Paveway IV guided bomb

Conflict Usage

Operation Inherent Resolve

Side: U.S.-led coalition and partner forcesRole: Air-launched precision strike against ISIS targetsprecision firesstrikeclose air support

RAF Typhoon FGR4 aircraft used a Paveway IV during Operation Shader, the UK contribution to Operation Inherent Resolve, to destroy a rocket launcher firing at coalition forces in northwest Iraq in April 2024.

Red Sea Crisis

Side: United States-led coalitionRole: Precision strike on Houthi drone and missile infrastructureprecision firesstrike

RAF Typhoon FGR4 aircraft used Paveway IV bombs during February 2024 Red Sea Crisis strikes on Houthi-controlled locations in Yemen linked to drone and missile operations against shipping.

Yemeni Civil War

Side: Yemeni government and coalition forcesRole: Saudi-led coalition air strike munitionprecision firesstrike

Human Rights Watch identified a UK-manufactured Paveway IV guided bomb as the munition used by the Saudi-led coalition in a January 2016 Hodeida warehouse strike during the Yemeni Civil War.

Paveway IV guided bomb Images

Related Weapon Systems

MunitionsSCALP-EGAir-launched cruise missileSCALP-EG is the French-service version of the Storm Shadow/SCALP air-launched cruise missile, an MBDA deep-strike weapon built for pre-planned attacks on high-value fixed targets such as hardened facilities and key infrastructure. French Rafale and Mirage aircraft fired nine SCALP missiles during the 2018 Syria Missile Strikes, Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft later used the weapon as a Western long-range precision-strike option in the Russia-Ukraine War, and Indian Rafales were reported to have used SCALP during Operation Sindoor in the 2025 India-Pakistan Conflict.

Aircraft & UAVsEurofighter TyphoonTwin-engine multirole combat aircraftThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta multirole fighter built by the European Eurofighter consortium. In the Yemen Civil War context, Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoons are documented as coalition combat aircraft used for airstrike and interdiction missions, supported by UK-supplied weapons and fleet-support arrangements.

MunitionsJoint Direct Attack Munition / JDAM-guided bombGPS/INS-guided bomb conversion kitThe Joint Direct Attack Munition is a Boeing-built tail-kit family that converts Mark 80-series and related free-fall bombs into GPS/INS-guided weapons. The family is documented across U.S., Israeli, and Saudi-led coalition air campaigns, including Afghanistan, Operation Inherent Resolve, Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, and later Iran-related strikes where direct sources identify JDAM kits or GBU-31/38/54 variants.

MunitionsGBU-24 Paveway III2,000-pound-class laser-guided bombThe GBU-24 Paveway III is a U.S.-origin 2,000-pound-class laser-guided bomb kit family built around a Paveway III seeker and tail assembly for Mk 84 or BLU-109-class bomb bodies. In the Yemen Civil War, rights monitors and munitions specialists documented GBU-24 or Paveway III-series remnants after Saudi/UAE-led coalition airstrikes, making it part of the coalition precision-strike record while leaving some variant details dependent on fragmentary battlefield evidence.

ArtilleryAGM-158 JASSMAir-launched standoff cruise missileThe AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile is Lockheed Martin's low-observable, subsonic air-launched cruise missile family built to let bomber and fighter aircraft strike heavily defended, high-value targets from outside many air-defense envelopes. Its documented combat use includes baseline AGM-158A launches from B-1B bombers in the 2018 Syria missile strikes, AGM-158B use during Operation Inherent Resolve, and large-scale JASSM-family employment during the United States-Iran Conflict's Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

MunitionsAGM-65 MaverickAir-to-surface guided missileThe AGM-65 Maverick is a U.S. air-to-surface guided missile used from aircraft such as the A-10, F-16, AV-8, F/A-18, and P-3C against armor, vehicles, ships, air-defense sites, and other tactical targets. Its modular seeker and warhead families gave coalition aircraft a smaller precision-strike option during Operation Inherent Resolve, including AGM-65F loading documented on a U.S. Navy P-3C Orion in 2018.

Sources