RAF Flies Precision-Guided Bomb on Typhoon

RAF Flies Precision-Guided Bomb on Typhoon (NSI News Source Info) October 27, 2008: The Royal Air Force's new precision-guided bomb has been flown for the first time onboard the Eurofighter Typhoon. Six Paveway IV trials weapons were fitted on an Italian test aircraft operating out of an air base in Sardinia. The test flights are part of an integration program subcontracted to weapons supplier Raytheon Systems by BAE Systems. The U.K. arm of Raytheon has a deal to integrate the 500-pound bomb on Typhoon as part of an incremental capability program that expires in 2012.

Eurofighter Typhoon ZJ802, one of the first delivered to the RAF

Part of that program saw the weapons fitted to an Italian instrumented production aircraft at the Alenia integration facility in Turin for physical and electronic interface testing before the aircraft was flown to the Decimomannu air base in Sardinia on Oct. 24 for a series of flight tests. Integration of Paveway IV is part of the Eurofighter Phase 1 Enhancements program, which also includes fit of a laser designator pod and Enhanced GBU-16. For the moment, the Paveway IV has to be dropped at subsonic speeds on Typhoon, but Eurofighter has submitted a list of proposals to Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, the European partners in the multirole aircraft, to allow the weapon to be used at supersonic speed. Other Phase 2 enhancements include the possible fit of Brimstone anti-tank missiles, the small diameter bomb, Storm Shadow and Taurus cruise missiles and the Meteor air-to-air weapon. The RAF has cleared the new Paveway IV for operational use on its Harrier GR9 fleet. The weapon is expected to be deployed for the first time in Afghanistan in a matter of weeks. Raytheon is also working on integrating the weapon on the Tornado strike aircraft. The aircraft are scheduled to replace the Harrier on Afghanistan duty in the first half of 2009. The British have recently declared operational an austere Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft which features earlier variants of the Paveway family allied with the Rafael Litening laser designator.