LONDON, July 17 (UPI) -- A U.S.-built Paveway IV bomb met its requirements in a British Royal Air Force test held recently in Wales.
The bomb is being developed jointly by Raytheon's British and U.S. units as the next generation of the Paveway family of precision guided ordnance that has become a mainstay of both conventional and anti-insurgency operations.
Deliveries of the bomb begin in September after a few more test flights.
"The test saw the weapon hit within requirements from its intended target," Raytheon said in a media release Monday.
"We believe Paveway IV will be the weapon of choice for the next 20 years," said Royal Navy Capt. Howard Holdsworth. "Paveway IV offers our pilots greatly expanded capabilities over the Enhanced Paveway II we have been using with great success."
The fourth-generation Paveway is equipped with a 500-pound MK82 warhead and updated height-of-burst sensors as well as advanced Global Positioning System technology and programmable fuze. Its guidance algorithm has also been updated.
The result is a more-compact and less-expensive guidance package.
The test took place at the Aberporth Range in Wales and involved a Paveway IV carried by an RAF Harrier GR9 jet.
