Terminal phase: {{convert|11|kN|disp=flip|abbr=on}}"},"pw_ratio":{"wt":""},"payload_capacity":{"wt":""},"fuel_capacity":{"wt":""},"vehicle_range":{"wt":""},"speed":{"wt":""},"guidance":{"wt":""},"steering":{"wt":""},"wingspan":{"wt":""},"propellant":{"wt":"Solid fuel"},"ceiling":{"wt":""},"altitude":{"wt":""},"depth":{"wt":""},"boost":{"wt":""},"accuracy":{"wt":""},"launch_platform":{"wt":"[[B-58 Hustler]]"},"transport":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwAg">Air-to-surface missile
Wagtail | |
---|---|
Type | Air-to-surface missile |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
Used by | United States Air Force |
Production history | |
Designed | 1956–1961 |
Manufacturer | Minneapolis-Honeywell |
Specifications | |
Length | 5.6 feet (1.7 m) |
Diameter | 12 inches (300 mm) |
Engine | Dual-thrust rocket Boost phase: 9,900 lbf (44 kN) Terminal phase: 2,500 lbf (11 kN) |
Propellant | Solid fuel |
Launch platform | B-58 Hustler |
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 Wagtail project was initiated in 1956, with Minneapolis-Honeywell being contracted to develop a short-range, solid-rocket-powered missile. [1] The missile would be armed with a low-yield nuclear warhead, and was intended for use as a tactical support missile by supersonic aircraft engaged in low-level attacks. [2] [3]
The Wagtail missile was intended to be fitted with a guidance system that utilised an inertial navigation system and a terrain-following radar, which allowed the missile to be fired from and navigate at extremely low altitudes. [2] The missile was equipped with small retrorockets that retarded the missile following release, allowing the launching aircraft the opportunity to escape the blast wave from the missile's warhead. [2]
By 1958, the Wagtail project had progressed to the point of live-fire flight testing; the missile was planned to be fitted to the B-58 Hustler bomber in operational service, while an alternative configuration was proposed as a bomber defense missile, which would be fired rearwards from the carrier aircraft. [2] However, in the early 1960s (prior to fiscal year 1962), despite the missiles' flight testing having proved successful, [4] the Wagtail project was canceled. [2]
The Avro Blue Steel was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear armed standoff missile, built to arm the V bomber force. It allowed the bomber to launch the missile against its target while still outside the range of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). The missile proceeded to the target at speeds up to Mach 3, and would trigger within 100 m of the pre-defined target point.
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(whose production was itself cancelled after only 3 vehicles). It was never used operationally, but was a direct predecessor of the AIM-54 Phoenix used on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
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The GAM-63 RASCAL was a supersonic air-to-surface missile that was developed by the Bell Aircraft Company. The RASCAL was the United States Air Force's first nuclear armed standoff missile. The RASCAL was initially designated the ASM-A-2, then re-designated the B-63 in 1951 and finally re-designated the GAM-63 in 1955. The name RASCAL was the acronym for RAdar SCAnning Link, the missile's guidance system. The RASCAL project was cancelled in September 1958.
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Typhon was a missile system developed by the United States Navy in the late 1950s, intended to serve as an integrated air-defense system for Navy fleets. Consisting of the SAM-N-8 Typhon LR, later designated RIM-50A, and the SAM-N-9 Typhon MR, later RIM-55A, paired with the AN/SPG-59 radar system, the cost of the Typhon system led to it being cancelled in favor of the Standard Missile program.
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The Hopi was an air-to-surface missile developed by the United States Navy's Naval Ordnance Test Station. Intended to provide a medium-range nuclear capability for carrier aircraft, the missile reached the flight test stage during 1958, but the project was cancelled following testing and no production was undertaken.
Sky Scorcher was a nuclear-armed air-to-air missile proposed to the United States Air Force in the 1950s. Intended for use as a weapon for the disruption of enemy bomber formations, it failed to find favor among Air Force planners and did not undergo development.
The Diamondback was a proposed nuclear-armed air-to-air missile studied by the United States Navy's Naval Ordnance Test Station during the 1950s. Intended as an enlarged, nuclear-armed version of the successful Sidewinder missile, Diamondback did not progress beyond the study stage.
The AGR-14 ZAP was an air-to-surface unguided rocket developed by the United States Navy in the late 1960s. Intended for use in the suppression of enemy air defenses role, the rocket reached the flight-testing stage before being cancelled.
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.
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