FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1991
1991 - 2072.PDF
for 1987, but development problems with the missile's rocket motor delayed the programme. A new motor made by Bayern Chemie was selected and, in February 1988, a BAe signed a renegotiated contract. The Hughes AGM-65 Maverick short and medium-range air-to-surface missile was one of the most widely used weapons of the Gulf War. Up to 5,000 may have been fired against a variety of Iraqi ground targets, including armoured vehicles protected by bunkers and sand banks. Few details of Maverick's use in the war are available yet, although the US Depart ment of Defense White Paper, Air Force Performance in Desert Storm, says: "The Maverick missile, used by the F-16 and A-10, attacked armoured targets...The imag ing infra-red (IIR) Maverick's performance was crucial in the armour war. Since it took only one missile to destroy each Iraqi tank, a $70,000 Maverick equated to a $1.5 million T-72 tank. It is important to note that Iraq had more tanks than Germany and the UK combined. It was the fourth largest army in the world. Maverick, an older system which had been continually modi fied to keep pace with modern war, played a large part in the destruction of that significant military force." Six variants of Maverick are available, the earliest two being the TV-guided AGM-65A, which entered service in 1972, and the B from three years later, both with a 57kg high explosive (HE) shaped charge, war head. The A version has a range of 3km, the B an 8km range and improved optics. Both have impact fuses; the launch weight is 210kg. AGM-65D, the original (as opposed to the TV-guided) IIR Maverick version, was developed to give the USAF night and bad weather capability. The missile retains the A/B warhead but has a lower-smoke motor. Launch weight is 220kg and range is 20km. In 1986 Raytheon qualified as a second source of production of the -65D. Developed for the US Marine Corps (USMC), the AGM-65E is a semi-active laser-guided version. This wj(s the first Maverick to introduce the 136kg blast penetrating warhead, which has an impact fuse with a selectable delay capability. The -65E has a launch weight of 293kg and a 20km range. The -65F has been developed for the US Navy and, using the AGM-65D's IIR seeker, has modified image-processing for use against ships. The F has the same warhead as the E, plus a 25km range and a 307kg launch weight. The latest Maverick is the AGM-65G, developed for the USAF, an improved IIR missile featuring, among other improve ments, the larger warhead of the E and F, a 25km range and a 307kg launch weight. MAVERICK AIRCRAFT Aircraft carrying Maverick during the Gulf War included the USAF F-16, A-10 and F-15E, while the USMC's AV-8B Harrier lis and F-18s probably used the -65E laser- guided version. The type most commonly used by the USAF was the IIR-guided -65D, although TV-guided variants were also used. The new IIR Maverick, the G, may also have been fired, but details have not been released. The 24 single-seater Jaguar A air support aircraft of the French 11th fighter squadron based in Al Ahsa made extensive use of the Aerospatiale AS 30 Laser short-range laser- guided air-to-surface missile. Describing one Laser mission, Aerospa tiale says: "On January 18 and 19, two raids by two waves of 12 Jaguars each destroyed major Iraqi munitions depots in Kuwait and Ras-al-Qulayah. The first raid used AS 30 Lasers to destroy concrete-hardened shelters harbouring Scud surface-to-surface missiles. The second destroyed other shelters con taining Exocet-firing installations left be hind by the Kuwaitis when their country was invaded." By the end of the war more than 60 Lasers had been fired in anger. The wartime kill probability was 95%, claims Aerospa tiale, which adds that those which failed to destroy their targets were all fired outside range. Impressive TV footage of AS 30 Laser missiles destroying hardened Iraqi targets is good evidence of its effectiveness. The AS 30 Laser is used with the ATLIS laser designator/ranger pod, developed by Thomson-CSF and Martin Marietta for the French Air Force. The pod incorporates an infra-red thermal imager for use at night and a TV camera for use in the daytime. The AS 30 uses mid-course inertial guid ance with terminal phase semi-active laser homing. It is supersonic throughout its flight, and with an impact speed of Mach 1.4, it can penetrate 2m of reinforced concrete: The 520kg, 3.65m-long Laser's maximum range is 10km and it has a 250kg warhead. The AS 30 Laser is used on the French Air Force's Jaguars and the French Navy's Super Etendards, and is available on the Mirage Fl and Mirage 2000 export models. The French Defence Ministry has ordered development of a variant for the Mirage 2000D and the Rafale. • 38 FIIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 August 1991
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
