AGM-65A/B Maverick
General Info:
Origin = U.S.A.
Manufacture = Raytheon (Hughes)
IOC = 1972/1975
Guidance = electro-optical
Performance:
Power Plant = Thiokol SR109-TC-1 solid-fuel rocket
Accuracy = 1.5m
Speed = Mach 1.2
Range = >12nm
Dimensions:
Length = 98in
Diameter = 12in
Fin Span = 28in
Weight = 462lbs
Warhead:
125lbs WDU-20/B
The AGM-65 Maverick is a standoff air-to-ground missile designed primarily as an anti-armor weapon, but is also capable of striking a variety of surface targets. The missile provides launch-and-leave capability to attack aircraft performing close air support, interdiction and defense suppression missions. First operational in 1972, several variants of the Maverick have been fielded both to incorporate improvements in technology and to accommodate special mission requirements.
The A model Maverick uses an electro-optical television seeker head. When commanded to lock, the missile's computer analyzes the scene to pick out a target from the background using contrast and edge detection. After lock-on, the target area and the background are continually sampled to determine if the target is still in the center of the scene. If the target moves or the missile line of sight drifts, the camera is slewed to recenter the target. The missile control surfaces then steer the missile back into alignment with the camera and back on a collision course with the target. As the missile closes on the target, the target's apparent size will increase. To compensate, the guidance unit continually redefines the target boundaries to include an ever-increasing area.
The A, B and D model Mavericks all use a contact fuze and a shaped charge warhead effective against all known armored vehicles.
About 5,000 Mavericks have been fired in combat, with a success rate of 90%. Engagement Sequence
The first step in Maverick employment is to point the missile's seeker at the target. Depending on the avionics of the launching fighter, the Maverick seeker can be steered visually, slaved to a ground map radar or slaved to a laser detector. Once the missile is looking at or near the desired target, the pilot commands the missile to stabilize. The missile locks on autonomously once it is stabilized and detects a valid target. If necessary, the seeker can be slewed manually between stabilization and lock-on. Care must be taken that the lock is solid enough to survive post-launch transients. Once fired, the missile falls a few hundred feet below the launch point, then, as its rocket motor kicks in, it does an range-optimizing zoom climb to strike its target from above. The minimum slant range to avoid fragments from the missile blast is 3500 ft at 400 knots (assuming a 4-G wings-level pullout).
General Info:
Origin = U.S.A.
Manufacture = Raytheon (Hughes)
IOC = 1972/1975
Guidance = electro-optical
Performance:
Power Plant = Thiokol SR109-TC-1 solid-fuel rocket
Accuracy = 1.5m
Speed = Mach 1.2
Range = >12nm
Dimensions:
Length = 98in
Diameter = 12in
Fin Span = 28in
Weight = 462lbs
Warhead:
125lbs WDU-20/B
The AGM-65 Maverick is a standoff air-to-ground missile designed primarily as an anti-armor weapon, but is also capable of striking a variety of surface targets. The missile provides launch-and-leave capability to attack aircraft performing close air support, interdiction and defense suppression missions. First operational in 1972, several variants of the Maverick have been fielded both to incorporate improvements in technology and to accommodate special mission requirements.
The A model Maverick uses an electro-optical television seeker head. When commanded to lock, the missile's computer analyzes the scene to pick out a target from the background using contrast and edge detection. After lock-on, the target area and the background are continually sampled to determine if the target is still in the center of the scene. If the target moves or the missile line of sight drifts, the camera is slewed to recenter the target. The missile control surfaces then steer the missile back into alignment with the camera and back on a collision course with the target. As the missile closes on the target, the target's apparent size will increase. To compensate, the guidance unit continually redefines the target boundaries to include an ever-increasing area.
The A, B and D model Mavericks all use a contact fuze and a shaped charge warhead effective against all known armored vehicles.
About 5,000 Mavericks have been fired in combat, with a success rate of 90%. Engagement Sequence
The first step in Maverick employment is to point the missile's seeker at the target. Depending on the avionics of the launching fighter, the Maverick seeker can be steered visually, slaved to a ground map radar or slaved to a laser detector. Once the missile is looking at or near the desired target, the pilot commands the missile to stabilize. The missile locks on autonomously once it is stabilized and detects a valid target. If necessary, the seeker can be slewed manually between stabilization and lock-on. Care must be taken that the lock is solid enough to survive post-launch transients. Once fired, the missile falls a few hundred feet below the launch point, then, as its rocket motor kicks in, it does an range-optimizing zoom climb to strike its target from above. The minimum slant range to avoid fragments from the missile blast is 3500 ft at 400 knots (assuming a 4-G wings-level pullout).