TIALD
Encyclopedia
TIALD, the Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator
pod, is manufactured by SELEX Galileo
and was the UK's primary laser designator for laser-guided bomb
s.
The UK uses the Paveway
series of laser guided bombs (LGBs.) The first operational use of LGBs by the UK's armed forces were the RAF
Harrier attacks on Argentine
forces during the Falklands War
. However laser designation for these attacks was carried out by a forward air controller using a ground designator. Following the conflict it was realised that an airborne designator was required.
GEC-Marconi
started development of the TIALD pod in the late 1980s. The 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the resulting Gulf War
saw the TIALD pod rushed into service. In the Gulf War several modified Panavia Tornado
s and some Blackburn Buccaneer
s laser designated for non-modified Tornados which carried LGBs. The Buccaneers carried the Pave Spike
designator, which was less capable and limited to daylight. The RAF dropped over 6,000 1,000lb bombs, 1,000 of which were laser guided. Two TIALD-equipped Tornados guided more than 200 LGBs onto targets in the last month of the conflict alone. Further development of the pod enabled aircraft to self-designate targets. The TIALD pod has been used extensively since the Gulf War including during the Iraqi no-fly zone
patrols (1991-2003,) the related Operation Desert Fox
(1998,) the Kosovo War
(1999) and the 2003 Iraq Conflict
.
The TIALD pod has been constantly updated, the current version of which is the Series-400. However The TIALD pod has been sidelined in recent years by the introduction of the stand-off Storm Shadow
missile, GPS-guided Enhanced Paveway, and the LITENING pod
to RAF service. Experience in Afghanistan lead to the realisation that TIALD was outdated, as described by an RAF Wing Commander:
Laser designator
A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, Lockheed-Martin's Hellfire, or the Copperhead round, respectively.When a...
pod, is manufactured by SELEX Galileo
SELEX Galileo
SELEX Galileo is a major defence electronics company that specialises in surveillance, protection, tracking, targeting, navigation and control, and imaging systems. It is owned by the Italian company Finmeccanica....
and was the UK's primary laser designator for laser-guided bomb
Laser-guided bomb
A laser-guided bomb is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser homing to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. LGBs are one of the most common and widespread guided bombs, used by a large number of the world's air forces.- Overview :Laser-guided munitions use a...
s.
The UK uses the Paveway
Paveway
Paveway is a generic term for Laser Guided Bombs .Pave or PAVE is sometimes used as an acronym for precision avionics vectoring equipment; literally, electronics for controlling the speed and direction of aircraft...
series of laser guided bombs (LGBs.) The first operational use of LGBs by the UK's armed forces were the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Harrier attacks on Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
forces during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. However laser designation for these attacks was carried out by a forward air controller using a ground designator. Following the conflict it was realised that an airborne designator was required.
GEC-Marconi
Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems , or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of The General Electric Company . It was demerged from GEC and acquired by British Aerospace on November 30, 1999 to form BAE Systems...
started development of the TIALD pod in the late 1980s. The 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the resulting Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
saw the TIALD pod rushed into service. In the Gulf War several modified Panavia Tornado
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
s and some Blackburn Buccaneer
Blackburn Buccaneer
The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British low-level subsonic strike aircraft with nuclear weapon delivery capability serving with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force between 1962 and 1994, including service in the 1991 Gulf War...
s laser designated for non-modified Tornados which carried LGBs. The Buccaneers carried the Pave Spike
Pave Spike
The Westinghouse AN/ASQ-153\AN/AVQ-23 Pave Spike is an electro-optical laser designator pod used to direct laser-guided bombs to target in daylight, visual conditions...
designator, which was less capable and limited to daylight. The RAF dropped over 6,000 1,000lb bombs, 1,000 of which were laser guided. Two TIALD-equipped Tornados guided more than 200 LGBs onto targets in the last month of the conflict alone. Further development of the pod enabled aircraft to self-designate targets. The TIALD pod has been used extensively since the Gulf War including during the Iraqi no-fly zone
Iraqi no-fly zones
The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...
patrols (1991-2003,) the related Operation Desert Fox
Operation Desert Fox
The December 1998 bombing of Iraq was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from December 16–19, 1998 by the United States and United Kingdom...
(1998,) the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
(1999) and the 2003 Iraq Conflict
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
The TIALD pod has been constantly updated, the current version of which is the Series-400. However The TIALD pod has been sidelined in recent years by the introduction of the stand-off Storm Shadow
Storm Shadow
Storm Shadow is a British, French and Italian air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA. Storm Shadow is the British name for the weapon; in French service it is called SCALP EG...
missile, GPS-guided Enhanced Paveway, and the LITENING pod
LITENING targeting pod
The AN/AAQ-28 LITENING targeting pod is a precision targeting pod system currently operational with a wide variety of combat aircraft. LITENING significantly increases the combat effectiveness of the aircraft during day, night and under-the-weather conditions in the attack of ground and air...
to RAF service. Experience in Afghanistan lead to the realisation that TIALD was outdated, as described by an RAF Wing Commander:
"[It] was designed in the 1980s, to allow pilots to drop laser guided bombs on targets like bridges, big buildings and aircraft hangars... TIALD as an air interdiction targeting pod is very good and has done this reasonably well over the last decade, as was proved in Deliberate Force (1995), Allied Force (1999), and Operation TelicOperation TelicOperation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...
(2003). Now, however, we need a sensor that is geared more towards urban[ close air supportClose air supportIn military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...] , where we need to defend particular targets that are very similar to others, like compounds within small towns or villages."