Missile AGM-86 ALCM
Summary
| Category | Cruise Missile |
| Sub-type | Cruise missile |
| Origin country | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
Technical specifications
| AGM-86 ALCM | |
|---|---|
| Warhead | High Explosive / Fragmentation AFX-760 |
| Warhead Weight | 680 kg |
| Diameter | 622 mm (24.5 in) |
| Span | 3657 mm (144.0 in) |
| Length | 6370 mm (250.8 in) |
| Weight | 1474 kg (3250 lb) |
| Range | 1110 km (690 mi) |
Description
The AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) is a long-range, subsonic cruise missile developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force. Introduced in the early 1980s, the missile is designed to be launched from strategic bombers like the B-52 Stratofortress. Its primary purpose is to serve as a standoff weapon, allowing the launch aircraft to fire the missile from outside the range of enemy air defenses.
The AGM-86 ALCM is equipped with a nuclear warhead and uses a turbofan engine for propulsion, giving it a range of approximately 1,500 miles. This extended range provides a significant standoff capability, allowing the B-52 or other launch platforms to release the missile well outside the range of most enemy surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and interceptors.
For guidance, the AGM-86 initially relied on an inertial navigation system, later augmented with terrain contour matching (TERCOM) and, in some versions, GPS. This enables the missile to navigate accurately over long distances and to evade enemy radar by flying at low altitudes using a terrain-hugging flight profile.
One of the key advantages of the AGM-86 is its ability to be launched en masse by the B-52, which can carry up to 20 ALCMs on external pylons and in its internal weapons bay. This allows for saturation attacks against enemy air defense systems, overwhelming them and increasing the likelihood of successful strikes.
However, the missile's subsonic speed makes it vulnerable to interception once detected. Advanced air defense systems with long-range detection and engagement capabilities can pose a threat to the AGM-86. Moreover, the missile is relatively expensive to produce and maintain, especially considering the complex electronic systems required for its guidance and control.