US Navy,
Naval Air Systems Command delivered the first Dual-Mode Laser-Guided Bomb (DMLGB) to the Fleet this month. DMLGB provides the Navy F/A-18 Hornet and the Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier aircrews the capability to employ a precision weapon in Global Positioning System aided inertial navigation system, or laser guidance mode.
“The combined Navy/Lockheed Martin team achieved another milestone in providing warfighters with innovative and cost-effective, direct-attack capabilities,” said Capt. Mat Winter, PMA 201 Precision Strike Weapons program manager. “DMLGB brings the tactical flexibility with proven precision effectiveness our warfighters so urgently need. I am extremely proud of our team and their delivery of this phenomenal capability to the Fleet today.”
The DMLGB, manufactured by Lockheed Martin for the program office, integrates a low-cost retrofit to an existing laser-guided bomb kit, upgrading the existing computer control group with an INS/GPS, providing dual-mode capability to the warfighter.
With its combined upgraded system, existing semi-active laser seeker and anti-jam technology, the DMLGB’s design improves mission effectiveness against fixed and relocatable targets. The retrofit kit allows the weapon system to provide precision-strike capabilities in all weather conditions.
Following early combat operations in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the U.S. Marine Corps issued an urgent universal need statement defining a requirement for a dual-mode guided bomb to fill a specific capability gap for the warfighters.
The need was identified for a dual-mode precision-guided weapon when aircrews found it difficult to prosecute targets with only a single mode available, especially in poor weather conditions or when a lack of targeting data is available.
A team led by Joe De Dauplaise, deputy for the China Lake Tactical Weapons Office, tested 25 DMLGBs on F/A-18 Hornets and AV-8B Harriers in various conditions, demonstrating the precision capability to strike vertical and horizontal targets at close-in and extended ranges.
“The DMLGB test events clearly displayed the precision and capability of this multi-mode direct attack weapon,” said Dwight Jantzen, deputy program manager for Direct Attack Weapons, PMA 201. “The DMLGB team’s ability to contract, integrate and deliver this new capability within only two and a half years, demonstrated the professionalism, timeliness and dedication of our teams. This efficient approach of retrofitting our existing inventory of weapons will provide our Navy and Marine Corps warfighters with a quick-strike, multi-mode precision capability.”
The PMA 201 Precision Strike Weapons program is responsible for the research, development and acquisition of the Fleet’s air-to-ground precision guided weapons, general-purpose bombs and aircraft armament-related equipment.
