DAMASK is also an
acronym describing a piece of
U.S. military ordnance. In this usage, DAMASK stands for Direct Attack Munition Affordable Seeker. It is an add-on for the incredibly multitalented
Mark-84 gravity bomb, and consists of a steering fin
tailkit and an
infrared imager in the nose. The IR imager contains a preloaded
IR signature or 'image' of the target - a
tank, or ship, say - and the weapon attempts to guide itself to the target by homing on this signature. This makes it a
smart weapon (as opposed to
competent munition) in that it seeks its target independent of the target's current location.
The technique used is very similar to the DSMAC technique used in earlier Tomahawk cruise missiles to guide the weapons in their final seconds of flight. The primary difference is that the DAMASK uses a cheap IR sensor where the Tomahawk uses a more complex video and computer imaging system.