HUGHES HAS DETAILED study plans to increase the range of its AGM-65 Maverick missile by up to 30%, or about 13km (7nm), using a combination of enhanced rocket motors and wings. Hughes has asked rocket-motor makers Alliant, ARC and Thiokol to evaluate potential improvements, ranging from higher-energy propellants to "stretched motors", according to Hughes Missiles Systems Maverick programme manager Glenn Kuller.
The additional power would boost the missile to a higher initial altitude before wings would be deployed to help increase the range even further.
Three main wing options are under study, says Kuller, including a "ring wing" and the Diamond Back conÌguration similar to that being studied by GEC-Marconi. A third option is the "switch-blade" wing developed by Leigh Industries. This has been tested by Thailand as a strap-on addition to the Mk82 bomb.
"There are several countries which would like to know more about the long-range Maverick," says Kuller.
The drive to increase the missile's kinematic capability is also driven in part by the better lock-on capability afforded by the improved television seeker developed for the AGM-65H.
This passed US Air Force operational testing in March, clearing the way for the upgrade of an initial 1,400 AGM-65Bs . The USAF has a total requirement for 5,000 "H" models, while Hughes predicts international sales potential for at least 4,000 "H" versions.
No firm timescale exists for the long-range Maverick, which would theoretically be designated the AGM-65K.
Source: Flight International