Network-enabled weapons are a class of air-to-ground

precision-guided munitions A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a type of weapon system that integrates advanced guidance and control systems, such as Global Positioning System, GPS, laser guidance, or Infrared ...

that are being developed by a number of countries. A derivative of

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

-guided weapons, which are guided to a specific coordinate entered prior to release, network-enabled weapons have the additional ability to have targeting coordinates updated in flight through the use of a common

datalink A data link is a means of telecommunications link, connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a t ...

, and be tracked by aircraft and other platforms logged into the same network. Previous weapons have used datalink to provide updated target information in flight (e.g.

AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) ( ) is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It uses active transmit-receive radar guidance instead of semi-active rece ...

), but the creation of a common datalink allows control of the weapon to be passed from one platform to another, for example from an aircraft that launches the weapons to a ground party that is in visual contact with an enemy tank formation. The concept for network-enabled weapons originated at the U.S. Air Force's

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

headquarters in 2003 as a solution to the problem of attacking moving targets in all-weather, high-threat environments. The Air Force's

Air Armament Center The Air Armament Center (AAC) was an Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, responsible for development, acquisition, testing, and deployment of all air-delivered weapons for the U.S. Air Force. Weapon system ...

refined the idea and in late 2003 declared network-enabled weapons to be the "single most cost effective means available for enhancing overall armament capability." An Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration was funded in 2005 to develop the miniaturized radio that would be needed and demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. Subsequently, the requirements for the

Small Diameter Bomb The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to allow aircraft to carry a greater number of smaller, more accurate bombs. Most US Air Force aircraft will be able to carry (using the BRU-61/A rack) ...

Increment 2 were modified to incorporate the capability. Later weapons incorporating this technology include the

AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a glide bomb that resulted from a joint venture between the United States Navy and Air Force to deploy a standardized medium-range precision-guided weapon, especially for engagement of defended target ...

(JSOW C-1) and the Turkish Air Force's SOM cruise missile.

References

{{reflist Guided weapons Military communications