Shrike Missile
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AGM-45 Shrike is an American
anti-radiation missile An anti-radiation missile (ARM) is a missile designed to detect and home in on an enemy radio emission source. Typically, these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communications can also be ta ...
designed to home in on hostile anti-aircraft
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
. The Shrike was developed by the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by mating a seeker head to the rocket body of an
AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and various other air forces and navies. Sp ...
. It was phased out by U.S. in 1992 and at an unknown time by the
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
(the only other major user), and has been superseded by the
AGM-88 HARM The AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) is a tactical, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems. It was originally developed by Texas Instruments ...
missile. The
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
developed a version of the Shrike that could be ground-launched with a booster rocket, and mounted it on an
M4 Sherman The M4 Sherman, officially medium tank, M4, was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. I ...
chassis as the Kilshon (Hebrew for ''Trident'').


History

The Shrike was first employed during 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 ...
by the Navy in 1965 using 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 ...
. The Air Force adopted the weapon the following year using F-105F and G Thunderchief Wild Weasel defense suppression aircraft, and later the
F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...
in the same role. The range was nominally shorter than the
SA-2 Guideline The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system. It is built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the ...
missiles that the system was used against, although it was a great improvement over the early method of attacking SAM sites with rockets and bombs from F-100F Super Sabres. A Shrike was typically lofted about 30 degrees above the horizon at a
Fan Song The SNR-75 (also referred to by the NATO reporting name Fan Song) is a series of trailer-mounted E band/ F band and G band fire control and tracking radars for use with the Soviet SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile system. Description The ...
radar some 15 miles (25 km) away for a flight time of 50 seconds. Tactics changed incrementally over the campaigns of 1966 and 1967 until the advent of the AGM-78 Standard ARM. That new weapon allowed launches from significantly longer range with a much easier attack profile, as the Standard could be launched up to 180 degrees off target and still expect a hit and its speed allowed it to travel faster than the SA-2. Even after the Standard missile entered service, the Weasels still carried the Shrike because the Standard cost about $200,000, while a Shrike cost only $7,000. If USAF pilots expended a Standard they would have to fill out a lengthy form during debriefing. A somewhat standard load for the F-105G was a 650 US gal (2,500 L) centerline fuel tank, two Standards on inboard pylons and two Shrikes on the outboard pylons. The mix varied slightly for jamming pods and the occasional
AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants rema ...
but this was the baseline. The Shrike was involved in a
friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...
incident during an airstrike on
Haiphong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two o ...
on 15 April 1972. Two missiles struck killing one crewman and injuring nine more. An American pilot apparently interpreted the PIRAZ cruiser's AN/SPG-55 radar as a North Vietnamese SAM site. ''Worden'' required ten days shipyard work at the
Subic Bay Naval Base Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. The base was , about the size of Singapore. The Navy Exchange ...
to repair. Although the Shrike missile did not enter regular service with the United Kingdom, it was covertly supplied by the United States to the RAF for use in the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
of 1982. RAF Shrikes were fitted to modified Vulcan bombers in order to attack
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
radar installations during
Operation Black Buck Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 7 were seven extremely long-range airstrikes conducted during the 1982 Falklands War by Royal Air Force (RAF) Vulcan bombers of the RAF Waddington Wing, comprising aircraft from 44, 50 and 101 Squad ...
. The main target was a Westinghouse AN/TPS-43 long range 3D radar that the
Argentine Air Force The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...
deployed during April to guard Falklands' airspace. The Argentine operators were aware of the anti-radiation missiles and would simply turn it off during the Vulcan's approaches. This radar remained intact during the whole conflict. However, air defences remained operational during the attacks and the Shrikes hit two of the less valuable and rapidly replaced secondary fire control radars. After one Vulcan made an emergency landing at
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, Brazilian authorities confiscated a Shrike which was not returned. About 95 AGM-45s were used in 1991 during Desert Storm against Iraqi air defense, mostly by F-4Gs.


Variants

There are many subvariants, each tuned to a different radar band. Angle gating, used to prioritize targets, was included in every subvariant of the AGM-45A and B after the A-2 and B-2. It was also slow and the lack of punch in the warhead made it difficult for bomb damage assessment, as well as inflicting any damage to the Fan Song Radar vans beyond a shattered radar dish, an easy item to replace or repair. The short range, combined with its lack of speed (compared to the SA-2 SAM) made for a difficult attack. The missile had to be well within the range of the SAM radar and if a SAM was fired the SAM would get to the aircraft first. Also the missile had few tolerances and had to be launched no more than + or − 3 degrees from the target. Many pilots in Vietnam did not like the Shrike because of its limitations and its success rate of around 25%. The differences between the AGM-45A and B are in the rocket motor used, and in the warheads capable of being fitted. The AGM-45A used the
Rocketdyne Rocketdyne is an American rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, California, Canoga Park, in the western San Fernando Valley of suburban Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, in southern California. Rocketdyne ...
Mk 39 Mod 0 (or apparently in some cases the
Aerojet Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp, ...
Mk 53 Mod 1) motor, while the AGM-45B used Aerojet Mk 78 Mod 0 which greatly increased the range of the missile. As for warheads, the Mk 5 Mod 0, Mk 86 Mod 0, and WAU-8/B could all be fitted to the AGM-45A and were all blast-fragmentation in nature. The AGM-45B made use of the improved Mk 5 Mod 1 and Mk 86 Mod 1 warheads, as well as, the WAU-9/B, again all blast-fragmentation in type. The following table provides information on what radar bands were associated with certain guidance sections, and the subvariant designation. The -5 (targeted at
Fan Song The SNR-75 (also referred to by the NATO reporting name Fan Song) is a series of trailer-mounted E band/ F band and G band fire control and tracking radars for use with the Soviet SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile system. Description The ...
and
M-11 Shtorm The M-11 Shtorm (; ) is a Soviet naval surface-to-air missile system. Its GRAU designation is 4K60. Its NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by ...
("Head Lights") and -8 (targeted at P-18 radar "Spoon Rest" and
P-14 radar The P-14 (also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Tall King") is a 2D VHF radar that was developed and operated by the Soviet Union. Development The design of the P-14 2D early warning radar started in 1955 by decree of the CPSU Central Com ...
("Tall King") weapons never left development.


Operators

* * * *


See also

* International Signal and Control


References


External links


The AGM-45 Shrike at Designation Systems.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agm-045 Anti-radiation missiles of the Cold War Anti-radiation missiles of the United States Texas Instruments Air-to-surface missiles of the United States Cold War air-to-surface missiles of the United States Military equipment introduced in the 1960s