Additional Paveway IV bombs for UK MoD

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a £25 million contract to Raytheon UK for additional Paveway IV precision-guided bombs, it was announced on 4 December. This latest contract will adhere to the accelerated delivery timeframe of two previous orders, placed over the last year, totalling nearly £80 million.

Paveway IV features dual-mode guidance and is the latest generation of the Paveway family. For extreme accuracy in all operational scenarios it utilises second-generation, state-of-the-art GPS aided inertial navigation that incorporates anti-spoofing and anti-jamming technology. It also incorporates a laser-guidance system and the pilot is able to switch between modes as necessary, even after release, giving the flexibility to attack re-locatable and moving targets as well as fixed targets.

Bob Delorge, chief executive Raytheon UK, said: ‘The Paveway IV is well recognised as being the RAF’s precision-guided bomb of choice, with accuracy, flexibility, and reliability being some of the key characteristics of the system. The Paveway IV weapon system has proved itself pivotal to operations in Afghanistan and also in Libya. This contract will help sustain hundreds of highly skilled staff in Raytheon as well as our UK-based partners while delivering an outstanding operational capability.’