Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) – Although one of the oldest weapons in the U.S. Navy inventory, with the Block II TLAM-A having achieved IOC in 1984, the Tomahawk remains the Navy’s premier precision strike standoff weapon against long-range, medium-range, and tactical targets. The Block IV TLAM-E version is still in production 12 years after IOC with the Navy and eight years after being declared in-service by the United Kingdom. First used in combat during Operation Desert Storm, Tomahawk cruise missiles fly at extremely low altitudes at high subsonic speeds, piloted through an evasive route by several mission-tailored guidance systems. The Block IV TLAM-E can deliver a 1,000-pound class unitary warhead to targets up to 900 nautical miles away, can be redirected in-flight to any of 15 pre-programmed targets or, using GPS coordinates sent in real-time, any new target. It also can loiter over a strike area looking for emerging targets or use its on-board camera to provide battle damage information.

AGM-84K Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) – First deployed in 2000 as a Harpoon derivative, the SLAM-ER is an air-launched, day/night, adverse-weather, over-the-horizon, precision strike missile for attacking long-range land and sea targets, both pre-planned and targets of opportunity. It incorporates a GPS-aided guidance system; imaging infrared seeker; two-way datalink for man-in-the-loop control; improved missile aerodynamics for flexible terminal attack profiles; penetrating high lethality ordnance; and automatic target acquisition. The SLAM-ER can be launched and controlled from F/A-18C/D/E/F and P-3 platforms.

Free-fall (unguided) General Purpose (GP) bombs – BLU-111/MK-82, BLU-110/MK-83, BLU-117/MK-84. Harkening back to World War II ordnance, GP bombs are only as accurate as the platform and crew delivering them. Primarily blast and fragmentation devices, they range in size and weight from the 500-pound BLU-111/MK-82 to the 1,000-pound BLU-110/MK-83 and the 2,000-pound BLU-117/MK-84.

 

Other direct attack weapon systems developed and sustained by NAVAIR include:

Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) – By adding a GPS/INS guidance kit and a tail control system to an existing “dumb” bomb, JDAM provides an inexpensive precision-guided, all-weather “smart” munition for use by Navy and Marine Corps fighter-attack aircraft against single or multiple targets on a single pass.

Direct Attack Moving Target Capability (DAMTC) – Combining existing precision strike weapons capabilities with advanced GPS/INS and laser technology, DAMTC creates an all-weather, day/night SoS weapon to neutralize stationary and moving/maneuvering time-sensitive targets-of-opportunity in any operational environment.

Laser-Guided Bomb (LGB) – Paveway II series (GBU-12, GBU-16, GBU-10, GBU-24) detects and tracks laser-illuminated targets. The GBU-12 features a 500-pound general-purpose warhead; GBU-16 a 1,000-pound bomb modified with a common Paveway II laser guidance kit; GBU-10 utilizes a 2,000-pound GP bomb; and the GBU-24 a 2,000-pound BLU series bomb body to penetrate hard targets.

Dual-Mode Laser-Guided Bomb (DMLGB) – A modified LGB converted to dual-mode configuration using common components. By combining proven laser terminal guidance with all-weather, fire-and-forget capability and GPS/INS, the DMLGB offers theater commanders increased air attack flexibility.

Low Collateral Damage Bomb (LOCO) – With the increase of urban warfare in Southwest Asia, where prime enemy targets are deliberately located among civilian facilities, such as schools, hospitals, and mosques, the LOCO was developed to reduce collateral damage – both civilian and nearby friendly forces – while providing a reliable strike capability against such targets.

This article was first published in the NAVAIR: 50 Years of Naval Air Systems Command, 1966-2016 magazine.