AGM-86 Cruise Missile

Boeing AGM-86A ALCM

Boeing AGM-86B ALCM

The Boeing AGM-86 ALCM ( Air Launched Cruise Missile ) is one of B-52 -Bombern the US Air Force from bootable cruise missiles conventional with or nuclear warhead .

history

Development and testing

In February 1983 the USA signed a contract with Canada to test the AGM-86 on Canadian territory. On March 2, 1983 seeker tests were carried out on a long-range Boeing B-52 bomber .

The AGM-86C version with a conventional warhead has also been available since 1986 under the name CALCM (Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile).

The last AGM-86 CALCM was retired in November 2019. The successor model is the AGM-158 JASSM-ER .

Calls

The first use with AGM-86C was carried out in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm . On the first night of the war, B-52 bombers fired 35 AGM-86Cs at eight targets in Iraq.

On September 3, 1996, 13 AGM-86Cs were fired at targets in southern Iraq during Operation Desert Strike .

During Operation Desert Fox , the four-day bombing of Iraqi targets from December 16 to December 20, 1998 by the US and UK forces , approximately 90 AGM-86Cs were fired from B-52s.

In the course of the Kosovo war , 78 CALCMs were successfully used against the Yugoslav air defense as part of the NATO operation Allied Force .

Technical specifications

• Steering: Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM). Data from the terrain stored on board in the form of grid points are compared with the data supplied by the radar altimeter and the correct position and course are calculated from this. Later versions were equipped with multi-channel GPS, whereby the missiles should achieve an accuracy of up to three meters.
• Manufacturer: Boeing
• Carrier: Boeing B-52
• Speed: Mach 0.73
• Propulsion: Turbofan Williams International F107 with 2.7 kN thrust
• Warhead: depending on the version:
  • conventional: AGM-86C Block 0: 1500 pounds and AGM-86C Block I-IA 3000 pounds.
  • nuclear: W80-1 thermonuclear warhead. Explosive force selectable from 5 kT - 150 kT
• Range: 1200–3200 km depending on the version
• Length: 6.32 m
• Diameter: 0.62 m
• Area span: 3.66 m

Web links

Commons : AGM-86 ALCM  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-86.html

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gareth Jennings: USAF retires CALCM cruise missile. In: janes.com. IHS Jane's, December 7, 2019, accessed December 9, 2019 .