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Raytheon Company has been awarded more than $100 million worth of contracts in the first two months of 2008 by countries in the Asia-Pacific region for its Paveway family of airborne precision-guided bombs. This comes on the heels of $300 million in bookings for Paveway in 2007.

The enhanced Paveway II is an affordable, all-weather, dual-mode GPS/laser-guided precision bomb that has been used successfully in combat by the U.K.'s Royal Air Force. It consists of a MK-82 500-pound bomb with an added laser guidance package. This bomb is suitable against small, hardened targets such as tanks and other armored vehicles.

This bomb also features a reduced collateral damage probability due to its lightweight warhead. The Enhanced Paveway II EGBU-12 is a dual-mode guided bomb designed to effectively operate in all weather conditions. The earlier laser-guided GBU-12s can only operate in optimal weather conditions due to the laser beam that guides the bomb to its intended target. However, the EGBU-12s that were introduced in 2001 during operation in Afghanistan, rely on semi-active laser guidance and Global Positioning System (GPS) aided inertial guidance system to hit the target — regardless of weather conditions. It is the GPS that guides the bomb in poor weather conditions whereas the laser guidance aides engaging mobile targets of opportunity.