Article Posted on : - Sep 29, 2010

This photo shows a 2,000-pound MK-84 Laser JDAM Flight Test Vehicle on the inboard station of an F-16. A Boeing photo

ST. LOUIS (BNS): Boeing has successfully conducted the first flight tests of MK-84 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (Laser JDAM) weapons designed for the US defence forces.

Two inert MK-84 Laser JDAM weapons were tested this summer at the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The weapons were released from the US Air Force's F-16 fighter aircraft flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet and a speed of Mach 0.95.

“Both weapons flew a series of aggressive, preprogrammed maneouvers to verify their maneouverability and aerodynamic performance,” Boeing said.

The tests validated the laser weapons’ precision attack capability against fixed, relocatable and moving targets.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit is a guidance kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs or ‘dumb bombs’ into accurately guided “smart” weapons. The JDAM becomes a Laser JDAM when it is equipped with Precision Laser Guidance Set (PLGS).

The JDAM is used with the MK-83/BLU-110, MK-84, BLU-109 and MK-82 warheads. The weapon is guided by global positioning system (GPS).

The MK-84 PLGS weighs 2000 pounds and is based on the same laser sensor as the 500-pound MK-82 Laser JDAM which has already been inducted in the US Air Force, US Navy and in some other countries.