India to acquire laser guided precision bomb technology

Interestingly I was told about this by a person sitting next to me on a flight!!  That India was interested in a technology that could help bomb a ICBM when it has just left its source through lasers mounted on a plane.  Only Israel and US have this technology as of now, it seems – at least the ICBM variety.  Good move…

India’s state-run Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is negotiating the acquisition of precision bomb technology from US arms major Raytheon.

Ben Ford, senior manager of Raytheon Missile Systems, told IANS at the ongoing Paris Air Show that the company was in discussions to transfer the technology for the Enhanced Paveway-II Dual Mode GPS/Laser Guided Bombs to the OFB for their indigenous manufacture in India for use by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Procedural clearance from the US government should be available, he added.

The Paveway, initially developed in 1964, is a standard US Air Force weapon with varying loads for attacking fixed or moving targets. Thanks to its new Global Positioning System (GPS) and laser guidance capability, it can now be dropped exactly as required on a target with an error margin of less than four feet.

During the 1999 Kargil War, the IAF had to make last minute imports of laser guidance kits to bomb Pakistani positions inside Indian territory and two aircraft had to be used to designate and hit any target.

With both the GPS and laser technologies now available on the same bomb, a strike mission could be mounted with less deployment and without any collateral damage.

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