AGM-28 Hound Dog

AGM-28 Hound Dog
AGM-28 in flight (showing the nose-high attitude)
Type	Cruise Missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	September 13, 1960
Production history
Manufacturer	North American Aviation
Unit cost	$690,073
Produced	April 1959
Specifications
Weight	4,603 kilograms (10,147 lb).
Length	12.95 metres (42 ft 6 in).
Height	2.84 metres (9 ft 4 in).
Diameter	710 millimetres (28 in).
Warhead	790 kilograms (1,742 lb) W28 Class D nuclear warhead.
Detonation mechanism	Airburst or Contact
Engine	Pratt & Whitney J52-P-3 turbojet; 33 kN (7,500 lbf).
Wingspan	3.71 metres (12 ft 2 in).
Operational range	1,263 kilometres (785 mi).
Flight ceiling	17,100 metres (56,200 ft).
Flight altitude	61 to 17,069 metres (200 to 56,000 ft).
Speed	Mach 2.1.
Guidance system	Astro-inertial guidance
Launch platform	B-52 Stratofortress.

The North American Aviation AGM-28 Hound Dog was a supersonic, turbojet-propelled, air-launched cruise missile developed in 1959 for the United States Air Force. It was primarily designed to be capable of attacking Soviet ground-based air defense sites prior to a potential air attack by B-52 Stratofortress long range bombers during the Cold War. The Hound Dog was first given the designation B-77, then redesignated GAM-77, and finally as AGM-28. It was conceived as a temporary standoff missile for the B-52, to be used until the GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile was available. Instead, the Skybolt was cancelled within a few years and the Hound Dog continued to be deployed for a total of 15 years until its replacement by newer missiles, including the AGM-69 SRAM and the AGM-86 ALCM.

During the 1950s the US became aware of developments regarding the Soviet Union's surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), notably at large installations being constructed around Moscow. At the time the entire nuclear deterrent of the United States was based on manned strategic bombers, both with the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, and the deployment of large numbers of SAMs placed this force at some risk of being rendered ineffective. One solution to this problem is to extend the range of the bomb, either through glide bomb techniques, or more practically, by mounting them in a short-to-medium-range missile.