AGM-137 TSSAM
Encyclopedia
Overview
The United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
began developing the Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile (TSSAM) in 1986; the intent was to produce a family of stealthy
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
missiles for the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
which would be capable of long range, autonomous guidance, automatic target recognition
Automatic Target Recognition
Automatic target recognition , is the ability for an algorithm or device to recognize targets or objects based on data obtained from sensors....
, and sufficient accuracy and warhead power to be capable of destroying well-protected structures either on land or at sea.
All versions of the missile would use inertial navigation aided by GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
. The Navy and one Air Force version were to use an imaging infrared terminal sensor to recognise the target and terminal homing, and would be fitted with a unitary warhead. A second version Army missile would launched by two booster rockets and carry the Combined Effects Bomblet (CEB)
BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomb
The BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomb is the submunition used in several cluster bomb type weapon systems. When the bomblets fall, they separate from the main bomb and independently free fall to the ground. They contain an inflatable bag on the top of them, which slows them down and spreads them out....
submunition against land targets.
It was planned to carry the missile on the B-52H
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
, F-16C/D
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
, B-1
B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...
, B-2
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
, and F/A-18C/D
F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
and Army version by MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) vehicle.
The project suffered from budgetary problems, some related to the distribution of the budget between the three services. This resulted in funding shortfalls and delays. The missiles also suffered from technical development issues, pushing the unit cost from the original 1986 figure of $728,000 per missile to $2,062,000 in 1994. The project was cancelled as a result.
Although cancelled, technology developed for the TSSAM was used in the JASSM
AGM-158 JASSM
The AGM-158 JASSM is a low observable standoff cruise missile developed in the United States. It is a large, semi-stealthy long-range weapon of the class. The missile's development began in 1995, but a number of problems during testing delayed its introduction into service until 2009...
program.
Specifications
Specifications are approximate- Length : 4.26 m (14 ft)
- Weight : 905 kg (2000 lb)
- Warhead : 450 kg (1,000 lb)
- Range : 185 km+ (115 miles+)
- Guidance : Inertial/GPS, IIR terminal
- Propulsion : Turbofan