The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) designed for

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

. It is the most widely produced precision-guided missile in the

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, and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

, air defenses,

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

s, ground transportation and fuel storage facilities. Development began in 1966 at

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes H-4 Hercules air ...

as the first missile to use an electronic contrast seeker. It entered service with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in August 1972. Since then, it has been exported to more than 30 countries and is certified on 25 aircraft. The Maverick served during the

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, Yom Kippur, Iran–Iraq, and

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

s, along with other smaller conflicts, destroying enemy forces and installations with varying degrees of success. Since its introduction into service, numerous Maverick versions had been designed and produced using electro-optical,

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

, and imaging infrared guidance systems. The AGM-65 has two types of

warhead A warhead is the section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket (weapon), rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: *E ...

: one has a contact fuze in the nose, the other has a heavyweight warhead fitted with a delayed-action fuze, which penetrates the target with its kinetic energy before detonating. The missile is currently produced by Raytheon Missiles & Defense. The Maverick shares the same configuration as Hughes'

AIM-4 Falcon The Hughes AIM-4 Falcon was the first operational guided air-to-air missile of the United States Air Force. Development began in 1946; the weapon was first tested in 1949. The missile entered service with the USAF in 1956. Produced in both heat- ...

and AIM-54 Phoenix, and measures more than in length and in diameter.

Development

The Maverick's development history began in 1965, when the

(USAF) began a program to develop a replacement to the AGM-12 Bullpup. With a range of , the radio-guided Bullpup was introduced in 1959 and was considered a "silver bullet" by operators. However, the launch aircraft was required to fly straight towards the target during the missile's flight instead of performing evasive maneuvers, thus endangering itself. Even when it hit, the small warhead was only useful against small targets like bunkers; when used against larger targets like the Thanh Hóa Bridge it did little more than char the structure. The USAF began a series of projects to replace Bullpup, both larger versions of Bullpup, models C and D, as well as a series of Bullpup adaptations offering fire-and-forget guidance. Among the latter were the AGM-83 Bulldog, AGM-79 Blue Eye and AGM-80 Viper. From 1966 to 1968, Hughes Missile Systems Division and Rockwell competed for the contract to build an entirely new fire-and-forget missile with far greater range performance than any of the Bullpup versions. Each were allocated $3 million for preliminary design and engineering work of the Maverick in 1966. In 1968, Hughes emerged with the $95 million contract for further development and testing of the missile; at the same time, contract options called for 17,000 missiles to be procured. Hughes conducted a smooth development of the AGM-65 Maverick, with the first unguided test launch from an F-4 on 18 September 1969, with the first guided test on 18 December successfully performing a direct hit on a M41 tank target at the Air Force Missile Development Center at

Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, which is the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The b ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. In July 1971, the USAF and Hughes signed a $69.9 million contract for 2,000 missiles, the first of which was delivered in 1972. Although early operational results were favorable, military planners predicted that the Maverick would fare less successfully in the hazy conditions of

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, where it would have been used against

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

forces. As such, development of the AGM-65B "Scene Magnified" version began in 1975 before it was delivered during the late 1970s. When production of the AGM-65A/B was ended in 1978, more than 35,000 missiles had been built. More versions of the Maverick appeared, among which was the laser-guided AGM-65C/E. Development of the AGM-65C started in 1978 by Rockwell, who built a number of development missiles for the USAF. Due to high cost, the version was not procured by the USAF, and instead entered service with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

(USMC) as the AGM-65E. Another major development was the AGM-65D, which employed an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker. By imaging on radiated heat, the IIR is all-weather operable as well as showing improved performance in acquiring and tracking the hot engines, such as in tanks and trucks, that were to be one of its major missions. The seekerhead mechanically scanned the scene over a nitrogen-cooled 4-by-4 pixel array using a series of mirrored facets machined into the inner surface of the ring-shaped main gyroscope. The five-year development period of the AGM-65D started in 1977 and ended with the first delivery to the USAF in October 1983. The version received initial operating capability in February 1986. The AGM-65F is a hybrid Maverick combining the AGM-65D's IIR seeker with the warhead and propulsion components of the AGM-65E. Deployed 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 ...

(USN), the AGM-65F is optimized for maritime strike roles. The first AGM-65F launch from the P-3C took place in 1989, and in 1994, the USN awarded

Unisys Unisys Corporation is a global technology solutions company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. The company provides cloud, AI, digital workplace, logistics, and enterprise computing services. History Founding Unis ...

a contract to integrate the version with the P-3C. Meanwhile, Hughes produced the AGM-65G, which essentially has the same guidance system as the D, with some software modifications that track larger targets. In the mid-1990s to early 2000s, there were several ideas for enhancing the Maverick's potential. Among them was the stillborn plan to incorporate the Maverick

millimeter wave Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It is in the microwave part of the radio spectrum, between t ...

active radar homing Active radar homing (ARH) is a missile guidance method in which a missile contains a radar transceiver (in contrast to semi-active radar homing, which uses only a passive radar, receiver) and the electronics necessary for it to find and track it ...

, which can determine the exact shape of a target. Another study called "Longhorn Project" was conducted by Hughes, and later Raytheon following the absorption of Hughes into Raytheon, looked into a Maverick version equipped with

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

engines instead of rocket motors. The "Maverick ER", as it was dubbed, would have a "significant increase in range" compared to the Maverick's current range of . The proposal was abandoned, but if the Maverick ER had entered production, it would have replaced the AGM-119B Penguin carried on the MH-60R. The most modern versions of the Maverick are the AGM-65H/K, which were in production . The AGM-65H was developed by coupling the AGM-65B with a

charge-coupled device A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...

(CCD) seeker optimized for desert operations and which has three times the range of the original TV-sensor; a parallel USN program aimed at rebuilding AGM-65Fs with newer CCD seekers resulted in the AGM-65J. The AGM-65K, meanwhile, was developed by replacing the AGM-65G's IR guidance system with an electro-optical television guidance system.

Design

The Maverick has a

modular design Modular design, or modularity in design, is a design principle that subdivides a system into smaller parts called ''modules'' (such as modular process skids), which can be independently created, modified, replaced, or exchanged with other modules ...

, allowing for different combinations of the guidance package and warhead to be attached to the rocket motor to produce a different weapon. It has long- chord

delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (letter), delta (Δ). Although long studied, the delta wing did not find significant practical applications unti ...

s and a cylindrical body, reminiscent of the

and the AIM-54 Phoenix. Different models of the AGM-65 have used electro-optical, laser, and imaging infrared guidance systems. The AGM-65 has two types of

: one has a contact fuze in the nose, the other has a heavyweight warhead fitted with a delayed-action fuze, which penetrates the target with its

kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the form of energy that it possesses due to its motion. In classical mechanics, the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object of mass ''m'' traveling at a speed ''v'' is \fracmv^2.Resnick, Rober ...

before detonating. The latter is most effective against large, hard targets. The propulsion system for both types is a

solid-fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses Rocket propellant#Solid chemical propellants, solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder. The incepti ...

motor behind the warhead. The Maverick missile is unable to lock onto targets on its own; it has to be given input by the pilot or weapon systems officer after which it follows the path to the target autonomously. In most modern aircraft with MFDs, an

A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic ...

for example, the video feed from the seeker head is relayed to a screen in the cockpit, where the pilot can check the locked target of the missile before launch. A crosshair on the

heads-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD () or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any see-through display, transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of t ...

is shifted by the pilot to set the approximate target, where the missile will then automatically recognize and lock on to the target. Once the missile is launched, it requires no further assistance from the launch vehicle and tracks its target automatically. This

fire-and-forget Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the tar ...

property is not shared by the E version that uses semi-active laser homing. While the Maverick missile's seeker can be used as a way to locate and lock targets, external targeting pods are used more often. The seeker head follows the movements of the targeting pod and attempts to point at the same point on the ground.

G-force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

s throughout flight, however, often cause misalignment in the seeker head, requiring pilots to boresight the missile seeker to the targeting pod prior to locking up a target. To boresight, a certain reference point on the ground is locked by the targeting pod, known as the Sensor Point of Interest (SPI). The Maverick missile's seeker head is then adjusted to correct small offsets, so that it points at the same SPI as the targeting pod. This allows for simpler target acquisition and deployment.

Variants

* Maverick A is the basic model and uses an electro-optical television guidance system. No longer in U.S. service. * Maverick B is similar to the A model, although the B model added optical zooming to lock onto small or distant targets. * Maverick C was to be a laser-guided variant for the

(USMC). It was canceled before production, however its requirement was later met by the Maverick E. * Maverick D replaced the electro-optical guidance with an imaging infrared system which doubled the practical firing distance and allowed for its use at night and during bad weather. A reduced smoke rocket engine was also introduced in this model. It achieved its initial operation capability in 1986. * Maverick E uses a laser designator guidance system optimized for fortified installations using a delayed fuse combined with a heavier penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead ( vs. in older models) that perforates a target with its kinetic energy before detonation. It achieved initial operating capability in 1985 and was used mainly by USMC aviation. * Maverick F, designed specially for

, it uses a modified Maverick D infrared guidance system optimized for tracking ships fitted onto a Maverick-E body and warhead. * Maverick G model essentially has the same guidance system as the D with some software modification that enables the pilot to track larger targets. The G model's major difference is its heavier penetrator warhead taken from the Maverick E, compared to the D model's shaped-charge warhead. It completed tests in 1988. * Maverick H model is an AGM-65B/D missile upgraded with a new

(CCD) seeker better suited for the desert environment. * Maverick J model is a Navy AGM-65F missile upgraded with the new CCD seeker. However, this conversion is not confirmed. * Maverick K model is an AGM-65G upgraded with the CCD seeker; at least 1,200, but possibly up to 2,500 AGM-65G rounds are planned for conversion to AGM-65K standard. * Maverick E2/L model incorporates a laser-guided seeker that allows for designation by the launch aircraft, another aircraft, or a ground source and can engage small, fast moving, and maneuvering targets on land and at sea.

Deployment

The Maverick was declared operational on 30 August 1972 with the F-4D/Es and A-7s initially cleared for the type; the missile made its combat debut four months later with the USAF in Operation Linebacker II, the last major USAF operation of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. During the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

in October 1973, the Israelis used Mavericks to destroy and disable enemy vehicles. Deployment of early versions of the Mavericks in these two wars were successful due to the favorable atmospheric conditions that suited the electro-optical TV seeker. Ninety-nine missiles were fired during the two wars, eighty-four of which were successful.. The Maverick was used for trials with the BGM-34A

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

in 1972–1973. Targeting could be carried out with a TV camera in the nose of the UAV or using the seeker of an AGM-45 Shrike anti-radar missile also carried by the UAV to locate the target for the Maverick's camera to lock on to. In June 1975, during a border confrontation, a formation of Iranian F-4E Phantoms destroyed a group of Iraqi tanks by firing 12 Mavericks at them. Five years later, during Operation Morvarid as part of the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, Iranian F-4s used Mavericks to sink three Osa II missile boats and four P-6 combat ships. Due to weapons embargoes, Iran had to equip its

AH-1J SeaCobra The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J Se ...

helicopters with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and used them with some success in various operations such as Operation Fath ol-Mobin wherein Iranian AH-1Js fired 11 Mavericks. In August 1990, Iraq invaded

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. In early 1991, the US-led

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

executed Operation Desert Storm during which Mavericks played a crucial role in the ousting of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Employed by F-15E Strike Eagles, F/A-18 Hornets,

AV-8B Harrier The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine Attack aircraft, ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier jump jet, Harrier family, capable of V/STOL, vertical or short takeoff and l ...

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

s and A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, but used mainly by the last two, more than 5,000 Mavericks were used to attack armored targets. The most-used variant by the USAF was the IIR-guided AGM-65D. The reported hit rate by USAF Mavericks was 80–90%, while for the USMC it was 60%. In October 1991, during the early days of the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

, a Yugoslav MiG-29 fired a Maverick at the Banski dvori, the seat of the Croatian government in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. The Maverick was used again in Iraq during the 2003

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, during which 918 were fired. The first time the Maverick was fired from a

Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the Lockheed ...

at a hostile vessel was when the USN and coalition units came to the aid of Libyan rebels to engage the Libyan Coast Guard vessel ''Vittoria'' in the port of Misrata, Libya, during the late evening of 28 March 2011. ''Vittoria'' was engaged and fired upon by a USN P-3C Maritime Patrol aircraft with AGM-65 Maverick missiles.

Launch platforms

Iranian F-4E Phantom II armed with AGM-65 Maverick

United States

LAU-117 Maverick launchers have been used on US Army, USN, USAF, and USMC aircraft (some platforms may load LAU-88 triple-rail launchers when configured and authorized): * Bell AH-1W SuperCobra * Boeing AH-64D/E Apache * Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet * McDonnell Douglas A-4M Skyhawk II * Grumman A-6E SWIP Intruder * Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II * General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark * General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon * Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite * Lockheed P-3C Orion * LTV A-7E Corsair II * McDonnell Douglas AV-8B+ Harrier II * McDonnell Douglas F-4G Phantom II *

McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather Multirole combat aircraft, multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Intended for the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) program (initially cal ...

* McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C+ Hornet

Export

The Maverick has been exported to at least 35 countries: *

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

: F/A-18 * Belgian Air Component:

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

: CF-18 *

Chilean Air Force The Chilean Air Force () is the air force of Chile and branch of the Chilean military. History The first step towards the current FACh is taken by Lieutenant Colonel, Teniente Coronel training as a pilot in France. Although a local academy was c ...

: F-16 AM/BM MLU, F-16 C/D Block 50+ * Czech Air Force: L-159 *

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

(AGM-65G) * Egyptian Air Force: F-4 and

(AGM-65A/B/E) *

Hellenic Air Force The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...

: F-4 and F-16 Blocks 30, 50, and 52+ * Hungarian Air Force: JAS 39 *

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force (, sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF) is the Air force, aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The Indonesian Air Force is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed by the Chief of Staff of th ...

: F-16AM/BM Block 20 eMLU, F-16C/D Block 52ID, Hawk 209, T-50I (AGM-65B/D/G/K) * Iraqi Air Force: F-16C/D Block 52 (AGM-65D/G/H/K) *

Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF; ) is the air force, aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The present air force was created when the Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed in 1979 following the Iranian Revoluti ...

: F-4E and SH-3D; Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation: AH-1J * Israeli Air Force: F-4E and

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

: AV-8B * JSDF: P-1 F-2 *

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, ''Silāḥ al-Jaww al-Malakī al-ʾUrdunī'') is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. Founded in 1955, the RJAF serves as the primary ...

: F-16 MLU and F-5E/F * Kuwait Air Force * Royal Malaysian Air Force: F/A-18D, and Hawk 208 *

Royal Moroccan Air Force The Royal Moroccan Air Force (; ; ) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces. History The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the Sherifian Royal Aviation (). Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Bass ...

: F-5E/F (AGM-65B), F-16 Block 52+ (AGM-65D/G/H) * Royal Netherlands Air Force:

(AGM-65D, AGM-65G) * Royal Air Force of Oman:

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

: SH-2G * Philippine Air Force: FA-50PH (AGM-65G2) *

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

: F-16 Block 50/52+ *

Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...

, A-7P. Capable of being launched by the Portuguese P-3C Cup+. * Romanian Air Force: F-16A/B Block 15 MLU *

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF; ) is the military aviation, aviation branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force currently has wings, squadrons, and a special forces unit dedicated to comba ...

F-5E The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15S * Serbian Air Force and Air Defence: Soko J-22 Orao, J-22 and Soko G-4 Super Galeb, G-4 * Republic of Singapore Air Force: ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk, A-4SU, Northrop F-5, F-5S, F-16C/D Block 52, McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15SG and Hawker Hunter, Hunter * Republic of Korea Air Force: KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, FA-50, TA-50,

, McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15K, F-4 * Spanish Air Force: F/A-18; and Spanish Navy: AV-8B * Swiss Air Force: Northrop F-5, F-5F and Hawker Hunter, Hunter * Republic of China Air Force (Taiwan):

, AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo (AGM-65B), and F-5E/F (AGM-65B) * Royal Thai Air Force: General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-16A/B Block 15 OCU/ADF and JAS 39 * Turkish Air Force: F-4 and

* Tunisian Air Force: F-5

Former users

* German Air Force: McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, F-4F after being upgraded in the early 1980s under Project Peace Rhine, retired in 2013. * Royal New Zealand Navy: Kaman SH-2 Seasprite, SH-2G; and Royal New Zealand Air Force: Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, A-4K (after being upgraded in the late 1980s under Project Kahu, retired 2001). * Swedish Air Force: Designated RB 75; used on the Saab 37 Viggen, AJ37 Viggen and Saab JAS 39 Gripen. * Royal Air Force: British Aerospace Harrier II, Harrier GR7

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

Video clip of a T50 trainer firing a Maverick

Video clip detailing the Maverick's operation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agm-65 Maverick Cold War air-to-surface missiles of the United States Air-to-surface missiles of the United States, AGM-065 Raytheon Company products Anti-tank guided missiles of the United States Anti-tank guided missiles of the Cold War Military equipment introduced in the 1970s Fire-and-forget weapons