The US is developing missile weapons to avoid contact combat
The US missile program began to develop after the Second World War (see: " Missile Renaissance of the United States ", "HBO" from 07.04.23). In the future, the importance of missile weapons for the US military increased very rapidly, since it was this weapon that allowed for remote defeat of the enemy and avoiding contact combat with him.
BECOMING
The gradual reduction in the size of missiles, the improvement of their engines, guidance systems, and other components led to the creation of various classes of these weapons.
In particular, missile weapons began to enter service with combat aircraft, and then helicopters. Air–to-air missiles were created for use in air combat. The first of them was the AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range infrared homing missile, which entered production in the mid-1950s. It turned out to be exceptionally successful (more than 200 thousand units have already been produced), has undergone many upgrades with a gradual increase in flight range, sensitivity of the GPS, etc.
The AIM-9X is currently in production in the USA (its flight range has already reached 40 km, and this is probably not the limit). The missile has been exported to many countries and used in many wars. Based on the captured Sidewinder, a Soviet K-13 missile of a similar purpose was created. The AIM-9D was used as an anti-aircraft guided missile (SAM) in the Chaparel anti-aircraft missile system (SAM).
In the early 1960s, AIM-4 Falcon air–to-air missiles with semi-active radar or infrared guidance were adopted, which, however, turned out to be extremely unsuccessful. With the same name "Falcon", the AIM-26 rocket was then created – the only one in the air–to-air class that carried a 0.25 kt nuclear warhead (there was, however, a variant with a conventional warhead), despite the fact that the flight range was only 16 km. Of course, this missile has never been used in combat. The AIM-7 Sparrow, also adopted in the late 1950s and early 1960s, turned out to be more successful. It had a semi-active radar guidance system and a flight range from 11 km in early versions to 70 km in the latter. AIM-7M/R missiles were used as missiles in the ship's Sea Sparrow air defense system.
In addition, the US Navy had an AIM–54 Phoenix air-to-air missile with active radar guidance and a flight range of almost 200 km. Its only carrier was the F-14 Tomcat carrier-based fighter; after its decommissioning, a similar fate befell the Phoenix.
The first guided air–to-surface missile was the AGM-12 Bullpup. It had a radio command guidance system and a flight range of up to 20 km, could carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, was used during the Vietnam War (see: " Phantoms" against MiGs ", "HBO" from 03/24.23). Its "successor" was the AGM-65 "Maverick" with a range of up to 30 km (adopted in the early 1970s). Various modifications of this missile had different guidance systems: television on AGM-65A /V/ N, infrared on D/F/G, laser on E, on a CCD matrix on later modifications. It was widely exported, used in many wars, and is still in production. It can be used from all American tactical aircraft.
The strategic aviation was armed with the AGM-28 Hound Dog nuclear cruise missile (flight range 1.1 thousand km) and the AGM-69 SRAM aeroballistic missile (up to 160 km, 1541 missiles were produced). They were not the most successful and have long been replaced by AGM-86 cruise missiles.
A separate direction in the development of air-to-surface missiles was the creation of anti-radar missiles, that is, guided to enemy radar stations (radars) by their radiation. The need for such missiles became obvious due to the high losses of American aviation from the Vietnamese S-75 air defense systems.
The first such missiles were the AGM-45 "Shrike". Their flight range was 52 km . Although it was possible to shoot down the guidance of the Shrike by turning off the radar or changing the operating frequency, its use created problems for the Vietnamese air defense (at least turning off the radar disrupted the work of the SAM itself). Then, on the basis of the RIM-66 "Standard" ship-based anti-radar missile, the AGM-78 "Standard ARM" anti-radar missile with a range of up to 90 km was created.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Harpoon anti-ship missile (RCC) entered service (AGM–84 in the aviation version, RGM-84 - in the ship, UGM-84 – when launched from a submarine). The missile has an active radar GPS, the range is 150 km (in the D modification – 220 km).
Based on the Harpoon, an AGM-84E SLAM missile with an infrared television guidance system for hitting ground targets was created. It was widely used during Operation Desert Storm (see: "html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The dictator's paralysis ", "HBO" from 05.03.21).
development
In the early 1980s, the US Armed Forces received long-range cruise missiles with a TERCOM guidance system (based on pre-laid digital terrain maps), which in later modifications was supplemented with correction based on GPS navigation system signals.
These missiles were capable of flying to the target at an extremely low altitude (with a terrain envelope), while having an extremely low effective scattering area (ESR). The combination of these two factors made it extremely difficult for the enemy's air defense to detect cruise missiles, and the long flight range provided almost complete safety for their carriers. The main disadvantage of missiles is subsonic flight speed, so they need to fly for two to three hours at the maximum range. At the same time, the missiles have no means of countering air defense, except for low visibility.
The US Air Force received the AGM-86 ALCM air-launched cruise missile, its only carriers were the B-52G/H strategic bombers (12 and 20 missiles on the aircraft, respectively). It has a flight range of 2.4 thousand km in the nuclear version, 1.2 thousand km in conventional equipment.
1715 AGM-86B and 289 AGM-86C/D nuclear missiles with conventional warhead were manufactured. Later, some of the nuclear missiles were converted to conventional warheads according to the CALCM variant. At least several dozen missiles were used up in the wars against Iraq and during the aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999 (see: " Pyrrhic victory of NATO ", "HBO" from 03/22/19).
In addition to them, 478 AGM-129 nuclear warheads with a flight range of up to 3.7 thousand km were produced, but all of them were eliminated under the START treaty. The LRSO is being developed to replace the AGM-86. All 406 remaining Air Force AGM-86C/D were officially decommissioned in November 2019.
The main trend in the development of aviation weapons since the late 1980s has been the maximum increase in accuracy, which should ensure the defeat of the target with the first ammunition. Such weapons were widely used already during Operation Desert Storm, and since the intervention in Iraq in 2003 (see: " Why the United States lost the war in Iraq ", "HBO" from 03/16/18), the United States, in fact, has been using only high-precision weapons. Air-to-air missiles and anti-radar missiles are by definition highly accurate.
In the 1990s, the AIM-120 AMRAAM air–to-air missile with active radar guidance was adopted, which became a kind of synthesis of Sparrow (in size) and Phoenix (in range: from 50 km for the first modifications to 180 km for the latter). The rocket has been exported to many countries and has undergone a number of upgrades. The latest modifications are still in production, the total output may exceed 20 thousand missiles. It is used as a SAM in the Norwegian NASAMS air defense system.
Since the early 1980s, the AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missile with a flight range of at least 100 km has been in service. Due to the presence of a storage device, it can work on a switched-off radar or on a radar that changes the operating frequency. A variant of this AGM-88G missile with a range of up to 300 km is being developed. It was the AIM-120 (in the version of the missile defense system) and HARM (which managed to be adapted for use with the MiG-29 and Su-27) that Ukraine received from the United States in 2022.
Guided aerial bombs (UAB), which do not have engines, that is, are not missiles, have become a special class of weapons. In fact, they turned out to be a kind of intermediate link between "real" missiles and traditional unguided aerial bombs.
The family of UAB "Peiway" (Paveway, from Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment – literally "precision weapons") began to be created back in the 1970s. The concept implied the installation of GPS (laser or, less often, optical) and aerodynamic surfaces on conventional bombs.
One of the variants of this concept was the installation of a semi-active laser guidance system on the Hydra–70 aircraft unguided missile with a flight range of up to 11 km (this system is called PKWS - Precision Kill Weapon System, used primarily from helicopters and light attack aircraft). The need to illuminate the target with a laser before the UAB hits it somewhat reduces the value of the concept (besides, the state of the atmosphere strongly affects the laser radiation).
These disadvantages do not have the JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) UAB family, in which a GPS guidance system is installed on conventional bombs. The UAB flight range is provided up to 30 km from the drop point.
The development of this concept was the UAB AGM-154 JSOW (Joint Standoff Weapon), which, when dropped from high altitudes, can plan for a range of up to 130 km. On some of the latest versions of the UAB, both a laser GPS and a GPS guidance system are installed, that is, the concepts of "Payway" and JDAM are combined.
The classic tactical air defense system is the AGM-158 JASSM (also GPS guidance, and in the final section – infrared GPS, flight range from 370 to 1000 km). Currently, this missile is the main tactical weapon of American aviation, it has entered service only in the Air Forces of Australia, Finland and Poland.
Based on the JASSM-ER variant, the AGM-158C LRASM, designed to replace the Harpoon, was created and began to enter service in 2018. It has a flight range of 930 km .
It is planned to launch the production of the AGM-158D JASSM-XR with a flight range of up to 1600 km and the ability to conduct reconnaissance in flight.
Also, a supersonic anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) belongs to aviation high-precision weapons AGM-114 "Hellfire" with laser guidance (in the modification AGM-114L – with active radar GPS) and a firing range of 10 km. It is used from helicopters, light attack aircraft and combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In Sweden, it is used as a coastal RBS-17 RCC.
As a replacement or addition to the Maverick and Hellfire missiles, the AGM-176 Griffin missiles (laser guidance, 15 km range) and AGM-179 JAGM (multichannel GOS, range up to 30 km) have been created, which can be used from almost any aircraft (including AC-130 and KS-130), helicopters and UAVs.
forecast
Due to the fact that the US Armed Forces are reorienting from the "fight against international terrorism" to the fight against equal opponents, the importance of missile weapons for them will increase even more.
Long-range missiles of various classes will be actively developed to ensure the suppression and/or overcoming of powerful air defense and defeat a wide range of targets, including the most complex ones. In particular, an aviation hypersonic (speed 6.5–8 M) aeroballistic missile AGM-183 with a flight range of up to 1.6 thousand km is being created. Its carriers will be strategic bombers and, possibly, F-15E fighter-bombers. However, so far the missile tests are not going too well, so the fate of this and several other promising missile projects of the US Air Force is still unclear.
Alexander Khramchikhin
Alexander Anatolyevich Khramchikhin is an independent military expert.
