Kraków 2022-10-24
Guided anti-tank missile AGM-65 G-2 Maverick.
AGM-65 G-2 Maverick is a missile designed to destroy ground targets from the air. It is intended for direct support on the battlefield. It is known for its versatility and the ability to hit a whole range of stationary ground targets: bridges, bunkers, air defense nests, warehouses, MPS stations and others, as well as mobile ground targets: tanks, transporters, barges, cutters and others. It is the most widely used missile for destroying ground targets in the West. Since 1968, it has been purchased by 30 countries and is used by 25 typical aircraft, mainly multi-purpose combat aircraft.
Work on the missile was carried out since 1965, and the production of the test series started in 1968. Delivery of the first version of the AGM-65 A Maverick to users began in 1972. Operationally, the missiles were used in Vietnam and the Middle East during the 1973 Egyptian-Israeli War. Initially, only TV guidance was used. In the television control system in the crew cabin, a monitor (dysplay) is used, with the help of which the operator recognizes and selects the target. With this system, 85% efficiency was achieved in tests. Over the next years, many versions and varieties of missiles were developed, which received successive letters of the alphabet from B to L. The basic guidance system was a television system, but also infrared and laser control heads were used.
The Polish Armed Forces purchased the AGM-65 G-2 version, which is generally based on the AGM-65 D version. The missile was developed in 1989. The warhead was taken from the AGM-65 E version, which is the largest in the entire Maverick family of missiles and is used to counter fortified targets. The control system is equipped with a digital autopilot system, which enables more efficient guidance of the missile. The flight trajectory may be lower to avoid clouds that may obscure the target. A two in the name means a software modification, more memory and a faster processor. This makes the projectile equally well-suited to engaging moving targets such as tanks. The missile has a dual guidance system: TV-thermal. Before firing, the target parameters (bearing) are entered into the missile control system. After entering the bearing, the missile starts tracking the target automatically and after the shot it goes to the target by itself, according to the fire-forget principle.
Poland bought the AGM-65 G-2 Maverick missiles as armament for Lockheed Martin F-16 C / D Jastrząb aircraft. 100 rounds were purchased in the first batch.
Data T-T AGM-65 G-2 Maverick:
Length 2.55 m, diameter 30.5 cm, tail span 72 cm, weight 301 kg, range 27,000 m, speed max 1,150 km / h, TV-thermal guidance, two-stage combat warhead FMK-135 B: penetrating and fragmentation -disrupting. The missile head contains 135 kg of explosive material. The missile uses the LAU-117 launcher.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman