Marines in the U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron (MAWTS-1) successfully completed a training exercise with the Lockheed Martin [LMT] Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb (DMLGB), proving the operational relevance of the weapon system in the first MAWTS test event since the contractor upgraded the operational software last year, the company said Monday.
In the exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, AV-8B Harrier aircrews released 19 bombs against fixed targets in various targeting modes – laser-guided targeting, GPS/Inertial Navigation System guidance and dual mode.
Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Melissa Hilliard told Defense Daily that “the training program focuses on tactically representative engagements structured to accurately replicate the operational weapon and tactics employment that would be encountered in actual combat scenarios to evaluate performance, capability and overall of effectiveness of the system in countering the associated threat in the mission.”
The DMLGB builds on the Lockheed-made Paveway II laser-guided bomb kit. The company is in the midst of improving both, even after the most recent software upgrade. Hilliard said Lockheed Martin is pursuing a Paveway II Plus LGB and a corresponding Dual Mode Plus add-on.
“The new Dual Mode Plus system retains the proven operational capability and benefits from previous Lockheed Martin DMLGB product versions, while capitalizing on the latest technology and performance improvements of our Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb product to enhance system performance, reliability and overall affordability,” she said.