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Munitions

United States

Raytheon (RTX)

GBU-12 Paveway II

American 500 lb laser-guided bomb in the Paveway II family, one of the most widely used precision-guided bombs among NATO and allied air forces.

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-05

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

US ITAR-controlled

Export needs U.S. State Dept (DDTC) approval; end-use & re-transfer restrictions apply.

Channel: Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or Direct Commercial Sale

Fielded & proven

Operator data not public

Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Firepower specifications
Warhead Warhead mass. Heavier generally means larger effect radius, at the cost of range.	89 kg Stronger than 71% of munitions
Warhead type Blast-fragmentation, shaped charge (HEAT), penetrator, thermobaric or nuclear-capable.	Mk 82 general-purpose (500 lb / 227 kg class)
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.	Semi-active laser

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Physical specifications
Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.	3.27 m
Width Overall width, matters for rail/road transport of vehicles.	0.27 m
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.	230 kg

Munition

Round type, penetration, velocity and projectile data.

Munition specifications
Round type APFSDS (kinetic sabot), HEAT / multipurpose, HE-FRAG, canister or gun-launched ATGM.	Laser-guided bomb

Specifications compiled from public Raytheon (RTX) and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-05.

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