The Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack is an electro-optical targeting pod for military attack aircraft. It uses a

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...

and a forward looking infrared to find and designate targets for laser-guided bombs and other

precision-guided munition A precision-guided munition (PGM, smart weapon, smart munition, smart bomb) is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gu ...

s. Pave Tack's images are routed to a cockpit display, usually for the weapon systems officer.

History

Pave Tack was developed in the late 1970s and entered service in 1982, and was initially used by the USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Un ...

F-111C Aardvark strike aircraft. Its combat debut came in 1986 during Operation El Dorado Canyon's air raid against

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

by F-111F aircraft stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England. F-111s used it to great effect in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

of 1991, both against fixed targets and against <