| CQM-121A / CGM-121B | |
|---|---|
 | |
| YCGM-121B at the National Museum of the USAF | |
| Role | Anti-radar drone |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| First flight | 1983 |
| Retired | 1989 |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | 13 (YCQM-121A) |
The Boeing CQM-121 Pave Tiger is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Boeing for use by the United States Air Force. Intended for the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role, the drone reached the flight-test stage before cancellation.
The CQM-121 program began in 1983, with Boeing being awarded a contract for the development of a small drone aircraft that was intended for the suppression of enemy air defenses. [1] The resulting YCQM-121A, given the code name "Pave Tiger", was a tailless aircraft powered by a two-stroke engine. [2] The drones were to be fitted in 15-cell containers with wings folded; the sides of the container would open to allow for launch on a rail using a solid-fuel rocket booster. The aircraft would then follow a pre-programmed route, and could either use electronic countermeasures to suppress air defense systems, or use a small warhead to directly destroy them. [3]
Flight testing of the 13 YCQM-121A aircraft began in 1983, however the following year the project was terminated. [3] The aircraft was resurrected in 1987, however, as an alternative to the AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow anti-radar missile; the anti-radar version, designated YCGM-121B and codenamed "Seek Spinner", first flew in 1988. [4] It was equipped with a warhead for the destruction of enemy radars, and could loiter while awaiting detection of an enemy radar set. [3] The program was terminated in 1989. [5]
Also in 1987, the U.S. Air Force ordered an electronic countermeasure version of the aircraft, given the designation YCEM-138A Pave Cricket. Equipped with an AN/ALQ-176 jammer, the program was also cancelled in 1989. [6]
Data from Parsch 2002 [3]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North America. In addition to being the first operational long-range SAM and the first operational pulse doppler aviation radar, it was the only SAM deployed by the United States Air Force.
Joint Regulation 4120.15E: Designating and Naming Military Aerospace Vehicles is the current system for designating all aircraft, helicopters, rockets, missiles, spacecraft, and other aerial vehicles in military use by the United States Armed Forces.
The BAe Sea Eagle is a medium-weight sea-skimming anti-ship missile designed and built by BAe Dynamics. It is designed to sink or disable ships up to the size of aircraft carriers in the face of jamming and other countermeasures including decoys. Its users include the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Force, and the Indian Navy.
The Hughes AIM-47 Falcon, originally GAR-9, was a very long-range high-performance air-to-air missile that shared the basic design of the earlier AIM-4 Falcon. It was developed in 1958 along with the new Hughes AN/ASG-18 radar fire-control system intended to arm the Mach 3 XF-108 Rapier interceptor aircraft and, after that jet's cancellation, the YF-12A. It was never used operationally, but was a direct predecessor of the AIM-54 Phoenix used on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
The Fairchild SM-73 was a planned sub-sonic, jet-powered, long-range, ground-launched decoy cruise missile. XSM-73 was the designation for the development version. Development began in 1952 with conceptual studies and ended when the program was canceled in 1958 after 15 test flights but before any operational deployment. The operational concept was to base squadrons of XM-73s at various locations in the United States and if necessary launch the aircraft as part of a strategic bomber attack. The aircraft would fly autonomously under inertial guidance towards the target area, using radar reflectors and electronic countermeasures to imitate American bombers and thus confuse and saturate enemy air defenses. The program was cancelled because the missile was not able to simulate a B-52 bomber on radar.
The AGM-130 was an air-to-ground guided missile developed by the United States of America. Developed in 1984, it is effectively a rocket-boosted version of the GBU-15 bomb. It first entered operational service on 11 January 1999, and was retired in 2013. 502 were produced.
The AQM-38 was an American target drone, developed during the 1950s by the Radioplane Division of the Northrop Corporation, Newbury Park, California, and manufactured by its Ventura Division at Van Nuys, California. Extensively used for surface-to-air missile training, over two thousand were built during its production run and it saw continued use within the United States Army and United States Navy for nearly twenty years.
The usefulness of UAVs for aerial reconnaissance was demonstrated to the United States in the Vietnam War. At the same time, early steps were being taken to use them in active combat at sea and on land, but unmanned combat aerial vehicles would not come into their own until the 1980s.
The Brazo missile was an American project of the 1970s, intended to produce an anti-radiation missile for air-to-air use. Developed by Hughes Aircraft and based on the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile, the Brazo underwent a series of successful test firings; however, the program was terminated at the end of its test program.
The SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile is a supersonic guided missile armed with a nuclear warhead, intended for launching from surface ships and submarines of the U.S. Navy (USN).
The Wagtail missile, also known as "Wag Tail", was a short-range nuclear missile developed in the late 1950s by Minneapolis-Honeywell under a contract awarded by the United States Air Force. Intended for use as an auxiliary weapon by bomber aircraft, the missile was successfully test fired in 1958, but the program was cancelled in the early 1960s.
The AQM-127 Supersonic Low-Altitude Target (SLAT) was a target drone developed during the 1980s by Martin Marietta for use by the United States Navy. Derived from Martin Marietta's work on the cancelled ASALM missile, SLAT proved to have severe difficulties in flight testing, and the project was cancelled during 1991.
The AAM-A-1 Firebird was an early American air-to-air missile, developed by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. The first air-to-air missile program developed for the United States Air Force, the Firebird was extensively tested in the late 1940s; although it proved successful in testing, it was soon obsolete due to the rapid advances in aircraft and missile technology at the time and did not enter production.
The AAM-N-5 Meteor was an early American air-to-air missile, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Initially, both air-launched and ship-launched versions were considered. Versions designed for launch from carrier-based aircraft proceeded to the flight testing stage before the project was cancelled.
The Nike Ajax was an American guided surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed by Bell Labs for the United States Army. The world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile, the Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes above 50,000 feet (15 km). Nike entered service in 1954 and was initially deployed within the United States to defend against Soviet bomber attacks, though it was later deployed overseas to protect US military bases, and was also sold to various allied militaries. Some examples remained in use until the 1970s.
The Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft (GAPA) was a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed in the late 1940s by Boeing for the United States Army Air Forces, and then the United States Air Force after 1948. It was given the reference number SAM-A-1, the first Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) in the 1947 tri-service designation system. By 1950, over 100 test rockets had been launched using a variety of configurations and power plants, with one launch in 1949 setting the altitude record for a ramjet powered vehicle at 59,000 ft (18,000 m).
CGM-121B Seek Spinner was a U.S. harassment drone or a kamikaze-drone as it was referred to at the time it was designed, developed by Boeing out of its CQM-121 Pave Tiger UAV. The main difference from the basic model was its seeker head, and its explosive payload, while aerodynamic characteristics had only minor changes. Although it was several times cheaper than its main rival, Tacit Rainbow drone, Seek Spinner never became operational.
The ADR-8 was an unguided electronic countermeasures rocket developed by Tracor for use by the United States Air Force. It was used to dispense chaff from Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers.
The Naval Research Laboratory Flyrt, or Flying Radar Target, was a small electric-powered unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory to serve as an expendable radar decoy for the defense of United States Navy ships. Tested in the fall of 1993, it was considered successful but was not ordered into production.
The AAM-N-10 Eagle was a long-range air-to-air missile developed by the Bendix Corporation for use by the United States Navy. Intended for carriage by the Douglas F6D Missileer fleet defense fighter, the Eagle program was cancelled before testing could begin, but the lessons learned were used in the development of the AIM-54 Phoenix missile.