This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(June 2017) |
TheFord AerospaceAN/AVQ-26 Pave Tackis an electro-opticaltargeting podfor militaryattack aircraft.It uses alaserand aforward looking infraredto find and designate targets forlaser-guided bombsand otherprecision-guided munitions.Pave Tack's images are routed to a cockpit display, usually for theweapon systems officer.
History
editPave Tack was developed in the late 1970s and entered service in 1982, and was initially used by the USAFMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIandGeneral DynamicsF-111C Aardvarkstrike aircraft. Its combat debut came in 1986 duringOperation El Dorado Canyon's air raid againstLibyaby F-111F aircraft stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England. F-111s used it to great effect in theGulf Warof 1991, both against fixed targets and againsttanks.
F-4 crews called Pave Tack "Pave Drag" because it was carried externally.[1]Pave Tack is a large installation, with the pod alone weighing some 1,385 lb (629 kg) and measuring 166 inches (4,220 mm) in length. On the F-4, the size of the pod meant that it had to be carried on the centerline station in place of the standard drop tank; it imposed a substantialaerodynamic dragpenalty and was generally unpopular. The F-111C and F-111F carried the Pave Tack pod on a rotating carriage in its internalbomb bay,retracting it when not in use to reduce drag and protect the sensors from damage.
About 150 AVQ-26 pods were built, substantially fewer than originally planned. The last USAF Pave Tacks were withdrawn with the retirement of the F-111 in 1996.
TheRoyal Australian Air Force(RAAF) purchased ten Pave Tack pods in 1980 for its F-111 fleet. All 24 F-111Cs were wired for the pod, although there were not enough pods for all to be simultaneously equipped. Following the retirement of the USAF's F-111F in 1996 the RAAF purchased surplus pods to equip each of its F-111Cs to carry its own.[2]
TheRepublic of Korea Air Force(RoKAF) ordered an initial batch of eight pods in 1984 for delivery in 1987. It may have subsequently obtained additional pods from USAF surplus. The RoKAF uses the pods on its F-4 Phantoms.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^Crandall, Richard; Rogoway, Tyler (2016-07-27)."Flying the Iconic Swing-Wing F-111 Aardvark at the Height of the Cold War".The Drive.Retrieved2019-10-31.
- ^Pittaway, Nigel, "21st Century Pigs: the F-111 in RAAF service,"International Air Power Review,Volume 6, 1992