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) 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 It has been superseded by more advanced weapons, notably the AGM-62 Walleye and AGM-65 Maverick.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.