIR seeker developed for cars. Using a preloaded target image, this seeker would provide a CEP of three metres. The accurate use of GPS depends on access to the Pentagons encrypted precision P-Y codes, which are changed monthly. Region manufactures the satellite-guided Kab-500S-E, which can reportedly use either GPS or Glonass. Bazalt markets the Fab-500M62 with MPK wing-kit and satellite/inertial guidChinas equivalent of the 460-kg GBU-32 version of Boeing Jdam is the 540-kg CAIC FT-1, shown here. The smaller 230kg FT-3 corresponds to the 268-kg GBU-38 Jdam. (Armada/RB)

SatNav
The 1991 Gulf War demonstrated the precision of laser homing, but also its dependence on a clear sightline to the target. This resulted in the development of satellite navigation for bombs (usually combined with inertial inputs), although it was recognised that this would give only near precision, and that satellite emissions are so weak that they are relatively easily jammed. As noted earlier, satellite navigation was also added to some laser-homing kits, providing dualmode capability. The leader in GPS/INS weapons is the Boeing Jdam (Joint Direct Attack Munition), which combines a guidance tail-kit with body strakes for manoeuvrability and extended range (28 km). The Jdam was first used operationally in the Balkans in 1999. Boeing has now manufactured more than 210,000 for the US services and 22 foreign customers, and production continues at over 700 per month. Unit cost is around $ 20,000. The US Air Force quotes a required Jdam accuracy of 13 metres against a pre-

Chinas 320-kg FT-6, shown in model form at AAD 2010, has a swing-wing kit that extends range to a maximum of 90 km. It is marketed by Aerospace Long-march International. (Armada/RB)

of its explosive filling replaced by inert glass beads, leaving only 12.2 kg of PBX109. The BLU-126/B is also used in the laser-guided GBU-51/B Paveway II. In parallel with this US Navy effort, the US Air Force is developing for the Jdam series the BLU-129/B Precision Lethality Mk 82 bomb with a carbonfibre-wound warhead. The Laser Jdam adds a DSU-38/B seeker produced by Fort Worth-based EFW, for attacks on targets moving at up to 112 km/h. It is currently used only in the form of the GBU-54/B with Mk 82 warhead, but laser integration with the heavier Mk 83, Mk 84 and BLU-109 Jdams is planned. Tests of the GBU-56/B Ljdam with Mk 84 warhead began in September 2010. The Ljdam entered service in 2008 and is now in production for the US services and Germany. It is claimed to give a CEP of three metres for a fixed aimpoint and six metres against a moving target. The Jdam-ER will have a wing-kit, tripling glide range to around 75 km. Boeing Defense Space & Security, working with Boeing Aerostructures Australia (formerly Hawker de Havilland) and the Australian Government, has developed a wing-kit for the 225-kg version, and it is hoped to start production shortly. JdamER has also been tested under a technoloarmada INTERNATIONAL 2/2011

ance. It has a range of 6.5 km from low level, and 15 km from altitude. Similar guidance is used in the PBK-500U glide bomb, which dispenses 15 SPBE-K sensor-fuzed submunitions. Chinas CAIC has developed the 540kg FT-1 and 230-kg FT-3 satellite guided bombs, which become the 600-kg FT-2 and 320-kg FT-6 with swing-wing kits. The latest of the series is the 100-kg FT-5. The wing-kits are claimed by CAIC to extend maximum range from 20 to 90 km. These weapons are marketed with the Chengdu JF-17, and presumably use C/A (coarse-acquisition) GPS signals. The 540kg, 60-km winged Luoyang LS-6 developed for domestic use may be linked to Chinas Beidou satellite system. In 2009 Turkeys Tubitak-Sage unveiled its HGK INS/GPS guidance tailkit for Mk 84 bombs. A version for the Mk 82 is planned.

SDB
The accuracy of modern air-to-ground weapons allows small warheads to destroy most targets. Lightweight weapons allow more targets to be attacked in a single sortie, reducing attrition. Small weapons also facilitate internal carriage in stealth fighters.

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In August 2010 Raytheon was selected to develop the 93-kg GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment Two, which has a swing-wing kit, multieffect warhead and tri-mode seeker. (Raytheon)

Under an agreement signed in 2008, MBDA is responsible for Hammer marketing. The first international sale is to Morocco, which intends to use the Hammer on its Dassault Mirage F1s. It is planned to adapt the Hammer kit to other bomb bodies. For example, an Aasm-125 with a Mk 81 warhead was tested from a Mirage 2000 in February 2009. Both MBDA and TDA Armements (now part of Thales) are developing onetonne CMP (Charge Militaire de Penetration) warheads for Hammer.

In 1997 Air Combat Command voiced a need for a miniaturised munition, combining penetration, standoff range and better accuracy than the Jdam. In 2001 work began on a 130-kg (class) differential-GPS guided Small Diameter Bomb (SDB), of which eight could be carried in the weapon bays of the Lockheed Martin F-22. In 2003 Boeing was selected to develop and produce the SDB-1, of which the US Air Force plans to acquire 24,000. Deliveries of the GBU-39/B with MBDA Diamond Back wing-kit began in 2006. Unit cost is around $ 30,000. The GBU-39/B has demonstrated a range of 99 km from release at 30,000 ft. It has excellent penetration due to its hard casing, slender shape and a guidance system that aligns the body with its velocity vector at impact. For situations in which low collateral damage is more important than penetration, Boeing produces the Focused Lethality Munition (FLM) version of the SDB, with a composite case and a dense inert metal explosive (Dime) blast warhead. In August 2010 Raytheon was selected to develop the 93-kg GBU-53/B SDB-II, which is a completely new, shorter weapon, to allow the Lockheed Martin F-35 to carry eight internally. Intended to destroy a moving tank in all-weather conditions, day or night, the SDB-II has a trimode (EO, laser and millimetre-wave radar) seeker, a two-way datalink for target updates and a multi-effect warhead combining a shaped-charge, blast and fragmentation. It is expected to enter

service on the F-15E in 2015, and cost around $ 87,000.

Hammer
France took a different approach, aiming to fill the gap between the Paveway II and conventional guided missiles with the rocket-powered Sagem Aasm (Armement Air-Sol Modulaire), recently renamed Hammer. The baseline SBU-38 kit, known as the decametric version for its near-precision delivery, consists of a nose section with INS/GPS and tandem cruciform canards, and a tail section with large wings and a solid-fuel rocket motor. It was first tested in September 2004. The SBU-64 metric version adds an IIR seeker and was first tested in July 2007. Each of these variants weighs approximately 340 kg, being based on 250-kg class warheads: the Mk 82, BLU-111 or the Bang/Cbems (Bombe Aeronavale de Nouvelle Generation/Corps de Bombe a Effets Multiples Securisee) penetration warhead. These Aasm-250s have a range of 50 km in a low-level toss attack, or 80 km from high-level release. Impact angle is selectable. The SBU-38 was first used operationally by the Dassault Rafale in Afghanistan in 2008. The third stage of Aasm development is the SBU-54 with laser seeker. A total of 1424 Hammers have so far been ordered for the French Air Force and Navy, out of 3400 planned for use on the Dassault Mirage 2000 and Rafale.

Sagem SBU-38 Aasm, recently renamed Hammer, is shown here on the Dassault Rafale. It is released like a conventional bomb prior to rocket motor ignition and was first employed operationally over Afghanistan in 2008. (Sagem)

Potential customers for the Hammer include Finland, India and Saudi Arabia. This last country is purchasing air-toground weapons for its upgraded Panavia Tornadoes and new-build Eurofighter Typhoons. Another weapon family aimed at Typhoon application is the Diehl BGT Defence Hope/Hosbo swing-wing glide missile series. The former (HOchleistungsPEnetrator) is a 1400-kg buried target munition and the latter (HOchleistungsSprengBOmbe) a 500-kg blast bomb. a

From left to right: the South African Air Force is funding the development of the Denel Umbani (Lightning) as a technology project. Flight trials are expected to take place soon on a Hawk Mk 120. The Umbani-LR with a wing-kit will extend range to 120 km. Advanced Technologies & Engineering is proposing to integrate the weapon on the Saab Gripen. The 1200-kg Raptor IID is the latest version of the TV-guided, rocket-powered, swing-wing weapon cleared for use on the Dassault Mirage III/F1 and Sukhoi Su-24. (Armada/RB)

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