The AGM-65 Maverick

60 years ago, in 1966, development was underway on a new, precision-guided missile, the AGM-65. Cutting-edge for its time, it would, after entering service in 1972, become the most produced precision-guided missile in the West. Now, decades after its combat debut in Vietnam, the Maverick remains a go-to asset for many air forces across the world.

HISTORY
Long before the Maverick, the US Air Force had received what was – at the time – considered a groundbreaking new missile. Designated the AGM-12 Bullpup, it arrived in 1959. Guided by radio via a small joystick, it was impressive yet finicky. Using the joystick, the pilot would fly straight at the target, fire the Bullpup, and – watching the bright flares illuminating it – try to fly it onto target.
While it was a cool concept, in a combat zone its limitations were glaringly obvious. The 250-pound warhead was limited, and because only one could be guided at a time, pilots occasionally had to risk a second pass on target. Most importantly, the time it took to guide it to target exposed the pilot to unnecessary danger.
While often relegated to a footnote, the failure of the Bullpup would prove quite important. By the late 60s, ordnance expenditure in Vietnam was massive— in fact, it was unparalleled. Yet due to both the topography and the dynamic nature of the insurgency, pinning down specific targets remained difficult.
The US Air Force and Navy had long been interested in more precise guidance systems for air-to-ground weapons. Motivated by the rapidly developing situation in Vietnam, investments were made in several avenues.
The first and most promising were laser guidance kits for standard iron bombs. These could be guided onto a target by a wingman, a FAC, or someone on the ground, with minimal aircraft modifications and using existing ordnance.
The other area of interest was electro-optical guidance—a system that could allow a pilot to locate a target via a TV image and then hand off guidance to the missile’s onboard computer. The method of choice was contrast acquisition—something quite achievable with analogue technology. Using a basic TV signal, a point of contrast could be locked, and the weapon released. Travelling towards the target at a specific speed, guidance to the target would occur if the image remained within a specific threshold.
Of course, there were limitations; if the scenery changed too much, lock would be lost. Yet, against most targets, it would work, and with great accuracy.
Two such systems were quickly developed and commissioned. The first was the Walleye 1, an 800-pound Navy-spec bomb, introduced in 1967. The second was the GBU-8, a similar but larger 2000-pound system designed for the Air Force.
While these proved somewhat accurate, they still required a direct overhead release and had a narrow release envelope. However, if such a seeker were put onto a missile, a whole new range of possibilities would be unlocked.

DEVELOPMENT
In 1965, the Air Force decided to fund a ground-up replacement for the Bullpup, and by 1966, with $3 million each allocated, Hughes and Rockwell both presented concepts for such a weapon, a fire-and-forget missile using electro-optical guidance. It was not the first attempt at such a system; while it differed in some ways, the AGM-64 Hornet had been test-fired two years earlier by North American, validating the general idea.
In 1968, Hughes would be selected to develop their idea – designated the ZAGM-65A – and would be allotted a $95 million contract to develop and test the missile, with the goal of eventually producing 17000 units.
Over the following year, the new missile took shape. Now designated XAGM-65A, it would be a modular design, just under 2.5 metres in length, with a sleek shape reminiscent of air-to-air missiles like the Phoenix.
The initial variant would carry a small 126-pound warhead, intended for impact detonation, and be guided to target using a nose-mounted camera that fed a cockpit display.
By September 19th 1969, the first unguided launch had been completed, fired from an F-4 Phantom. Shortly after, on December 18th, the first guided launch was conducted in New Mexico; it was a success, hitting an M41 tank in the desert.
Testing proved highly accurate, with a circular error of probability of just 1.5 metres. In 1971, a $69 million contract was signed, and production of the new AGM-65A Maverick began.

Maverick Variants

Maverick A
In August 1972, the Air Force would receive its first batch of Mavericks, the AGM-65A. The final product retained the contrast seeker method, with acquisition done by the pilot via an analogue TV display, using a cross mark to line up the target. Carried on an LAU-88 rack, upon launch, a Thiokol SR109 solid-fuel rocket motor would propel it to transonic speed. Upon reaching the target, an impact fuse would detonate its 125-pound shaped-charge warhead, designated the WDU-20/B.
In theory, the Maverick was a total game-changer if it could be employed properly. The reason was that it offered a unique method of acquiring, locking, and releasing a weapon. The visualised seeker let the pilot directly locate his target, while the lock itself was visualised, allowing him to confirm that the right object was being targeted. Most importantly, it could be fired at a distance and immediately forgotten upon launch— all of this done by a single pilot.
The arrival of the Maverick came at the right time. Just a few years earlier, in 1968, the first so-called ‘Smart D’ F-4s had arrived. These airframes were F-4Ds retrofitted with new digital tech, including digitally aided TV monitors. Before this, the Phantom didn’t have the familiar dual-function display but instead used an older electron-gun projector with physical etchings on the glass. The Smart D Phantoms kept this old system – called the Direct View Storage Tube – but integrated a TV in the back seat. By 1972, new F-4E models had arrived, completely stripping the old tubes and replacing them with the so-called DSCG, the dual-use display. This allowed the pilot or WSOWSO (Weapon Systems Officer) – A trained aircrew member in multi-seat military aircraft responsible for operating offensive and defensive systems, man... More to immediately switch between the radar scope and a TV image.
Although it may seem like minor details, these upgrades significantly enhanced precision at the time, just in time for the arrival of the Maverick.
In late 1972, the Maverick arrived in Vietnam in small numbers and, before long, was used in a limited capacity. Statistics vary, but between late 1972 and when fighting ceased in January 1973, around 30 units seem to have been expended.
Directly after this, possibly up to 200 were sent to the Middle East and used by Israeli Phantom pilots in the Yom Kippur War. Once again, statistics vary, but it is believed that around 100 were fired, achieving a surprisingly high hit rate.

Maverick B
The Mavericks’ deployment in Vietnam and the Middle East was limited, but the experience proved enlightening despite the sparse data. Under favourable conditions, it performed well, achieving a hit rate of 80% to 90%.
For a new piece of precision tech in its first iteration, this off-the-shelf performance was outstanding. This came down to the fact that the Maverick’s core seeker method had already been validated in combat with the Walleye and GBU-8, and that the aforementioned overhauls to aircraft like the Phantom happened to coincide with its introduction.
Yet despite all this, it still had several notable drawbacks. Firstly, smoke, cloud, haze, moisture and low light degraded the TV image. Secondly, the 65A had only one focal length, which made locking on difficult unless the pilot pushed closer to a target, potentially exposing the pilot to harm.
To overcome this, in 1975 the 65B was developed, adding arguably the most critical upgrade the missile would receive: magnification, or narrow mode. Beyond this, it retained similar internals, the same fuse, warhead, and most other components.

Maverick D
Then, in 1977, the first in a new line of Maverick types would be ordered into development. To overcome the acquisition issues in the A and B, the Air Force had requested an overhauled locking system. The response was the AGM-65D. Instead of TV, it would use an imaging infrared seeker. With this new system, the acquisition range was almost doubled, and use in poor weather and at night became possible. Finally, a reduced smoke motor was added – the SR114 – something which would be kept in all future Maverick variants.

Maverick E
By this point, the Maverick was gaining popularity. Early on, the US Marines had requested their own version – the 65C – but it never eventuated. However, with the success of the new 65D design, a second USMC request was made.
The answer would be the AGM-65E, the first of a new, third type of Maverick. The Marines wanted laser-guided missiles for use against strong, hardened targets. To achieve this, the 65E would feature a much larger 300-pound blast-fragmentation warhead, the WDU-24/B. It would use a delayed-impact fuse and, most importantly, a WGU-9/B laser guidance system.
It was quite different from the conventional Maverick, but it did exactly what the Marines wanted. Arriving in 1985, it would be carried on the heavier-duty LAU-117 rail system and put to use soon after in Desert Storm, where the Marines reported a hit rate of over 60%.

Maverick F
The new E design was so good that soon after, both the Air Force and the Navy requested their own versions. Modding the Maverick to hit hardened targets had proven to be a great idea.
The 65F would be the second in the infrared line, designed for the Navy to hit hardened land and sea targets. It would combine the heavy 300-pound warhead and delay fuse from the 65E with the infrared 65Ds, adding a carrier-spec arm-disarm system for safety and a slightly modified tracking system to help it locate objects on the ocean surface.

Maverick G
The Air Force variant would be the 65G, the third infrared derivative. Again, it would borrow existing tech, taking the heat warhead and delayed fuse from the E and F and integrating them with a newer, revised infrared tracking system.

DESERT STORM
In 1991, the Maverick would be used like never before. During Desert Storm, over 5000 would be launched by F-16s, Warthogs, and Marine Harriers. Several thousand would be launched by the Warthog alone—making it one of its most-used weapons in the conflict.
At night and in good conditions, it proved decisive in knocking out armour or fixed positions, with great success rates. As mentioned earlier, the Marine variant reportedly hit over 60% of the time, while the Air Force models were even higher, at 80%-90%.
It was the ultimate demonstration of the weapon across multiple variants, yet it also proved decisive in revealing shortcomings.

Maverick H
The hot, sparse Middle Eastern landscape was perfect for the old TV Mavericks; targets were exceptionally easy to spot and lock on to. The same was true for the 65E. The obvious exception was the infrared variants, which excelled at night but performed poorly during the day.
The US Air Force decided on a return to form for the Maverick, opting for standard optical imaging with the classic impact-fused warhead. The answer was the AGM-65H. Stripping the old analogue TV, it would use a new CCD sensor, which – while mainly limited to daytime use – dramatically improved fidelity and resolving power, thereby increasing its effective acquisition range.
It would use the old shaped-charge 125-pound warhead with the impact fuse, but with the other modernisations found in the newer models.

Maverick K
The two final major derivatives would arrive later. The first was the 65K, a 65G upgraded to field a new CCD sensor.
The other was the 65L, technically a modification program for existing frames. These took the laser guidance internals from the 65E and integrated a new, refined tracking system specifically for hunting fast-moving objects.

CONCLUSION
Beyond the major variants, many other proposals had been put forward, such as one specialised for hunting radar sites and others tuned to pursue other wavelengths. However, the 65L would mark the last major derivative. In 1999, Raytheon – who by that point were manufacturing them – essentially ended mass production, with only a few limited runs since. In the years that followed, the Maverick proved a great success once again in the Middle East.
Overall, the platform was an overwhelming success. While the inventory is classified, over 75000 have reportedly been produced, making it the most-produced precision-guided missile the US has ever built. It’s been exported to over 35 air forces worldwide, including the RAAF.
The Maverick remains a unique weapon. Today, it’s associated with a very specific combat environment, one in which the airspace is relatively secure and anti-air threats are largely suppressed. Yet, with good mission data, it can be used in essentially any threat environment. In fact, this is exactly what the US intended if war broke out in Europe; it would be used on the frontline against tanks and convoys, and even on SEADSEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses): A military operation designed to neutralize, destroy, or temporarily degrade enemy air defense systems to al... More missions.
Today, the Maverick is a crucial asset. Its continuous success on the battlefield validated the leap to more advanced precision-guided weapons. What made it great is that it was—and still is—versatile, cheap, easy to operate, and reliably accurate almost all of the time. What its designers did back in the 60s proved successful because it played within its limits, taking tech that was both new and already proving to work, and adapting it in a short timeframe— and as such, few other modern weapons can boast such a good track record since day one.