FLUG REVUE September 2005: Tornados use Litening pods

September 2005

LUFTWAFFE RIGHT ON TARGET WITH LASER BEAMS

By Patrick Hoeveler

“We no longer take aim for a complete house, but at the third window on the right-hand side, second floor.” Since 2001, the Luftwaffe have had stand-off precision weapons at its disposal, as Captain Oliver Rühe, team leader precision weapons, explained during a visit by FLUG REVUE to Fighter Bomber Wing 31 “Boelcke” in Nörvenich. The Luftwaffe now has the laser-guided Raytheon GBU-24 Paveway III in the 1,000kg class with two versions: the MK-84 blast-fragmentation bomb and the BLU-109 penetrator bomb for taking out bunkers and shelters. The latter can penetrate concrete walls up to two metres thick.

The seeker in the nose of the bomb tracks the target marked by the invisible laser beam of the Rafael Litening II target designator pod. Its head holds a diode-pumped laser, a FLIR system and a video camera. On the Tornado itself only minor modifications were necessary to accommodate the new system. An interface for communication between the onboard computer and the Israeli designed target designator is located on the right-hand fuselage weapon station. The German pods are assembled and maintained by Zeiss Optronik in Oberkochen.

On the GBU-24, turn switches are used to adjust the relevant programs and flight profiles prior to the flight, enabling the crew to predetermine the conditions under which the target will be struck. At the same time they adjust specific laser codes to ensure that the bomb which they are about to release is not deflected by other laser spots. The Paveway can be released in level flight, during the descent or in a loft bombing manoeuvre. Its maximum flight time is around two minutes This means that it can be delivered remotely from a distance of about 20km.

After the weapon has been released, it is initialised: the battery and gyro now start up, and the bomb measures its altitude and speed. This is followed by the “midcourse section” in which, depending on the release height different flight profiles are pursued (ballistic trajectory, constant glide path or maintaining altitude). While this is going on, the seeker scans the environment for the suitably coded laser beam. Once it is found, Paveway enters the terminal phase through to impact. If it loses the beam, it goes into a “memory mode” which enables it to fly as close as possible to the target.

Due to its size the weapon is primarily suited for planned high-value targets. To avoid collateral damage, care must be taken in the computer-aided mission planning to ensure that the bomb avoids undesirable areas in the event that it loses the target. Naturally weather also plays an important role, as undisturbed visual contact with the target is the prerequisite for an exact strike. High humidity or obstructed sight reduce the range of the laser. In normal operation, the Luftwaffe Tornados each carry one GBU-24 and one Litening target designator. The targets can also be illuminated from the ground by an Heer (army) or Luftwaffe Forward Air Controller.

In this way the Luftwaffe can keep pace with its alliance partners. “We now have the possibility of identifying targets from a greater altitude. We can identify targets better and engage them with precision accuracy,” says pilot Rühe. “Different modes allow the impact parameters to be varied, depending on what effect I want to achieve. With non-guided bombs that is not possible,” adds Wing Commander Thomas Dohler, second-in-command of Flying Group. “With the laser rangefinder it is possible to measure targets a lot more accurately than with the radar, and to discover activities in the target area much earlier” he explains. But at the same time the safety of the crew is enhanced: “Stand-off weapons also mean protection for the pilots,” says Rühe.

Fighter Bomber Wing 31 is currently the only wing in the Luftwaffe that is able to use laser-guided bombs (LGB). Meanwhile about 70 percent of the crews have completed the relevant training programme or are in the middle of this training. After a week of theory, students are put through a series of nine missions from medium altitude, followed by five missions from low altitude. Compared with former mission profiles, the importance of low-level flight has declined. “We do a lot of flying at medium altitude,” says Rühe. However, in the region of 10,000 feet and above there is only limited airspace available.

In August the Nörvenich based unit will be taking part in exercise Red Flag with their new capabilities for the first time. They will be able to look back on their experience of past exercises like Cope Thunder in Alaska. “Using the LGBs works very well. We certainly did not come off badly,” says Captain Rühe. However, the new competencies will increase the likelihood of being sent on a real mission. Thus, FBW 31, with its LGBs, has been assigned to the NATO Response Force (NRF).

From page 42 of FLUG REVUE 9/2005

Last updated 18 August 2005

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