AGM-129 ACM
| AGM-129 ACM | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| General Information | |
| Type | Cruise missiles |
| Manufacturer |
General Dynamics (originally) Raytheon |
| development | 1982 |
| Commissioning | 1985 |
| Unit price | 2.2 to 3.8 million US dollars |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 6.30 m |
| diameter | 700 mm |
| Combat weight | 1,680 kg |
| span | 3,100 mm |
First stage drive |
Williams International F112 Turbofan |
| speed | 900 km / h |
| Range | up to 3,700 km |
| Furnishing | |
| Target location | Inertial navigation platform plus TERCOM on LIDAR basis |
| Warhead | W-80 nuclear warhead 5–150 kt |
| Weapon platforms | bomber |
| Lists on the subject | |
The AGM-129 ACM ( A dvanced C ruise M issile ) was a strategic long range cruise missiles the US Air Force (USAF) with stealth technology (engl. Stealth ). It is equipped with a nuclear warhead and is intended for use on B-52 bombers, which can each carry up to twelve units.
The AGM-129 is the successor to the AGM-86 Cruise Missile in the strategic role and is the first cruise missile to have stealth technology, similar to that of the B-2 bomber. Development began in August 1982 when the new Russian radar of the MiG-31 - combat aircraft on the look-down capability possessed and could be assumed therefore that the existing cruise missiles are relatively easy to intercept.
Lockheed and General Dynamics have built competing prototypes . Lockheed's Senior Prom (based on Lockheed Have Blue ) flew in Area 51 from 1978 to 1982 but lost to General Dynamics' draft. One reason for this was that it was not compatible with a bomber weapon bay due to its size and configuration.
Several tests and revisions were required to develop the AGM-129. The US Congress , meanwhile, called for six successful tests to be passed to continue funding the program. The first test was then carried out in California in June 1987 and only three tests had been completed by spring 1988. As a result, Congress reduced the budget for the 1988/89 financial year to $ 510.7 million. The Washington Post reported in June 1988 the cost of the Advanced Cruise Missile Program of $ 5 billion and of up to $ 7 billion in the use of nuclear warheads. After the production of 460 guided missiles, the production lines were closed in 1993.
According to the START-II agreement, which expired in 2002 , stealth guided missiles were not allowed to be carried by stealth bombers, which is why the AGM-129 is only available for the B-52. Originally, the cruise missile was supposed to remain in service until 2030. However, on October 17, 2006, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld instructed the USAF to retire the AGM-129. Six units are removed from the inventory every month, and all cruise missiles of this type are to be decommissioned in the 2013 budget year. However, in its current budget plan until 2013, the Air Force provides for US $ 1.1 million to finance measures to maintain the operational readiness of 38 cruise missiles. An incident occurred on August 30, 2007 while the cruise missiles were being transported away, when a B-52 flew six of twelve AGM-129s unnoticed with their nuclear warheads from Minot Air Force Base (North Dakota) to Barksdale Air Force Base (Louisiana) . After that, the cruise missiles remained unguarded on the airport premises for a day.
literature
- Bill Sweetman: Lockheed Stealth . Zenith Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, ISBN 0-7603-1940-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Forecast International: AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile. Program Review (pdf)
- ↑ Bill Sweetman: Lockheed Stealth . Zenith Press, St. Paul (Minnesota) 2004, ISBN 0-7603-1940-5 , pp. 73-74.
- ^ William M. Arkin: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists . May 1989, pages 6-7.
- ^ Robert Burns: Air Force Scraps Stealth Missile Fleet. Associated Press, March 7, 2007.
- ↑ Statement (PDF; 37 kB) by USAF General Richard Webber before the US Senate Armed Forces Committee, March 12, 2008, p. 8f.
- ↑ United States Air Force - Committee Staff Procurement Backup Book - FY 2009 Budget Estimates ( Memento from February 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.2 MB), February 2008. Page 99f.
- ↑ Josh White: In error, B-52 flew over US with nuclear-armed missiles. Washington Post, September 6, 2007.