Pave Knife The Ford Aerospace AN / AVQ - 10 Pave Knife was an early targeting pod developed by the USAF and US Navy to designate and guide laser - guided bomb s . Pave Knife was developed in 1969 to replace the original , essentially improvised Airborne Laser Designator ( ALD ) and TRIM pod ( see A - 6 Intruder ) . ALD was not a pod , but a hand - held laser operated by the weapon systems officer to mark targets for Paveway laser - guided bombs . Pave Knife was a roughly banana - shaped external pod , weighing about 550 kg ( 1 , 200 lb ) , containing a steerable laser and closed - circuit television camera . The Weapon Systems Officer or bombardier / navigator ( BN ) monitored the TV image with a small Sony TV in the cockpit and steered the laser onto the target with a hand controller , then passing the target information to the aircraft ' s gun sight . When Pave Knife was sent out for bid by the Air Force , it was for a firm fixed - price type of contract , it involved design , development , and manufacture of one prototype , and also a quick reaction project . Quick reaction meant it was considered of a vital nature for the Vietnam War effort . This meant it was a high risk project for the successful bidder . Ford Aerospace was known at that time as Philco - Ford , Aeronutronics Division , in Newport Beach , California . This facility was recognized for its strong engineering skills in electo - optics and image stabilization ( for example , the gunsight on an airborne helicopter vibrates wildly , but with stabilization , the target appears as if the helicopter were on the ground ) . This facility was at the time in production on the optical heat seeking ( guidance ) portion of the AIM missile . The Project Manager convinced the company to invest ( while the bids were being reviewed by the USAF ) in creating the specifications for the subcontracts , selecting the subcontractors , preparing contract verbiage , and setting it up to be able to turn on all the engineering and procurement on the day after the winner of the bidding was announced . The remainder of the design , prototype fabrication , and system integration was completed within budget , and on - time with delivery accomplished in an astonishing 6 months from the contract award date . The key subcontractors were Dalmo Victor in the San Francisco Bay peninsula who provided the night vision system . Another contractor provided a very complex power supply with multiple outputs to operate numerous system components , which had to be squeezed into a semi - oval shape to fit against the inner shape of the pod , with protrusions on the power supply to fit into whatever space was left after other components were designed in . Yet another provided the laser designator . All the subcontractors met their specifications , price , and delivery dates . When the pod was shipped to Florida for testing at a base , the system met specifications . It immediately entered testing and performed so well that within a few weeks , it was shipped to Vietnam and placed into service where it met objectives . The system used various technologies including image stabilization , night vision , target designation with a laser , and optical tracking to stay with moving ground targets . It had to withstand high G forces , very cold temperatures , and as well , high temperatures . A second jet with a laser - guided bomb using a guidance system provided by Texas Instrument would operate as a team with the first jet and drop the munitions . Certainly this was the predecessor to the videos from the first Gulf War ( roughly 20 years later ) which were shown on TV to the public , which showed missiles headed for the windows on a building . Hitting a moving target is technically much more difficult . Pave Knife was used by F - 4 Phantom II and A - 6 Intruder aircraft in the attack role . It was used operationally in the Vietnam War ; while it had its limitations , it validated the combat utility of laser - guided bombs . The Pave Knife was superseded by the later Pave Spike and Pave Tack systems , and is no longer in service .