Testing and Proving the GBU-24 Laser-Guided Bomb from the U.S. Navy's F-14 Aircraft

When the U.S. Navy identified the requirement to carry and employ the Texas Instruments-Raytheon GBU-24 Laser Guided Bomb LGB hard target penetrator from the F-14 aircraft, its weapons compatibilitycertification engineers had to modify the weapons flight test process which had been in use for determination of aircraft and air-to-ground AG weapons compatibility. That process consisted of beginning test at low MachAirspeed in straight and level flight, and continuing tests, at incrementally greater speeds, through the highest Machairspeed and steepest flight path angles, with the acceptability of the weapon separation trajectory evaluated through film from aircraft-mounted cameras. The GBU-24, because of its large size and large deploying wing, had to be evaluated through an integrated test and evaluation process consisting of Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD analyses, wind tunnel testing, ground testing, flight testing and photogrammetric analyses, used interdependently, to determine the extent of aircraftweapon compatibility. The test process ultimately led to the authorization for all F-14 variants to carry and employ two GBU-24s on fuselage carriage stations. In addition, the testing led to authorization for launching of an AIM-7 air-to-air missile from a fuselage carriage station which was behind the LGB AG weapons.