AGM-65 Maverick
| AGM-65 Maverick | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Air-to-surface missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 30 August 1972 – present |
| Used by | 30+ countries |
| Wars |
Vietnam War Yom Kippur War Iran–Iraq War Persian Gulf War Iraq War First Libyan Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer |
Hughes Missile Systems Division Raytheon |
| Unit cost | US$17,000 to $110,000, depending on variant |
| Number built | 70,000+ |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 210–304 kg (462–670 lb) |
| Length | 249 cm (8 ft 2 in) |
| Diameter | 30 cm (12 in) |
| Warhead | 57 kg (126 lb) WDU-20/B shaped-charge (A/B/C/D/H models) 136 kg (300 lb) WDU-24/B penetrating blast-fragmentation (E/F/G/J/K models) E models utilize FMU-135/B delayed impact fuze |
|
|
|
| Engine | A/B:Thiokol SR109-TC-1 D/E/F/G/H/J/K: SR114-TC-1 (or Aerojet SR115-AJ-1) Solid propellant rocket motor via a WPU-4/B or WPU-8/B propulsion section |
| Wingspan | 710 mm (2 ft 4 in) |
| Propellant | Solid propellant |
|
Operational
range |
Greater than 22 km (12 nmi) |
| Speed | 1,150 km/h (620 kn) |
|
Guidance
system |
A/B: Electro-optical guidance H/J/K: charge-coupled device D/F/G: infrared homing E: Laser guidance |
The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground tactical missile (AGM) designed for close air support. It is the most widely produced precision-guided missile in the Western world, and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, air defenses, ships, ground transportation and fuel storage facilities.
Originally designed and built by Hughes Missile Systems, development of the AGM-65 spanned from 1966 to 1972, after which it entered service with the United States Air Force in August 1972. Since then, it has been exported to more than 30 countries and is certified on 25 aircraft. The Maverick served during the Vietnam, Yom Kippur, Iran–Iraq, and Persian Gulf Wars, along with other smaller conflicts, destroying enemy forces and installations with varying degrees of success.
Since its introduction into service, numerous Maverick versions had been designed and produced, using electro-optical, laser, charge-coupled device and infra-red guidance systems. The AGM-65 has two types of warhead: one has a contact fuze in the nose, the other has a heavyweight warhead fitted with a delayed-action fuze, which penetrates the target with its kinetic energy before detonating.
The Maverick shares the same configuration as Hughes's AIM-4 Falcon and AIM-54 Phoenix, and measures more than 2.4 m (8 ft) in length and 30 cm (12 in) in diameter.
The Maverick's development history began in 1965, when the United States Air Force (USAF) began a program to develop a replacement to the AGM-12 Bullpup. With a range of 16.3 km (8.8 nmi), the radio-guided Bullpup was introduced in 1959 and was considered a "silver bullet" by operators. However, the launch aircraft was required to fly straight towards the target during the missile's flight instead of performing evasive maneuvers, thus risking the crew. Even when it hit, the small 250 pounds (110 kg) warhead was only useful against small targets like bunkers, when used against larger targets like the Thanh Hóa Bridge it did little other than char the structure. The USAF began a series of projects to replace Bullpup, both larger versions of Bullpup, models C and D, as well as a series of Bullpup adaptations offering fire-and-forget guidance. Among the later were the AGM-83 Bulldog, AGM-79 Blue Eye. and AGM-80 Viper.
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