Raytheon to provide laser-guided Paveway smart munitions in $110 million 10-year contract

U.S. Air Force smart munitions experts are asking the Raytheon Co. to build Paveway GPS- and laser-guided aerial weapons under terms of a $110 million 10-year contract. Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., are asking the Raytheon Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., to produce the Paveway family of weapons, which are conventional gravity bombs that are converted to precision-guided smart munitions with guidance and tail kits. Paveway munitions use laser guidance, as well as GPS satellite navigation and inertial guidance to glide Paveway bombs precisely to their targets. Paveway kits can attach to 250-, 500-, 1,000-, and 2,000-pound bombs. The contract involves a total-package approach for Paveway-specific activities including studies, production, certification, integration, and sustainment. Paveway munitions with multi-guidance systems can decreases the required sortie count and weapon inventory while simultaneously increasing the mission success rate, Raytheon officials say.