Pave Tack

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The Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack is a targeting pod for attack aircraft. It uses a laser and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) to locate targets and guide laser-guided bombs and other precision weapons. The images are shown on a cockpit display, usually for the weapon systems officer. Developed in the late 1970s, it entered service in 1982 and was first used by the USAF on the F-4 Phantom II and the F-111C Aardvark.

Its first combat use was in 1986 during Operation Eldorado Canyon against Libya. It later played a key role in the 1991 Gulf War against various targets. The pod is very large—about 166 inches long and weighing roughly 1,385 pounds. On the F-4, it was carried on the centerline, replacing a fuel tank and adding drag, which made it unpopular. The F-111 had a rotating carriage that kept the pod inside the bomb bay to reduce drag, deploying it outside only when needed. About 150 pods were built, far fewer than planned, and the USAF retired them with the F-111 in 1996.

The Royal Australian Air Force bought ten pods in 1980 for its F-111 fleet; all 24 F-111Cs could be wired to use it, but there weren’t enough pods for everyone. After the USAF retired the F-111F in 1996, Australia bought surplus pods to equip all F-111Cs. The Republic of Korea Air Force ordered eight pods in 1984 for delivery in 1987 and may have obtained more from US surplus; they use the pods on their F-4 Phantoms.