AGM-65D Maverick
General Info:
Origin = U.S.A.
Manufacture = Raytheon (Hughes)
IOC = 1986
Guidance = WGU-10/B imaging infrared
Performance:
Power Plant = Thiokol SR114-TC-1 or Aerojet SR115-AJ-1 solid-fuel rocket
Accuracy = 1.5m
Speed = Mach 1.2
Range = >12nm
Dimensions:
Length = 98in
Diameter = 12in
Fin Span = 28in
Weight = 485lbs
Warhead:
125lbs
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 D model uses a an imaging infrared detector to provide a thermal view of the target, but otherwise uses the same principles for target detection and tracking. An IR image allows the missile to be used in darkness, under hazy conditions and during bad weather. 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%.
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 = 1986
Guidance = WGU-10/B imaging infrared
Performance:
Power Plant = Thiokol SR114-TC-1 or Aerojet SR115-AJ-1 solid-fuel rocket
Accuracy = 1.5m
Speed = Mach 1.2
Range = >12nm
Dimensions:
Length = 98in
Diameter = 12in
Fin Span = 28in
Weight = 485lbs
Warhead:
125lbs
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 D model uses a an imaging infrared detector to provide a thermal view of the target, but otherwise uses the same principles for target detection and tracking. An IR image allows the missile to be used in darkness, under hazy conditions and during bad weather. 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%.
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).
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