AGM-45 Shrike

AGM-45 Shrike
An AGM-45 being fired by a Navy A-4 Skyhawk
Type	Air-to-surface anti-radiation missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1965–1992
Wars	Vietnam War, Yom Kippur War, Falklands War, Operation El Dorado Canyon, Gulf War
Production history
Designed	1963
Specifications
Weight	390 pounds (177.06 kg)
Length	10 feet (3.05 m)
Diameter	8 inches (203 mm)
Warhead	67.5 kg (149 lb) MK 5 MOD 1 (or MK 86 MOD 1) blast-fragmentation, or 66.6 kg (147 lb) WAU-9/B blast-fragmentation
Wingspan	3 feet (914 mm)
Speed	Mach 1.5
Guidance system	Passive radar homing
Launch platform	A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, F-105 Thunderchief, F-4 Phantom II, Avro Vulcan (not regular service)

67.5 kg (149 lb) MK 5 MOD 1 (or MK 86 MOD 1) blast-fragmentation,

AGM-45 Shrike is an American anti-radiation missile designed to home in on hostile anti-aircraft radar. The Shrike was developed by the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by mating a seeker head to the rocket body of an AIM-7 Sparrow. It was phased out by U.S. in 1992 and at an unknown time by the Israeli Air Force (the only other major user), and has been superseded by the AGM-88 HARM missile. The Israel Defense Forces developed a version of the Shrike that could be ground-launched and mounted it on an M4 Sherman chassis as the Kilshon (Hebrew for Trident).

The Shrike was first employed during the Vietnam War by the Navy in 1965 using A-4 aircraft. The Air Force adopted the weapon the following year using F-105F and G Thunderchief Wild Weasel SEAD aircraft, and later the F-4 Phantom II in the same role. The range was nominally shorter than the SA-2 Guideline missiles that the system was used against, although it was a great improvement over the early method of attacking SAM sites with rockets and bombs from F-100F Super Sabres. A Shrike was typically lofted about 30 degrees above the horizon at a Fan Song radar some 15 miles (25 km) away for a flight time of 50 seconds. Tactics changed incrementally over the campaigns of 1966 and 1967 until the advent of the AGM-78 Standard ARM. That new weapon allowed launches from significantly longer range with a much easier attack profile, as the ARM could be launched up to 180 degrees off target and still expect a hit and its speed allowed it to travel faster than the SA-2. Even after the AGM-78 entered service, the Weasels still carried the Shrike because the ARM cost about $200,000, while a Shrike cost only $7,000. If USAF pilots expended an ARM they would have to fill out a lengthy form during debriefing. A somewhat standard load for the F-105G was a 650 US gal (2,500 L) centerline fuel tank, two AGM-78s on inboard pylons and two Shrikes on the outboards. The mix varied slightly for jamming pods and the occasional AIM-9 Sidewinder but this was the baseline.