Bombe Guidée Laser
Bombe Guidée Laser laser-guided bombs were developed by the French industrial conglomerate Matra starting in 1978.
Description
The guidance system had to work using the same principles as the US Paveway guided bombs. The guidance kits were intended as modifications to existing free fall bombs that were in service with the French Air and Space Force. The semi active laser homing guidance system was developed starting from the AS-30 laser-guided missile sensor. The guidance system allowed for in-flight target illumination by the aircraft-mounted ATLIS II or with ground-based laser designator targeting pod.The BGL targeting system are attached to 250, 400 and 1,000 kg free-fall general-purpose bombs. The French Air and Space Force discontinued the purchases due to the higher cost compared to the US Paveway family bombs that were adopted as an interim solution while waiting for the French-made AASM family of guided bombs to enter service.
Operational use
The BGLs were combat-proven over Bosnia in 1994–1995 and in the Kosovo conflict in Spring 1999. Several BGL Arcole 1000kg were also exported to India for use on their Mirage 2000Hs and saw combat in the Kargil War.Variants
The BGL series of bombs includes:- BGL-250 – 250 kg bomb
- BGL-400 – 400 kg bomb
- BGL-1000 – 1,000 kg bomb