GBU-10 Paveway is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. Its first prototypes appeared in the first half of the 1970s, and it was used by the US armed forces in 1976 and remains there to this day. GBU-10 Paveway is capable of carrying a warhead weighing up to 428 kg with a total curb weight of 1,162 kg.
The GBU-10 Paveway was developed and manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, based on the traditional Mk. 84. Modernization of the Mk. 84 consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons correcting the fall of the bomb. GBU-10 requires highlighting with a laser target pointer. Two generations of these bombs appeared in the course of production. He represents the first GBU-10A / B Paveway I , the second is the GBU-10E / B and F / B Paveway II. The difference - apart from the design of the fins - is primarily that the Paveway II has a homing head that is cheaper to produce and more sensitive, which increases its accuracy and effectiveness. The main carriers of these bombs are the F-111 and F-15 E Strike Eagle planes. In addition, it can be carried by, among others: F-16 Fighting Falcon or F / A-18 Hornet. In the course of Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991 bombs GBU-10 Paveway showed 76% effectiveness in hitting targets.
GBU-12 Paveway is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. Its first prototypes appeared in the first half of the 1970s, and it was used by the US armed forces in 1976 and remains there to this day. GBU-12 is capable of carrying explosives (Tritonal and PBNX) weighing up to 87 kg with a total empty weight of 230 kg.
The GBU-12 Paveway was developed and manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, based on the traditional Mk. 82 with a weight of 227 kilograms. Modernization of the Mk. 82 consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons correcting the fall of the bomb. The first element was originally developed by Texas Instruments, which later became part of Raytheon. GBU-12 requires highlighting with a laser target pointer. Two generations of these bombs appeared in the course of production. He represents the first GBU-12 Paveway I , the second is the GBU-12 Paveway II. The difference - apart from the design of the fins - is primarily that the Paveway II has a homing head that is cheaper to produce and more sensitive, which increases its accuracy and effectiveness. The main carrier of these bombs is the F-111 plane. In addition, it can be carried by, among others: F-15 Strike Eagle, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-16 Fighting Falcon or F / A-18 Hornet. In the course of Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991 bombs GBU-12 Paveway showed 88% effectiveness in hitting targets.
GBU-24 Paveway III is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. It is capable of carrying explosives (H-6) weighing up to 429 kg, with a total curb weight of up to 1085 kg. The unit cost of the bomb in 2001 was estimated at $ 55,600 (USD).
The GBU-24 Paveway was developed from the traditional Mk. 84 with a weight of 909 kg or a special penetrating bomb BLU-109. The modernization of both types of bombs consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons to correct the fall of the bomb. The first element was originally developed by Texas Instruments, which later became part of Raytheon. In the course of serial production, three models of this bomb were created. The first is the GBU-24 / B, which is based on the Mk.84 bomb. The second model is the GBU-24A / B, which was based on the BLU-109 bomb. The third version is the GBU-24B / B, which is still based on the BLU-109 penetration bomb, but uses a much more perfect and sensitive homing component. GBU-24 bombs can be carried by, among others: F-16 C / D Fighting Falcon, F-15 E Strike Eagle or F / A-18 Hornet.