Short-Range Attack Missile
| AGM-69 SRAM | |
|---|---|
An AGM-69A SRAM being loaded into B-1B bomb bay in 1987.
|
|
| Type | Nuclear air-to-surface missile |
| Place of origin | United States of America |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1972–1993 |
| Used by | United States |
| Wars | Cold War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Boeing |
| Designed | 1965 |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Unit cost | $592,000 |
| Produced | 1971–1975 |
| No. built | 1,500 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2,230 lb (1,010 kg) |
| Length | 15 ft 10 in (4.83 m) w/ tail fairing, 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) without |
| Diameter | 17.5 in (0.44 m) |
|
|
|
| Warhead | W69 nuclear warhead |
| Blast yield |
|
|
|
|
| Engine |
Lockheed SR75-LP-1 two-pulse solid-fueled rocket |
|
Operational
range |
110 nautical miles (200 km) |
| Speed | Mach 3 |
|
Guidance
system |
General Precision/Kearfott KT-76 Inertial measurement unit |
| Accuracy | 1,400 ft (430 m) |
| Transport | Airplane |
The Boeing AGM-69 SRAM (short-range attack missile) was a nuclear air-to-surface missile. It had a range of up to 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi), and was intended to allow US Air Force strategic bombers to penetrate Soviet airspace though the neutralization of surface-to-air missile defenses.
SRAM was designed to replace the older AGM-28 Hound Dog standoff missile which was tasked with the same basic role. Hound Dog was a very large missile that could only be carried in pairs by the B-52, so some aircraft were tasked with suppressing Soviet missile and radar sites while others would carry on to strike their strategic targets. SRAM was so much smaller that a number could be carried along with other weapons, allowing a single aircraft to blast its own way through to its targets.
SRAM entered service in 1972 and was carried by a number of aircraft, including theB-52, FB-111A, and B-1Bs. In September 1980 a ground fire raised concerns about the safety of the warhead, and in 1990 they were temporarily removed from service while safety checks were carried out. These revealed a number of motors had cracks that could have resulted in them exploding when launched.
The SRAM was removed from service in 1993, by which time its mission was rendered obsolete by the introduction of the AGM-86, which could be launched from far outside the range of Soviet weapons, and no longer required the bombers to penetrate Soviet defenses.
The requirement for the weapon was issued by the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force in 1964, and the resultant AGM-69A SRAM contract was awarded to Boeing in 1966, After delays and technical flaws during testing, it was ordered into full production in 1971 and entered service in August 1972. It was carried by the B-52, FB-111A, and, for a very short period starting in 1986, by B-1Bs based at Dyess AFB in Texas. SRAMs were also carried by the B-1Bs based at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota, and McConnell AFB in Kansas up until late 1993.
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Wikipedia