AGM-129 ACM
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2008) |
AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile | |
---|---|
B-52 Stratofortress |
The AGM-129 ACM (Advanced Cruise Missile) was a
Early development
In 1982 the US Air Force began studies for a new cruise missile with low-observable characteristics after it became clear that the
The solution was to incorporate various "low-observable" ('stealth') technologies into a new Advanced Cruise Missile system.
Design, test and initial production
In 1983 General Dynamics Convair Division (GD/C) was awarded a development contract for the AGM-129A (the losing design was
These changes made the AGM-129A more difficult to detect and allowed the missile to be flown at higher altitude. The newer Williams International F112-WR-100 turbofan engine increased range by about 50%. The newer guidance system, increased accuracy to a quoted figure of between 30 m (100 ft) and 90 m (300 ft).
The AGM-129A, like the AGM-86B, is armed with a W80-1 variable-yield nuclear warhead.
The first test missile flew in July 1985, and the first production missiles were delivered to the US Air Force in 1987. The development program experienced some hardware 'quality control' problems and testing mishaps. The flight test program took place during a period of high tension between the machinists' union and GDC management, with a 3+1⁄2-week-long strike occurring in 1987. US Congressman
Plans called for producing enough missiles to replace the approximately 1,461 AGM-86B's at a rate of 200 missiles per year after full-rate production was achieved in 1993. In January 1992, the end of the
The US Air Force pushed for production of a AGM-129B variant for targets for which the AGM-129A was considered ineffective. The US Air Force submitted this requirement in 1985 and proposed to modify 120 missiles into the AGM-129B variant. In 1991 the US Congress denied the request and the US Air Force was forced to terminate the program. In 1992, the US Air Force was directed by the
Operational history
The B-52H bomber can carry up to six AGM-129A missiles on each of two external pylons for a total of 12 per aircraft. Originally, an additional 8 ACMs could be carried internally in the B-52 on Common Strategic Rotary Launchers, for a total of 20 per aircraft. The B-1B bomber was also slated to carry the AGM-129A, but that plan was ended after the cessation of the Cold War. The AGM-129A provides the B-52H bomber the ability to attack multiple targets without penetrating an
An AGM-129A impacted and damaged two unoccupied trailers, part of a cosmic ray observatory operated by the University of Utah and Tokyo University, located in the "hazardous operations" area of the United States Army Dugway Proving Ground on December 10, 1997. The AGM-129A was released over the Utah Test and Training Range from a B-52H bomber assigned to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The missile had flown for approximately 3.5 hours on its planned route and had fulfilled all test objectives prior to the mishap. The missile was carrying an inert test payload. Mission planners were unaware of the existence of the trailers.
The Air Force in 2008 maintained an arsenal of 1,140 AGM-86 ALCMs and 460 AGM-129 ACMs. The B-52 is the only platform for these missiles.
Handling incident
On August 30, 2007, twelve ACMs loaded on a B-52 were flown across the US from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana for decommissioning. The nuclear warheads which should have been removed before the flight were mistakenly left installed on six of the ACMs. For 36 hours the nuclear weapons were unaccounted for, which led to an official investigation of the incident.[3][4]
Variants
- AGM-129A – 461 missiles produced.[5]
- AGM-129B – Designation was assigned in 1988 for a modified missile with structural and software changes and fitted with a different nuclear warhead.
- AGM-129C – Conventional Warhead Variants
Operators
Former operators
Survivors
- AGM-129A located in the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
- AGM-129A located in the Strategic Air and Space Museum, Ashland, Nebraska
- AGM-129A located at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma(N35 26’ 1.93” W97 24’ 10.58”)
See also
- Missile of the same class
- TAURUS KEPD 350(Germany/Sweden)
- Storm Shadow (France/UK/Italy)
- Modern nuclear stealth cruise missile fulfilling the same role
References
Notes
- ^ a b "Cruise missile career comes to close". U.S. Air Force. 2012-04-24. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
- ^ "The Cruise Missile Question". Archived from the original on March 15, 2014.
- ^ Warrick, Joby; Walter Pincus (2007-09-23). "Missteps in the Bunker". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "Commander Directed Investigation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "Gallery of USAF Weapons", 2008 Almanac, AIR FORCE Magazine, May 2008, p.155.
- Alleged violations of the Antideficiency Act in the Air Force’s procurement of advanced cruise missiles.FILE B-255831, Office of the General Counsel, United States General Accounting Office.
- Union Calls for Strike by Convair Machinists, LA Times, 1987 Would Affect 4,000 Workers : Union Calls for Strike by Convair Machinists – Los Angeles Times
- Machinists' Accord Ends Convair Strike, LA Times, 1987 Machinists' Accord Ends Convair Strike – Los Angeles Times
- Nuclear Weapons of the United States, James N. Gibson, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pennsylvania, 2000 ISBN 978-0-7643-0063-9
- Missile 2000 – Reference Guide to World Missile Systems, Hajime Ozu, Shinkigensha, Tokyo, 2000 (Japanese)
- 2003–2004 Weapons File, United States Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base, 2003 Wayback Machine
- Sandia Engineers test cruise missile to qualify W80-3 in electromagnetic environments", Sandia Lab News", April 14, 2006.
- ACC releases Advanced Cruise Missile accident investigation report, Air Force News Service, July 10, 1998.
- AGM-129A Description Board", National Museum of the Air Force, Aug 18, 2007.
- The USAF and the Cruise Missile, Technology and the Air Force A Retrospective Assessment, Air Force History and Museums Program, 1997
- Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles, DoD 4120.15-L, Department of Defense, 2004
Books
- Gibson, James N. (2000). Nuclear Weapons of the United States: An Illustrated History. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-0063-9.