AGM-28 Hound Dog

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	Weapon: AGM-28 Hound Dog Type: Rocket Artillery Country of Origin: United States Year Adopted: 1960 Overall Length (mm): 1295.0 Overall Length (in): 50.98 Weight (kg): 4603.00 Weight (pounds): 10147.88

The AGM-28 "Hound Dog" was a North American Aviation-built, supersonic, nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missile designed to let B-52s strike heavily defended targets from standoff range. Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney J52-P-3 turbojet and guided by an astro-inertial system, the missile cruised at about Mach 2 at high altitude and could reach roughly 600-700 miles (≈1,000-1,100 km), carrying a W28 thermonuclear warhead with selectable yields. Two Hound Dogs were typically carried on under-wing pylons, and in a famous SAC procedure their engines could even be run during takeoff to help heavily-laden bombers get airborne.

Development moved quickly from a 1958 production contract to first deliveries in December 1959 and initial operational capability in 1960; the missile was redesignated from GAM-77 to AGM-28 in 1963. In total, about 722 Hound Dogs were produced between 1959 and 1963, with fleet inventories peaking around 593 missiles in 1963 across B-52 wings. Intended originally as a stopgap until Skybolt, Hound Dog remained in service for roughly 15 years, eventually giving way to SRAM and later ALCM.

Operationally the Hound Dog never saw combat use-its role was nuclear standoff attack and air-defense suppression in a general war-but it stood continuous alert throughout the tense years of the early 1960s and beyond. The type became notable for its speed, reach, and distinctive employment concepts (including takeoff-thrust assist and mid-air refueling of the missiles from the carrier aircraft's tanks), before being withdrawn from alert by June 30, 1975 and retired shortly thereafter. Today it's remembered as a pivotal Cold-War standoff weapon that bridged the gap between early cruise-missile experiments and the more precise, survivable systems that followed.