The AGR-14 ZAP was an air-to-surface
unguided rocket
In military terminology, a rocket is a self-propelled, unguided or guided, weapon-system powered by a rocket engine. Though used primarily as medium- and long-range artillery systems, historically rockets have also seen considerable use as air-t ...
developed by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
in the late 1960s. Intended for use in the
suppression of enemy air defenses
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD ), also known in the United States as " Wild Weasel" and (initially) "Iron Hand" operations, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses, including surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), an ...
role, the rocket reached the flight-testing stage before being cancelled.
Design and development
A requirement for a new type of unguided rocket, to be used to suppress enemy anti-aircraft artillery batteries, was identified by the United States Navy in 1966. Given the name HART, (which stands for Hypervelocity Aircraft Rocket, Tactical), the new rocket was intended to replace the
FFAR and
Zuni rockets that were then in service.
HART was intended to be a high-acceleration, high-velocity rocket for launch from aircraft. The increased speed of the rocket as opposed to those then in service – intended to reach or exceed
Mach
The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound.
It is named after the Austrian physi ...
3
[Goebel 2010] – was intended to remove the possibility that a high-speed aircraft might overtake its own weapons after launch, as well as improving the rocket's accuracy through providing a flatter trajectory, and reduction in its flight time.
[Parsch 2002] Six inches (152 mm) in diameter,
HART would be powered by a solid-fueled rocket, and would use
flechette
A flechette or flèchette ( ) is a pointed, fin-stabilized steel projectile. The name comes from French (from \''wikt:flèche, flèche''), meaning "little arrow" or "Dart (missile), dart", and sometimes retains the grave accent in English: flè ...
anti-personnel
An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gav ...
warheads to provide the greatest possible effect against the intended targets.
Development and cancellation
In 1967, a contract for the development of HART was given to the
Martin Marietta
The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin.
History
Martin Marie ...
corporation, based in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
; the rocket received the official designation of AGR-14 ZAP, for "Zero Anti-Aircraft Potential",
[Morison and Rowe 1975, p.218.] at this time.
Initial test firings of the XAGR-14A prototypes were conducted in late 1969, with the
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company, and later, McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D und ...
being used as a launch aircraft.
Despite the rocket being tested successfully, the project was cancelled shortly thereafter, and ZAP failed to reach operational service.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Agr-14 Zap
Air-to-ground rockets of the United States
Cold War rockets of the United States
Abandoned military rocket and missile projects of the United States