AGM-12 Bullpup

AGM-12 Bullpup
AGM-12D Bullpup B Missile at the Air Force Armament Museum
Type	Air-to-ground command guided missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	ASM-N-7 1959–1970s ASM-N-7A/AGM-12B 1965–1970s
Used by	United States, Australia, Denmark, Greece, Israel, Norway, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom
Wars	Vietnam War
Production history
Manufacturer	Martin Marietta, W.L. Maxson
Produced	1959–1970
Number built	22,100 (total) 4,600 (AGM-12C) 840 (AGM-12E)
Variants	ASM-N-7, ASM-N-7A/AGM-12B, AGM-12C, GAM-83B/AGM-12D, AGM-12E
Specifications
Weight	1,785 pounds (810 kg) (AGM-12C)
Length	13.6 feet (4.1 m)
Diameter	18 inches (460 mm)
Warhead	Conventional high-explosive (ASM-N-7, ASM-N-7A/AGM-12B) Semi armor-piercing (AGM-12C) W45 Nuclear (GAM-83B/AGM-12D) Cluster munition (AGM-12E)
Warhead weight	250 pounds (110 kg) (ASM-N-7A/AGM-12B) 970 pounds (440 kg) (AGM-12C)
Engine	Rocket 30,000 pounds-force (130 kN)
Wingspan	48 inches (1.2 m)
Propellant	Storable, liquid-fuel
Operational range	10 nautical miles (12 mi; 19 km)
Speed	approx. Mach 1.8
Guidance system	Line-of-sight radio command
Launch platform	FJ-4B, A-4D, F-4, F-105, Draken, F-5E/F Tiger II, F-100

ASM-N-7 1959–1970s

22,100 (total) 4,600 (AGM-12C)

Conventional high-explosive (ASM-N-7, ASM-N-7A/AGM-12B) Semi armor-piercing (AGM-12C)
W45 Nuclear (GAM-83B/AGM-12D)

250 pounds (110 kg) (ASM-N-7A/AGM-12B)

The AGM-12 Bullpup is an air-to-ground missile which was used on the A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, F-105 Thunderchief and F-4 Phantom among others. It has been superseded by more advanced weapons, notably the AGM-62 Walleye and AGM-65 Maverick.

The Bullpup was the first mass-produced air-surface command guided missile, first deployed by the United States Navy in 1959 as the ASM-N-7, until it was redesignated the AGM-12B in 1962. It was developed as a result of experiences in the Korean War where US airpower had great difficulty in destroying targets which required precise aiming and were often heavily defended, such as bridges.

Although they could hit targets fairly accurately, pilots found that the warhead of the AGM-12 was not very effective against the massive concrete structures of large bridges in North Vietnam. However, in at least one specific instance, the Bullpup proved its value when a pilot guided one into the cave entrance of a large ammunition storage facility dug into a mountain. Previous attacks with conventional, unguided ("dumb") bombs had been ineffective against the mountain surface, but when the Bullpup missile struck the entrance to the underground facility and detonated, it set off a huge secondary explosion of the stored ammunition.

The Bullpup had a Manual Command Line Of Sight guidance system with roll-stabilization. In flight the pilot or weapons operator tracked the Bullpup by watching a flare on the back of the missile and used a control joystick to steer it toward the target using radio signals. It was initially powered by a solid fuel rocket motor, and carried a 250 lb (110 kg) warhead.