Flying Nightmares target terrorism with new munitions system

AL ASAD, Iraq (April 9, 2006) -- Sweat slowly drips off of the Marines as they carefully raise the 500- and 1000-pound munitions to the weapons carriage on the AV-8B Harrier - the Flying Nightmares are readying for action.

Marine Attack Squadron 513, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, is the first Harrier squadron to employ the Joint Direct Attack Munitions in a combat zone.

"With this new feature on our jets, we will be able to hit targets more accurately, therefore making us a more effective squadron," said Lt. Col. Willis E. Price, commanding officer, VMA-513.

The previous laser guided precision munitions were completely dependent on a continuous laser spotter being directed at the target until immediately before impact by another aircraft or by a Marine on the ground.

The JDAM is a global positioning system guided munition that is all-weather capable. The JDAM weapons need to only know the GPS coordinate of the target and it will navigate on its own until impact.

"The JDAM is essentially a 'fire and forget' weapon," said Capt. Benjamin K. Hutchins, squadron weapons and tactics officer, VMA-513. "Once the target is identified and the GPS coordinates are entered, the pilot can forget about that target and focus on the next target."

According to Master Sgt. Marc A. Senecal, aviation ordnance chief, VMA-513, the JDAM is a guidance and control kit added to regular munitions and turns them into guided smart bombs.

"The JDAM versions we can fly on the AV-8B are the 500- or 1000-pound, general-purpose bombs with a JDAM tail fin that houses a GPS guidance system, control fins and a receiver antenna," said Senecal, a native of Kissimmee, Fla. "There is also a small strake kit added to the front of the bomb to provide stability in flight."

The new JDAM system is also more reliable than prior guidance systems used by the Harrier.

"This new system isn't affected by weather conditions or bad communication signals," said Hutchins, a native Raleigh, N.C. "If the weather was bad, with the old system, the pilot may not be able to locate the laser designator and if communications were bad, then the ground Marines wouldn't be able to call the pilots in and thereby making the air support nearly useless."

By adding the JDAM system to the Harriers arsenal, they have become more capable of handling dangerous situations on their own.

"With the JDAM system, our jets are less reliant on having either another aircraft or an infantry Marine on the ground to mark the targets with various laser designators," said Senecal. "The Harrier is now able to pick out the target and employ the munitions needed to destroy the target without the assistance of other aircraft or ground Marines."

With all of the improvements the JDAM provides over its predecessors, the most crucial improvement is felt by those Marines on the ground and the front lines.

"The most important aspect of the JDAM system is that it means that the Marine rifleman in contact with the enemy can count on our bombs being on target and knowing that help is only a radio call away," said Senecal.

With the new JDAM system, one thing is seamlessly clear; the enemies of VMA-513 will find out why they are called the Flying Nightmares.

In theater.

VMA-214 pioneers munitions change
Submitted by: MCAS Yuma
Story Identification #: 200581802658
Story by Lance Corporal Robert L. Botkin

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Az. (Aug. 11, 2005) -- Marine Attack Squadron 214 became the first active duty AV-8B Harrier squadron in the Marine Corps to drop the Joint Direct Attack Munition Guided Bomb Units when they started training with the munitions in April at ranges 2507 North and 2507 South in California.

VMA-214 was the first fleet squadron to drop the JDAMs because the Harrier was not designed to carry them, and modifications had to be made in order to accommodate the bomb.

“In order to do it they had to incorporate a mod into the aircraft that wasn’t supposed to be released until sometime around the end of this year or beginning of next year,” said Gunnery Sgt. Leland P. Beaty, VMA-214 avionics noncommissioned officer-in-charge. “It’s an arduous task to get them (modified). We had to incorporate the mods into the aircraft before it was ready to be tested, then train for the new system as far as maintainers and then get the birds ready for the pilots to actually go up and train in.”

Previously, Harriers in a test squadron had been equipped to drop JDAMs at China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, Calif., but many of their jets had different wiring configurations that required the VMA-214 technicians to improvise, said Beaty, a native of Waco, Texas.

“We were in contact with China Lake and civilian engineers came down. However, some of the stuff we were encountering they hadn’t foreseen because they’re working with a different platform than we are,” said Beaty.

There were no publications or wiring diagrams when the VMA-214 avionics shop went to work on adapting the Harrier jets to carry the JDAMs, so the methods they’ve used are going to be distributed throughout the fleet for other squadrons, said Beaty. Those squadrons will use VMA-214’s methods when they begin to modify their harriers to carry the bombs, said Beaty.

The JDAM itself is different from other bombs in three main ways, said 1st Lt. Michael R. Cassidy, Harrier pilot and ground safety officer for VMA-214.

The JDAM uses latitude and longitude coordinates to find the target, and then coordinates with GPS satellites to guide itself towards the target, said Cassidy. This makes it possible for the pilot to drop the bombs at night or during a storm without worrying about if the bomb will hit the target.

“(General purpose) bombs aren’t guided at all,” said Cassidy. “They fall in a trajectory that’s guided by gravity. When we drop them, just visually acquiring a target and releasing them.”

Laser guided bombs are also a staple of the Harrier’s arsenal, said Cassidy. Laser guided bombs require a laser to be reflected off the target, either by a ground unit or from an aircraft, in order to guide the bombs. This can be a problem if the bombs are dropped from above a layer of clouds, which blocks the laser from the bomb’s sight.

“The difference in JDAM is, it doesn’t require any kind of mark,” said Cassidy. “It does not require us to physically see the target.”

Another advantage the JDAM has over other munitions is range, which comes in the form of strakes. These are metal attachments that give the bomb more lift as it travels toward the target, said Cassidy.

The third advantage the JDAM has over other bombs is, because of its GPS tracking system, pilots can release up to four bombs to be released at once, all at different targets, said Cassidy.

“We currently aren’t authorized to do that, but eventually we’ll be able to drop multiple JDAMs at multiple targets at the same time, and they have patterns that we can throw them out in as well,” said Cassidy.

There have been some growing pains associated with the new system, like there is with any change as large as this, said Cassidy, but the work done at VMA-214 will help other Marines as they add this weapon to their arsenal in the Global War on Terrorism.

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