RAF In Talks With Raytheon To Buy More Paveway IV

Continuing Royal Air Force precision strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq has prompted Britain's Ministry of Defence to open negotiations with Raytheon UK to replenish stocks of the company's Paveway IV weapon.
With RAF missile and bomb strikes against IS reaching the 300 mark since the first attacks in late September 2014, the MoD said a new order to top up Paveway IV stocks is in the works.
Raytheon UK has also exported Paveway IV to the Royal Saudi Air Force where it is deployed on Tornado and Typhoon aircraft and being used against the Islamic State.
Eight RAF Tornado jets operating out of the British base at Akrotiri, Cyprus, carry the weapon along with the dual-mode Brimstone missile to provide strike capabilities against IS targets in Iraq. British Reaper remotely piloted vehicles operating from a base in the Middle East use Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles against IS.
defensenews

Royal Jordanian air force to get more Sniper pods

The Royal Jordanian Air Force is set to get 10 more Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods.
The Sniper pods were the ones fitted to UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Harrier GR.9 ground-attack aircraft under an urgent operational requirement to give them the capability to designate targets for their Paveway IV laser-guided bombs to support operations in Afghanistan.
The pods became surplus to the RAF's requirements after it retired its Harriers in 2010 as it uses the Rafael Litening III pod on its Tornado and Typhoon jets.
janes

RAF's F-35 passes key weapons test ahead of 2018 lift-off

New pictures show the RAF's next-generation F-35B fighter, bristling with fearsome state-of-the-art weaponry.
However, the deadly-looking weapons are actually trial or 'dummy' ordnance, which are identical in fit and form to their lethal counterparts but incapable of causing damage.
A UK test team including personnel from BAE Systems, has successfully completed initial aircraft handling trials for ASRAAM and Paveway IV weapons on the F-35B.
The 'weapons' were tested on the Short Take-off Vertical Landing (STOVL) F-35B for the first time during a series of flights from the US Navy's test facility.
The RAF already uses ASRAAM air-to-air missiles and Paveway IV - a 500lb weapon capable of taking out a small compound - on its existing combat air fleet. The successful tests are a step towards full integration between the current and future fast jets that will be used by the RAF and the UK's Royal Navy from 2018.
Two F-35B STOVL aircraft, completed nine flights with MBDA's ASRAAM missiles and Raytheon's Paveway IV laser guided bombs..
dailymail

First Paveway IV Release for RAF Typhoons at RAF Lossiemouth

No 1(Fighter) Squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth, successfully released 2 live Paveway IV weapons at Cape Wrath Training Area as part of the Squadron’s task to deliver the latest Typhoon capability upgrade, known as P1Eb.
P1Eb is predominantly an air to ground capability upgrade; it provides enhancements to the Litening III Laser Designator Pod (LDP) and Helmet Equipment Assembly (HEA) (helmet mounted sight) integration, as well as with Paveway IV. The LDP can now also be used seamlessly with the HEA to visually identify air tracks at long range, as well as identifying, tracking and targeting points on the ground.
The Paveway IV offers increased precision, stand-off, and flexibility of employment, and the Typhoon can release a number of weapons to different targets in a single pass.
1(Fighter) Squadron has conducted 8 Paveway IV drops this week, with a mix of profiles including GPS and laser guidance; pre-planned and target of opportunity using the HEA; and employing both impact and airburst fusing settings on the weapon.
1(Fighter) Squadron will release a further 20 Paveway IV weapons when they deploy to the USA for Exercise Red Flag in January 2015. The Typhoon aircraft will be conducting full swing role training sorties, day and night, fighting through the hostile air and ground threats, and then conducting the Paveway IV releases as part of the missions. These sorties will also involve full integration with the US Air Force F22 Raptor aircraft, which is a key area for the RAF as it looks to introduce the Lightning II in the coming years.
raf.mod

RAF To Be Equipped With Bunker Busting Version of Paveway IV

British combat jets are on course to be armed with a new bunker busting version of the Paveway IV precision guided bomb.
Raytheon UK, the weapon’s maker, is conducting preparatory work using an existing contract with the MoD ahead of a possible deal next year to equip Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm jets with a compact warhead.
The contractors carried out ground trials at the UK’s Pendine test range in 2012.
A new warhead and fuze for the Paveway IV would replace earlier generation weapons like the Paveway III bunker buster used by the Royal Air Force in Libya in 2011.
The new generation Paveway IV has a 500-pound warhead compared with 2,000-pounds for the Paveway III.
Paveway IV is carried by RAF Tornado jets and was recently cleared for action onboard the Typhoon.
Typhoon contractor BAE Systems announced earlier this month that two Paveway IVs had been released from the combat jet simultaneously for the first time during a recent flight test.
Aside from the Tornado and Typhoon, the Paveway IV will also be fitted to the F-35B when it enters service with the RAF and the Royal Navy later in the decade.
The weapon has also been acquired by Typhoon and Tornado operator Saudi Arabia.
Executives are now targeting Oman as a second Paveway IV export customer following their purchase of Typhoon jets.
defensenews

First Multiple Release of Paveway IV From An RAF Typhoon is a Success

Trials demonstrate enhanced air-to-surface capability for Typhoon
Working closely with the Royal Air Force and weapons manufacturer Raytheon UK BAE Systems has completed a series of flight trials culminating in the successful release of two Paveway IV precision guided weapons simultaneously from a Typhoon aircraft. This is the first multiple release of the Paveway IV from an RAF Typhoon to multiple targets.
The trials were conducted by a joint industry and RAF team from Typhoon aircraft BT017 equipped with the very latest Phase 1 Enhancements package (P1Eb). P1E implements full air-to-surface capability onto the Typhoon Tranche 2 aircraft. The trials demonstrated the full air-to-surface capability of the P1Eb product, with the Paveway IV weapon, including self-designation with laser guidance to the target and GPS-only guided releases.
baesystems

Paveway IV service entry imminent for RAF Typhoons

The UK Royal Air Force could be as little as four to five months from having its Paveway IV precision-guided bombs fully qualified through the entire Eurofighter Typhoon flight envelope, for carriage using all six of the aircraft’s under-wing carriage points.
New work by Raytheon UK has lifted the remaining Typhoon and Panavia Tornado GR4 flight envelope restrictions for a weapon that was originally developed for the less aerobatic BAE Systems Harrier GR7/9.
Raytheon UK has successfully completed a re-qualification programme for Paveway IV, and the results are now being assessed by the MoD and partners.
The RAF's Tornado GR4s also have no restrictions on carriage of up to five Paveway IVs, as used during the Libya campaign in 2011. At that time, the strike aircraft faced restrictions on carriage configuration. Saudi Arabia also is interested in adopting Paveway IV for its Typhoon and Tornado fleets.
While the nimble Typhoon and Tornado put far more stress on carried Paveways than the weapon was designed to withstand, its requalification work showed the bomb to be suitable without modification for even the most extreme manoeuvres by the Typhoon. The work also shows the Paveway IV can be carried without restriction by the Typhoon throughout the weapon’s 20-year storage life.
The Typhoon requalification is an important step in the RAF’s ongoing push to have the aircraft ready to take on the complete range of Tornado air-to-ground mission capabilities, by the time that the venerable type is retired in 2019.
flightglobal

Raytheon Secures First Export for Paveway IV

Raytheon UK’s Paveway IV precision-guided bomb has secured its first export customer, following US congressional approval for a deal to supply weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Export of the Paveway IV to the Saudis has been held up for several years by the refusal of the US State Department to give clearance for US components included in the weapon.
Raytheon UK officials briefing reporters at the company’s facility here confirmed they had signed their first Paveway IV export customer, but said they were not able to identify the nation involved.
Saudi Arabia, though, has been previously identified as the first potential export customer by numerous media organizations.
Weapons would be produced over the next two years, with the first bombs handed over in about 18 months.
To date, only the UK’s Royal Air Force has purchased the Paveway IV; it is deployed on Tornado and Typhoon jets. Saudi Arabia operates both types of combat aircraft.
Raytheon UK is closing production of a British order to replenish Paveway IV stocks run down by operations against Lybia in 2011.
Michel said approval of the export deal by the US should open the way for possible upcoming orders from other Typhoon customers, including Oman. The gulf nation has ordered a squadron’s worth of Typhoons but deliveries have yet to get underway.
defensenews

Paveway IV modifications proceed towards UK F-35 introduction

A series of enhancements to Raytheon's Paveway IV precision-guided bomb are being readied for test, with a version carrying its own GPS anti-jammer likely to fly late this year or early in 2014.
The anti-jamming equipment will be retrofitable to Paveway II bombs and other munitions.
Other new Paveway IV upgrades will expand the weapon's launch acceptance region, allowing the bomb to be released earlier in a mission, along with a wider field-of-view laser seeker which is already in flight testing, and a new penetrating warhead. The Paveway IV will also be capable of striking moving targets.
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