US Air Force (USAF) Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers based in the UK have employed the AGM-142 Have Nap air-launched stand-off missile for the first time as part of NATO Operation Allied Force against Yugoslavia.
Developed by Israel's Rafael and co-produced by Lockheed Martin in the USA, the AGM-142 is known as Popeye in Israeli service. Although the 90km (50nm) -range weapon was the first precision guided conventional weapon purchased for the B-52, it has not been used in action because of the availability of longer range AGM-86B conventionally armed air-launched cruise missiles (CALCMs).
USAF sources say the high rate of CALCM use in the air campaign against Yugoslavia has forced the USAF to put its shorter range Have Naps into service. It is understood that only 70 CALCMs remain unfired and a large percentage of them are under deep maintenance after problems on missions from RAF Fairford. On some missions less than a third of the CALCMs actually dropped clear of the B-52s and deployed successfully.
Source: Flight International
