A class of weapons designed to strike targets with high accuracy, reducing collateral damage and increasing effectiveness compared to unguided “dumb” bombs or rockets. PGMs use various guidance systems — such as laser, infrared, GPS, or radar — to adjust their flight path after release and home in on the intended target.
Key characteristics:
- Guidance types:
- Laser-guided (LGBs): Home in on a laser-designated target.
- GPS/INS-guidedGPS/INS-guided (JDAMs, SDBs): Use satellite navigation and inertial systems for all-weather accuracy.
- Infrared-guided: Lock onto heat signatures.
- Radar-guided: Track radar reflections from targets.
- Laser-guided (LGBs): Home in on a laser-designated target.
- Accuracy: Typically achieves a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of a few meters, compared to hundreds of meters for unguided bombs.
- Advantages: Greater effectiveness per strike, reduced ordnance expenditure, minimized risk to friendly forces.
- Limitations: Dependence on external systems (GPS availability, laser line-of-sight, seeker susceptibility to countermeasures).
Application in DCS World
- DCS supports a wide variety of PGMs, including LGBs, JDAMs, Mavericks, HARM missiles, JSOWs, and more, with realistic deployment procedures in modern aircraft (F/A-18C, F-16C, A-10C, etc.).
- DCS does not fully simulate countermeasures like GPS jamming, advanced laser attenuation, or seeker decoys. PGMs in DCS are generally more reliable than in real-world combat.
Cadets should train with multiple PGM types to understand which guidance method to use in which scenario (e.g., LGBs for moving targets, JDAMs for all-weather fixed targets, HARMs for SAM suppression). This builds tactical flexibility in strike planning.