The Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick

The Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick is a family of precision guided weapons proven in action in Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom. Of 5,300 Mavericks launched in Desert Storm, “no less than 92 per cent recorded a successful hit,” claims Raytheon (Raytheon 2001). The USMC achieved only a 60 per cent hit rate, but its laser-guided versions might not have been the optimum weapons fit for that specific environment, Raytheon says. The Maverick is the chosen anti-shipping and ground strike weapon for New Zealand’s SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters as well as the RAAF’s P-3 Orions. It is carried by aircraft from the USN, USMC, USAF and 32 other countries. It is different from the RAN’s Kongsburg AGM-119 Penguin (see Penguin and Newsletter 43 p. 17, December 2000), chiefly in that the Maverick is lighter (210 to 304 versus 385 kg), has a shorter maximum range (roughly 13 versus 25 nautical miles), and a smaller warhead (57 versus 120 kg). It is also considerably cheaper (US$17,000 per unit cost for the AGM-65A, rising to US$152,000 or so for the more complex E and F versions.)

AGM-65 Maverick.

Following the comparatively limited but encouraging success of Bullpup missiles in South-East Asia, the American firms Hughes and Rockwell started Maverick development in 1965. Later, Raytheon became the prime contractor for the proposed joint USAF, USN and USMC weapon.

The AGM-65A model was intended to be a comparatively small missile powered by a Thiokol TX-481 solid fuel rocket. It first flew in 1969, and its TV-guided prototype recorded a direct hit on its first launch (Parsch 2002).

AGM-65 warhead options and launch parameters. (Raytheon graphic)

With its wide range of guidance and warhead options, the Maverick can be deployed successfully against a variety of targets, including bunkers, tanks, parked aircraft, port facilities and ships. Versions with infrared, laser or TV guidance systems may be loaded, depending chiefly on the type of target and illumination available.

First delivery, 1972

The first Maverick was the TV-guided AGM-65A, delivered to the USAF more than 30 years ago, in 1972. In this version, the pilot had a small TV screen in the cockpit. Cross hairs were manipulated to lock an image into the missile’s seeker logic before firing. After launch, the Maverick homed onto the target by constantly matching its TV camera image to the locked target image. The weapon flew to the target, relatively immune to infra-red, electronic and most other decoys. Its small size, low radar cross section and 620-knot speed also made it difficult to shoot down. This version recorded a mere 1.5 metre CEP (Circular Error of Probability).

However, the A version’s small TV cockpit image sometimes required the pilot to close to well inside the missile’s maximum range to acquire a sufficiently detailed target image. AGM-65B development started in 1975, using the same airframe and engine but enhanced optics that roughly doubled the target resolution.

Next came the AGM-65C, a semi-active laser homer version designed primarily for the USMC. It was put into full-scale development in 1978, but costs escalated and the program was cancelled after constructing only a few missiles.

A New Zealand Kaman SH-2 Seasprite, loaded with a Maverick AGM-65, lands on a rolling frigate’s deck.

The AGM-65E, with a cheaper laser guidance section, a heavier (136 kg) warhead and reduced-smoke rocket motor was the next major variant, entering USMC service in 1985. It used a guidance head that detects laser energy reflected off the target from an airborne or ground-mounted laser illuminating unit. Once locked on and fired, the Maverick homes onto the reflected laser source.

Infrared seeker

After 11 years in development, the USAF’s AGM-65D model added an infra-red-seeking capacity to the missile in 1986. This version had almost twice the lock-on range of the AGM-65A, producing cockpit images very similar to the old TV screens, but outlining very small temperature variations. Invaluable at night and in poor visibility, infra-red homers are nevertheless also vulnerable to decoys such as the Australian ship-borne Nulka, provided sufficient warning allows time to launch the decoy.

The USN’s AGM-65F combined the infrared seeker of the AGM-65D with the heavier warhead and propulsion of the AGM-65E. It also incorporated slightly different software for homing onto manoeuvering surface ship targets and a modified safing/arming device for shipboard operations.

Later -G to -K versions included varying combinations of existing weapon elements with improved autopilot, tracking and target selection options. Dummy rounds were also produced for ground loading drill and airborne acquisition training. Another production run included a large number of reworked and upgraded missiles that became “time expired” in storage. New AGM-65 production ceased in 1999, after some 75,000 missiles were built.

Like the Penguin’s, Maverick’s manufacturers tout improvements just around the corner in the development pipeline that could deliver a bigger and more versatile weapon with a longer standoff range and heavier warhead. Raytheon proposed an -L version that had a turbojet sustainer motor for long range (46 miles) release, better in-flight navigation, a data link for lock-on after launch, and an optional radar or infrared terminal seeker. However, this missile never reached production status.

The main day-to-day US platforms for the Maverick are the A-10 Warthog, F-16 Freedom Fighter and F/A-18 Hornet aircraft but, interestingly, Raytheon began studies in 1989 to mate the AGM-65 with the P-3 Orion. RAAF Orions were modified to carry the Maverick on any of four wing stations. The modification pack enhanced the Australian P-3’s capability considerably, extending its diminishing ASW role with improved electronic surveillance and a brand new anti-shipping/ground attack capability.

References:

Friedman, N. World weapons systems, 1997/8. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1997.

Websites:

Parsch, A. Raytheon (Hughes) AGM-65 Maverick. http://designation-systems.net/dursm /m-65.html (2002).
Raytheon http://www. raytheon.com/products/maverick.