US AGM-65 ''Maverick'' Missile

By Crusader1307

In-service with The US Military by 1972, The AGM-65 ''Maverick'' is a ''close support'' air to ground missile, designed for deployment on a wide variety of aircraft. Over 70,000 Production versions have been made with ''Maverick;; being one of the most deployed Missile Systems currently. Over 30 Countries deploy some variant of The AGM-65. Raytheon Missiles developed The AGM-65 for use in Vietnam (1972). It was an effective weapon against Enemy Armor and various reinforced vehicles being used to infiltrate into South Vietnam via the infamous ''Ho Chi Minh'' Trail. It was designed to be deployed with most high impact Fighters such as The F-4 ''Phantom'', A-7 ''Corsair'' and others. Continuing in US Inventory throughout the remainder of The Cold War and into other of America's Conflicts. ''Maverick'' Missiles were an instrumental ground attack component during Operation: Desert Storm (The 1[sup]st[/sup] Gulf War., 1990-1991) and later in the 2013 Iraq War. There are (11) variants to The AGM-65 System. The Missile is 8-feet long and weighs between 400 and 600-pounds. They ave a 12-inch diameter are are powered by a single Thiokol SR-109 Aerojet Engine using solid propellant. Stabilizer wings measure 2.5-feet. The AGM-65 has a 12-mile Mission Range. The ''Maverick'' can achieve over 1,200-mph and is normally guided by advanced eletro-optical imaging systems. Laser guidance enhances this system additionally.