Raytheon Gets $170M Order for UAE AGM-65 Maverick Missiles

AGM-65D Fired From F-16(click to view full) Raytheon received a $170 million foreign military sales contract from the USAF to produce AGM-65D and AGM-65G2 infrared-guided Maverick air-to-surface missiles for the UAE. AGM-65 rose to prominence during Desert Storm, when many of TV’s missile-eye views of air strikes came from Mavericks. The missile is produced in 3 versions: TV-guided, imaging infrared (IIR) guided, and laser-guided. This contract is for infrared-guided missiles, which are effective at night or in bad weather. They can be fired from the UAE’s fleet of F-16 fighter jets, as well as 24 other types of aircraft… The infrared seeker [PDF] on the AGM-65D and G missiles presents a TV-like image on the cockpit display as it senses small differences in heat energy between target objects and the surrounding background. The image is also used for tracking objects; tracking software enables the missile to distinguish between decoys and legitimate targets. This makes countermeasures to defeat the missile much more difficult to develop. The AGM-65D uses a 125-pound warhead with a forward-firing conical-shaped charge for armor penetration. The AGM-65G employs a 300-pound blast fragmentation/penetrator warhead that was developed for larger, reinforced targets; selectable fuzing gives the aircrew the option […]