Missile | AGM-142 "Raptor" (Precision Guided Systems United States Orlando, Florida ) |
Mission | Offensive counterair, interdiction, suppression enemy air defense, naval anti-surface warfare |
Year | 1992 |
Guidance Method | Television and imaging infrared |
Targets | Mobile soft, fixed hard, fixed soft, maritime surface |
Launch Systems | B-52 |
Range | 50+ nautical miles |
Quantity | 130 |
The AGM-142 Have Nap is an Israeli-built Popeye missile being acquired
by the USAF. The AGM-142 is a medium range conventional stand off missile
provides the Air Force with a precision man-in-the-loop capability for
the B-52H to attack high value, fixed targets from standoff ranges. The
AGM-142 provided the first precision guided munitions capability for the
B-52H platform. The program is managed by the Precision Strike System Program
Office at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and is produced by Precision Guided
Systems United States (PGSUS) of Orlando, Florida.
The Have Nap has an inertial guidance system with data link, TV, or
imaging infra-red homing. The munition's data link provides for single
aircraft operation or the munition's guidance may be turned over to a second
aircraft allowing the first aircraft to leave the area. The AGM-142 weighs
3000 lbs. It is 190 inches long, 21 inches in diameter, has a wing span
of 78 inches, and is powered by a solid propellant rocket motor. The missile
has a range in excess of 50 nautical miles. Warheads and seekers are modular
and allow for four missile configurations. The AGM-142 can be assembled
with a 750-pound blast fragmentation warhead or an I-800 penetration 770-pound
warhead and can employ either a television or an imaging infrared seeker.
Have Nap, although a very capable weapon system, was not used during
Desert Storm. The Air Force Gulf War Airpower Study speculated that it
was not used because of the policy implications of launching an Israeli-made
weapon against an Arab country.
Representative targets for Have Nap include power plant transformers,
generators, and cooling towers; POL refinery cracking/ distillation towers;
radar or communication site control vans/buildings; and research and development
facilities. Upgrades to the Have Nap weapon system ongoing after Desert
Storm included an imaging infrared seeker and an I-800 penetrating warhead.
The AGM-142, currently in production, incorporates a Producibility
Enhancement Program (PEP) that was initiated in October 1993. The program
has gone through a series of three PEP efforts that have reduced missile
costs and decreased logistics and maintenance requirements while increasing
maintainability and overall operational capability. The PEP efforts consisted
of changes in the manufacturing process and materials for the rocket motor
casing and missile wings and fins, new Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU),
a new closed loop imaging infrared seeker, and an upgraded processor with
corresponding reduction of the circuit card assemblies in the missile electronics
section.
The newest addition to the AGM-142 missile system is Producibility
Enhancement Program (PEP) III. PEP III is a new type of infrared seeker
(referred to as a Z-Seeker) and new software to make the system work with
future test sets. PEP III went through extensive testing at Barksdale AFB
in April 1998. This was a combined test by the developers and the users.
Because PEP III gives the users a third seeker, the total number of possible
configurations is nine: three seekers on three types of electronics sections.
All nine configurations went through all testing.
In May 1998 the AGM-142 Program Office awarded a contract to PRB Associates
of Hollywood, MD to produce an AGM-142 Air Force Mission Support System
(AFMSS) Weapon Planning Module (WPM). When delivered, the module will allow
B-52 radar navigators to plan AGM-142 missions using the same AFMSS system
they use to plan aircraft missions. The SPO used an innovative acquisition
approach to save the Air Force time and money. Because of the similarity
between the AGM-142 and the AGM-130 missions, about 70% of the code PRB
developed for the AGM-130 AFMSS WPM will be re-used in the 142 effort.
The SPO modified an existing AGM-130 AFMSS contract with PRB to produce
the AGM-142 planning module. The re-use of code saved approximately $600K
and 6 months of schedule.
Source-USAF
Two AGM-142 with the B-52H.