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Operational and Foreign service, refs.
The '''AGM-65 Maverick''' is a [[United States]] air-to-ground missile which is used by all branches of the military except the Army. It utilises [[infrared]] television guidance.
The '''AGM-65 Maverick''' is a [[United States]] air-to-ground missile which is used by all branches of the military except the Army. It utilises [[infrared]] television guidance. It replaced the [[AGM-12 Bullpup]] in service.
==Development==
==Development==
==Service==
==Service==
The AGM-65A went into service in 1972. It outfitted the [[F-4 Phantom]], the [[A-7 Corsair II]], and the [[A-10 Thunderbolt]]. The AGM-65B was equipped with advanced optics and could be targeted from farther away; it replaced the AGM-65A in 1978. The current version, the AGM-65F, is still used today.
The AGM-65A went into service in 1972. It is carried by a wide variety of aircraft, including the [[A-4 Skyhawk]], the [[A-7 Corsair II]], the [[A-10 Thunderbolt]], the [[F-4 Phantom]], the [[F-15E Strike Eagle]], the [[F-16]] Fighting Falcon, the [[F/A-18 Hornet]], the [[F-117 Nighthawk]], the P-3 Orion, the AH-1 Cobra, the [[Panavia Tornado]], and others.<ref name=”FirstRef”>[http://www.harpoondatabases.com/Encyclopedia/Entry1032.aspx AGM-65 Maverick]</ref> The AGM-65B was equipped with advanced optics and could be targeted from farther away; it replaced the AGM-65A in 1978. The current version, the AGM-65F, is still used today.
The Maverick first saw combat soon after its introduction, in the last months of the [[Vietnam War]], and proved to be an effective weapon. Its most extensive use in American service was in the [[Gulf War]], where over 5000 rounds were fired, at a wide variety of targets. Many of them were the then-new G-model, with a heavier warhead. In a friendly fire incident during the [[Battle of Khafji]], one Maverick “went stupid” after launch and plunged straight down right on to an American APC, killing seven Marines.<ref>''Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War'', by William L. Smallwood, Potomac Books, 1993</ref> It has since been used in the [[Kosovo War]], [[Operation Enduring Freedom]], and [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]].
==Foreign Service==
Pre-Revolution [[Iran]] had acquired Maverick missiles from the United States, and they saw extensive use during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]. Four days after the war began, Iranian F-4 Phantoms used Mavericks to destroy a bridge and a merchant vessel near [[Basra]]. Only two missiles were needed for each target.<ref>''Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat'', by Farzad Bishop and Tom Cooper, Osprey Publishing, 2003</ref> A few months later, on Nov. 29, 1980, Phantom-launched Mavericks scored big time in a naval battle with the Iraqis, sinking eleven warships, including three Osa class missile boats and a [[minesweeper]].<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_209.shtml Tanker War, 1980-1988]</ref> AGM-65s also proved devastating to Iraqi armor, and were later operated in anti-shipping strikes on tankers in the [[Persian Gulf]].
The Maverick has been supplied to [[Israel]] as well, and AGM-65s were used in the [[Yom Kippur War]], in Lebanon in 1982 in precision strikes on [[Syria]]n [[Surface-to-air missile|SAM]] sites, and again in Lebanon in 2006 against [[Hezbollah]] targets.
==Popular Media==
Mavericks are commonly seen in military adventure novels and techno-thrillers. In the book ''Force of Eagles'', by Richard Herman Jr., the main character, an [[F-15 Eagle|F-15]] pilot, uses a Maverick to score an air-air kill over an attacking MiG<ref>Which is technically feasible as long as the enemy plane doesn’t maneuver too much. Complete surprise is recommended.</ref>
==References==
<references/>
[[Category: Missiles]]
[[Category: Missiles]]