AGM-86C
CALCM
Unofficial
names/slang: "Cal-Cam"
Function:
Air-to-Ground Strategic Cruise Missile
Date
deployed: 1991
Contractor:
Boeing
Unit cost:
approx. $1,160,000
Length:
20' - 9" (6.39m)
Wingspan:
12' - 0" (3.69m)
Diameter:
2' - 0.5" (0.63m)
Speed:
high subsonic
Weight at
launch: 3,150 lbs
Guidance:
Inertial navigation w/ onboard GPS
Range:
approx. 600 mi
Engine:
Williams
Research Corp. F-107-WR-10 turbofan
Warhead:
2,000 lb High Explosive (HE) |
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Mission:
The AGM-86B air-launched cruise missiles and AGM-86C
conventional air-launched cruise missiles were
developed to increase the effectiveness of B-52H
bombers. In combination, they dilute an enemy's
forces and complicate defense of its territory.
Features: The small, winged AGM-86B/C
missile is powered by a turbofan jet engine that
propels it at sustained subsonic speeds. After
launch, the missile's folded wings, tail surfaces
and engine inlet deploy. The AGM 86B is then able to
fly complicated routes to a target through use of a
terrain contour-matching guidance system. The AGM
86C uses an onboard Global Positioning System (GPS)
coupled with its inertial navigation system (INS) to
fly. This allows the missile to guide itself to the
target with pinpoint accuracy.
AGM-86B/C missiles increase flexibility in
target selection. AGM-86B missiles can be
air-launched in large numbers by the bomber force.
B-52H bombers carry six AGM-86B or AGM-86C missiles
on each of two externally mounted pylons and eight
internally on a rotary launcher, giving the B-52H a
maximum capacity of 20 missiles per aircraft.
The AGM-86C CALCM differs from the AGM-86B air
launched cruise missile in that it carries a
conventional blast/fragmentation payload rather than
a nuclear payload and employs a GPS aided INS.
An enemy force would have to counterattack
each of the missiles, making defense against them
costly and complicated. The enemy's defenses are
further hampered by the missiles' small size and
low-altitude flight capability, which makes them
difficult to detect on radar.
Background: In February 1974, the Air
Force entered into contract to develop and
flight-test the prototype AGM-86A air-launched
cruise missile, which was slightly smaller than the
later B and C models. The 86A model did not go into
production. Instead, in January 1977, the Air Force
began full-scale development of the AGM-86B, which
greatly enhanced the B-52's capabilities and helped
America maintain a strategic deterrent.
Production of the initial 225 AGM-86B missiles
began in fiscal year 1980 and production of a total
1,715 missiles was completed in October 1986. The
air-launched cruise missile had become operational
four years earlier, in December 1982, with the 416th
Bombardment Wing, Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y.,
which deactivated when the base closed in 1995.
In June 1986 a limited number of AGM-86B
missiles were converted to carry a high-explosive
blast/fragmentation warhead and an internal GPS.
They were redesignated as the AGM-86C CALCM. This
modification also replaced the B model's terrain
contour-matching guidance system and integrated a
GPS capability with the existing inertial navigation
computer system.
The CALCM became operational in January 1991
at the onset of Operation Desert Storm. Seven B-52s,
from Barksdale AFB, La., launched 35 missiles at
designated launch points in the U. S. Central
Command's area of responsibility to attack
high-priority targets in Iraq. These "round-robin"
missions marked the beginning of the air campaign
for Kuwait's liberation and are the longest known
aircraft combat sorties in history (more than 14,000
miles and 35 hours of flight).
CALCM's most recent employment occurred in
Sept. 1996 during Operation Desert Strike. In
response to Iraq's continued hostilities against the
Kurds in northern Iraq, the Air Force launched 13
CALCMs in a joint attack with the Navy. This mission
has put the CALCM program in the spotlight for
future modifications.
In 1996 and 1997, 200 additional CALCMs were
produced from excess ALCMs. These missiles,
designated Block I, incorporate improvements such as
a larger and improved conventional payload (3,000
pound blast class), a multi-channel GPS receiver and
integration of the buffer box into the GPS receiver.
The upgraded avionics package was retrofitted into
all existing CALCM (Block 0) so all AGM-86C missiles
are electronically identical.
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