Brengun L32040 AGM-45 Shrike

The AGM-45 Shrike was an American class air-to-ground missile from the Cold War period. Its first prototypes appeared in the mid-1950s, and the missile was used by the US armed forces in 1963-1992. The AGM-45 was a solid-fuel missile with a range of up to 40 kilometers, capable of carrying a warhead weighing 68 kg, and its total mass was 177 kg.

The AGM-45 Shrike was the first American missile designed from the ground up to destroy enemy radar stations. The company Texas Instruments (now part of the Raytheon concern) was responsible for its development. In fact, the AGM-45 is a far-reaching modernization of the AIM-7 Sparrow missile, which primarily concerned the missile guidance system and the installation of a new warhead. Two basic versions of this missile were created: AGM-45A and AGM-45B, which differed mainly in the rocket engine used. Its effective use required the pilot to find himself in the enemy's radar beam and launch the AGM-45 missile at the right angle. Missiles of this type were used, among others, by the F-4 Phantom or the F-105 F / G Thunderchief. They were used on a large scale in the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975), where, however, they proved to be effective at the level of only 25%, which led to their supplementation first with AGM-78 missiles, and later with much more perfect AGM-88 HARM missiles. Israel was the only official foreign user of the AGM-45 missiles.