Precision weapon for GAF Tornados enhances accuracy

07:18 GMT, December 3, 2009 EADS Defence & Security (DS) and Bundeswehr Technical Centre WTD 61 jointly have successfully tested a new type of air-to-surface armament for the Tornado combat aircraft. As part of the ongoing combat efficiency improvement programme ASSTA (Avionics Software System Tornado Ada) for the German Air Force Tornados, DS integrated the latest state-of-the-art laser-guided munitions in the Tornado weapon system.

Military Air Systems (MAS), the EADS DS Business Unit responsible for the programme, was commissioned in 2008 by the Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) to integrate the modern Laser JDAM weapon (GBU-54/B) on the German Air Force Tornados. In a test campaign over the North Sea in late October 2009 which was part of this adaptation to the weapon system, the Bundeswehr Technical Centre and MAS jointly tested the weapons’ aerodynamic and jettison behaviour on the aircraft. Three successful tests enabled them to verify the reliable weapon release of the Laser JDAM bombs from the aircraft.

EADS DS (and its predecessor companies) was via MAS the German industrial partner responsible for developing and manufacturing all the centre fuselages for the trinational Tornado programme. MAS was also in charge of the avionics and the communications system, the flight control computer and the entire computer system, including the weapon control and attack system. It was on the basis of this expertise that MAS was entrusted with the ASSTA1 programme for extending the Tornado’s service life. After the successful completion of the first update programme, Germany and Italy decided to carry out further upgrade programmes to adapt the Tornados to the latest developments and secure their capabilities for some more decades. These activities now include the integration of new, high-performance weapons as an element of the ASSTA3 phase of the programme.

The Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition is a new development by Boeing and combines a GPS-guided conventional bomb body with a laser sensor. This makes it possible to identify and combat stationary targets directly, or, in combination with a laser target illuminator, also moving targets, in all weather conditions. Thanks to this combined target acquisition facility, the continuous internal update of target coordinates and the intelligent missile guidance, the weapon hits its targets with far greater precision. The adaptation of the Laser JDAM for the Tornado makes the German Air Force the first export customer for this advanced armament.

The Laser JDAM is later also foreseen as part of the stores compendium for Eurofighter aircraft of the German Air Force in their air-to-surface role.