Boeing Air-Launch Cruise Missle AGM-86B on on static display in the Great gallery of the Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattl
Boeing Air-Launch Cruise Missle AGM-86B on on static display in the Great gallery of the Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle. In February 1974, the entered into contract to develop and flight-test the prototype or proof-of-concept vehicle AGM-86A air-launched cruise missile, which was slightly smaller than the later B and C models. The 86A model did not go into production. Instead, in January 1977, the Air Force began full-scale development of the AGM-86B, which greatly enhanced the B-52's capabilities and helped the USA maintain a strategic deterrent. Production of the initial 225 AGM-86B missiles began in fiscal year 1980 and production of a total 1,715 missiles was completed in October 1986. The air-launched cruise missile had become operational four years earlier, in December 1982. More than 100 launches have taken place since then, with a 90% approximate success rate. The missile's flight path is pre-programmed and it becomes totally autonomous after launch. In June 1986 a limited number of AGM-86B missiles were converted to carry a high-explosive blast/fragmentation warhead and an internal GPS. They were redesignated as the AGM-86C CALCM. This modification also replaced the B model's terrain contour-matching guidance system (TERCOM) and integrated a GPS capability with the existing inertial navigation
Size: 5050px × 3360px
Location: Museum of Flight, 9404 East Marginal Way South, Seattle, Washington 98108
Photo credit: © John Gaffen 2 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: missle, nuclear, weapon
