• Mark 81 Snakeye fitted with a Mark 14 TRD (Tail Retarding Device) to increase the bomb's drag after release. The bomb's increased air-time, coupled with its (relatively) forgiving safe drop envelope, allowed for very low-level bombing runs at slower speed. Used commonly in the close air support role in Vietnam (prior to wider availability of GBU-series precision ordnance). Nicknamed "snake", as in the typical Vietnam support loadout of "snake and nape" (250-lb. Mk-81 Snakeye bombs and 500-lb. M-47 napalmcanisters).

The US Department of Defense has upgraded GBU-12 production versions to include GPS guidance modes. Lockheed Martin is the sole source for US Navy purchases of this version. Raytheon sells upgraded GBU-12s to the US Government and other nations. Laser-guided bombs are often labeled "smart bombs" because they are able to follow a non-ballistic trajectory when laser designation of the intended target is undertaken. According to Raytheon's fact sheet for the Paveway 2, 99 deliveries of guided munitions will yield a circular error probable (CEP) of only 3.6 feet (1.1 metres), versus a CEP of 310 feet (94.49 metres) for 99 unguided bombs dropped under similar conditions.

The GBU-16 Paveway II is an American Paveway-series laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 83 general-purpose bomb, but with laser seeker and wings for guidance. It was introduced into service around 1976. It is used by USAF, US Navy, US Marine Corps, and various NATO air forces. It uses a 1,000 pound general purpose warhead. The bomb in the GBU-16 Paveway II is a 1,000 pound Mk 83 bomb.

Paveway II laser-guided bombs use what is known as "bang bang" guidance. This means the bomb's fins deflect fully, rather than proportionally when it is attempting to guide to the laser spot. For example, if it sees the laser spot and determines that it should make a change it deflects its fins until it has over-corrected and then it deflects back the opposite direction, creating a sinusoidal type of flight path. This type of guidance may be less efficient at times, however is more cost effective and allows the use of simpler electronics in the guidance system.

• Maverick G model essentially has the same guidance system as the D with some software modification that enables the pilot to track larger targets. The G model's major difference is its heavier penetrator warhead taken from the Maverick E, compared to the D model's shaped-charge warhead. It completed tests in 1988.

RAF and Fleet Air Arm Harriers did not adopt the Equalizer for their Harrier GR7 and GR9s. The British had originally planned a pair of ADEN 25 guns (using the same ammunition as the GAU-12/U, but based on the 30 mm ADEN cannon). That gun was canceled in 1999 after protracted development problems, and British Harrier GR7/9s were without gun armament until retirement.^{[citation needed]}

The Equalizer is also used in the AC-130U Spooky gunship, where one cannon is mounted on the port side, and the U.S. Marine Corps LAV-AD air-defense vehicle. Other applications have been planned for the GAU-12/U, including a mounting for the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter.

The Equalizer was also used as the basis for the Sea Vulcan 25, a turret mounted gun for naval ship self-defense, although not as a Close-In Weapon System, as the gun was not automatic nor did it use radar tracking. Instead the gun was manually aimed using a digital gun sight and fire control. Sea Vulcan consisted of a 540-round helical drum magazine, a one-piece aluminum turret that can be opened with just a screwdriver, and the main gun. One unique advantage of the system was that it was capable of operating independently of ships power; the gun and ammunition magazine were powered by a 3,000 psi pneumatic drive and the turret motor by twin lead-acid batteries.

Intended as a higher-firepower alternative to conventional deck-mounted machine guns and cannon, the weapon employs the Navy's Mk 24 target designator and laser range finder for enhanced accuracy. The gun was developed in the mid 1980s as a cost effective protection for ships smaller than frigate or corvette or patrol boats but did not enter service.

The GAU-12 was utilized as the principal armament for the Rutan ARES.

Missions[edit]

Her first Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment came in 1979, where, among other memorable actions including port visits to Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, South Korea, pre-reversion Hong Kong, Singapore, Pattaya, and Okinawa, she successfully engaged in experimental launch and recovery operations with Marine close air support AV-8 Harrier jets and later rescued over 400 South Vietnamese refugees adrift in the South China Sea; her corpsmen delivering Grace Tarawa Tran during the rescue effort, who recently returned to a decommissioned Tarawa in Pearl Harbor to meet the man who delivered her.^[3]

After a second deployment WESTPAC, IO, beginning in 1980 and spanning into 1981, Tarawa was in the Indian Ocean.^{[4][better source needed]}

In 1983, during her third deployment, Tarawa went to the Mediterranean to support the United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Beirut, Lebanon. Several additional cruises followed.

In June 1989, Tarawa deployed for a six-month WESTPAC tour as the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), composed of the Marines from Camp Horno, Camp Pendleton, California, 1st Battalion 9th Marines (redesignated as 2nd Battalion 1st Marines on 9 September 1994).

In December 1990, Tarawa was the flagship of a 13-ship amphibious task force in support of Operation Desert Storm.^{[citation needed]} She participated in the Sea Soldier IV landing exercise in January, which was a deception maneuver suggesting an amphibious assault in Kuwait, and then on 24 February landed Marines in Saudi Arabia just south of the Kuwaiti border.

In May 1991, Tarawa went to Bangladesh in support of Operation Sea Angel, providing humanitarian assistance to victims of a cyclone, delivering rice and water purification equipment.

In May 1992, Tarawa deployed for the eighth time to the Western Pacific, participating in Eager Mace '92–'93, a joint U.S./Kuwait exercise. The ship also supported the insertion of Pakistani troops into Somalia in support of UN humanitarian relief, and returned to San Diego in November 1992. Tarawa was awarded her fourth Admiral Flatley Award and her first Commander, Seventh Fleet, Amphibious Warfare Excellence Award for the '92 deployment. Her 1992 deployment included visits to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Australia.

In April 1996, following another complex overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Tarawa left from San Diego on its ninth Western Pacific deployment. A U.S./Thailand amphibious training exercise in the Gulf of Thailand, and exercise Indigo Serpent (with the Royal Saudi Navy) and exercise Infinite Moonlight (the first-ever exercise between U.S. and Royal Jordanian Navy) in the Red Sea preceded Tarawa's visit to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the "no-fly zone" over southern Iraq. Tarawa was also part of Operation Desert Strike. Returning to San Diego in October 1996, Tarawa earned both the Federal Energy Conservation Award and the Secretary of the Navy Energy Conservation Award.

Activity hums around Tarawa , as U.S. Marines go ashore in Kuwait.

In mid October 2000, Tarawa was passing through the Strait of Hormuz on her way into the Persian Gulf when the destroyer USS Cole was attacked. On hearing news of the attack, Tarawa came about and steamed full ahead to the Port of Aden in Yemen, where she joined USS Donald Cook, USS Hawes, and the British ship HMS Marlborough, already providing logistical support and harbor security, as the command ship in charge of force protection in what became "Operation Determined Response". Other US Naval ships involved were Catawba, Camden, Anchorage, and Duluth. Tarawa remained with the damaged Cole until she was secure aboard the Norwegian heavy-lift semi-submersible salvage ship MV Blue Marlin for passage to the US before returning to duty in the Persian Gulf.

Part of the film Rules of Engagement (2000) includes scenes of actor Samuel L. Jackson filmed aboard Tarawa.^{[citation needed]}

USMC AV-8B Harrier launching from Tarawa in 2003

On 17 January 2001, Tarawa lost its port anchor and chain while being deployed. The Navy used a video of this loss as a training tool to prevent future losses.^[5]

Work began on an anti-radar missile derived from the Kh-66^[5] in 1972, using a passive radar seeker and SUR-73 autopilot.^[6] The long-range Kh-31 anti-radar missile came out of the same project.^[6] The Kh-27 began state testing on a MiG-27 on 8 August 1975^[6] but did not enter service until 2 September 1980.^[6] It was assigned the NATO reporting nameAS-12 'Kegler' and in effect it replaced the much heavier Kh-28 (AS-9 'Kyle').^[5]

In 1973 Victor Bugaiskii was appointed head engineer of the bureau and he started work on combining the Kh-23M, Kh-25 and Kh-27 into a single modular system to reduce costs and improve tactical flexibility.^[6] This was completed by the end of 1978,^[6] resulting in the Kh-25MP (anti-radar), Kh-25ML (laser-guided) and Kh-25MR (radio-guided) family. NATO continued to refer to these as the AS-12 and AS-10 respectively, even though they could now be switched by a simple change of seeker head.

• Kh-29T (Izdeliye 64, 'Kedge-B')^[10] is the TV-guided version which is fitted with automatic optical homing to a distinguishable object indicated by the pilot in the cockpit.

Effectively filling the weapons gap

The APKWS rocket bridges the gap between unguided rockets and anti-armor munitions, consistently delivering pinpoint accuracy to soft targets at a low cost, that no other system can match.

The MiG-29s continued their service in the subsequent Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Because of the United Nations arms embargo against the country, the condition of the MiG-29s worsened as aircraft where not maintained according to rules and general overhaul scheduled for 1996 and 1997 was not conducted.^[94]

Six MiG-29s were shot down during the NATO intervention in the Kosovo War, three by USAF F-15s, one by a USAF F-16, and one by a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16.^[95][96] However, one aircraft, according to its pilot, was hit by friendly fire from the ground.^[97] Another four were destroyed on the ground.^[98] One Argentine source claims that a MiG-29 shot down an F-16 on 26 March 1999,^[99] but this kill is disputed, as the F-16C in question was said to have crashed in the US that same day.^[100]

The Strike Eagle has been deployed for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya, among others. During these operations, the strike fighter has carried out deep strikes against high-value targets and combat air patrols, and provided close air support for coalition troops. It has also been exported to several countries.