My PGM for a Fuze… Paveway-IV Hits Trouble in Britiain
In 2003, Raytheon UK operation won the GBP 120 million pound contract to develop and produce Paveway IV, beating Boeing's INS/GPS guided JDAM. The GPS/INS and laser-guided bomb 500 pound bombs are a British project, and will add a number of other enhancements including longer range than previous Paveway versions.....
The British military had wanted to deploy Raytheon's latest Paveway IV bombs in Afghanistan in September 2007, on board its newly-upgraded Harrier GR9 aircraft. Unfortunately, a recent MoD statement reveals that testing problems with the Thales UK's Aurora fuze have removed that option….
"As a result of poor system reliability during operational evaluation trials, the Paveway IV in-service date is likely to slip. Mitigation action is being investigated and we cannot, as yet, confirm the new date."
While other aspects of the system performed well, fuze difficulties mean bombs that don't go off. Defense News' report quotes Raytheon UK Paveway IV program manager John Michel, who believes qualification will be delayed at least until November 2007, with an estimated sign-off on the weapon's final design certification at the end of the year and a new set capability trials during "the first half of 2008."...
The contract is firm priced, meaning the contractors will bear the burden of any cost overruns. Meanwhile, other components already are being produced ahead of the fuze section so that overall delivery won't be as badly affected.
The firm has contracts to integrate the weapon on the F-35B (July 2007, GBP 24M), Tornado GR4 (agreement in principle, contract to follow, in service by 2010), and Eurofighter Typhoon (issued from BAE, introduction in 2012). When integration work on the different aircraft types is added, the project is forecast to cost GBP 341 million pounds, according to the National Audit Office's Major Projects Report 2006.