physics

Pave Tack

Pave Tack is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pave Tack rather than just read about it. In short: The Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack is an electro-optical targeting pod for military attack aircraft. It uses a laser and forward looking infrared to find and designate targets for laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided munitions.

Key takeaways

Pave Tack belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pave Tack to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pave Tack from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack is an electro-optical targeting pod for military attack aircraft. It uses a laser and forward looking infrared to find and designate targets for laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided munitions. Pave Tack's images are routed to a cockpit display, usually for the weapon systems officer.

History Pave Tack was developed in the late 1970s and entered service in 1982, and was initially used by the USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and General Dynamics F-111C Aardvark strike aircraft. It was first used in combat in 1986 during the Operation Eldorado Canyon air raid against Libya by F-111F aircraft stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England. F-111s used it to great effect in the Gulf War of 1991, against both fixed targets and tanks. F-4 crews called Pave Tack "Pave Drag" because it was carried externally. Pave Tack is a large installation, with the 166 inch (4,220 mm)-long pod alone weighing 1,385 lb (629 kg); on the F-4, the pod had to be carried on the centerline station in place of the standard drop tank, imposing substantial aerodynamic drag, and was generally unpopular. The F-111C and F-111F had a rotating carriage normally carrying the Pave Tack pod in its internal bomb bay to reduce drag and protect it from damage, deploying it externally when in use.

About 150 AVQ-26 pods were built, substantially fewer than originally planned. The last USAF Pave Tacks were withdrawn with the retirement of the F-111 in 1996. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) purchased ten Pave Tack pods in 1980 for its F-111 fleet. All 24 F-111Cs were wired for the pod, although there were not enough pods for all to be simultaneously equipped. Following the retirement of the USAF's F-111F in 1996 the RAAF purchased enough surplus pods for all of its F-111Cs. The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) ordered an initial batch of eight pods in 1984 for delivery in 1987. It may have subsequently obtained additional pods from USAF surplus. The RoKAF uses the pods on its F-4 Phantoms.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pave Tack

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pave Tack claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pave Tack before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pave Tack ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pave Tack

In research: Pave Tack appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pave Tack in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pave Tack is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Equipment of the United States Air Force, Military electronics of the United States, Military equipment introduced in the 1980s, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pave Tack outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pave Tack in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pave Tack means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pave Tack out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pave Tack in simple terms?

Why does Pave Tack matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pave Tack?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pave Tack.