ADM - 20 Quail The McDonnell ADM - 20 Quail was a subsonic , jet powered , air - launched decoy cruise missile built by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation . The Quail was designed to be launched by the Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress strategic bomber and its original United States Air Force designation was GAM - 72 ( GAM standing for Guided Aircraft Missile ) . Development . In 1955 the USAF started a major effort to construct decoy missile s . The goal of this effort was to improve the ability of strategic bomber s to penetrate air - defense systems . The projects initiated under this effort included the MX - 2223 which produced the XSM - 73 Goose a long range ground - launched jet - powered , decoy cruise missile , MX - 2224 which produced the XGAM - 71 Buck Duck an air - launched rocket powered decoy missile to equip the Convair B - 36 . The USAF was at the same time developing the XQ - 4 as a supersonic target drone to support the Bomarc Missile Program . A requirement was established by the USAF Power Plant Laboratory at Wright - Patterson Air Force Base to support follow - on production of the XQ - 4 . This requirement called for a small jet engine in the 2 , 000 lbf ( 8 . 9 kN ) thrust class with a high thrust - to - weight ratio of ( 10 : 1 ) . On November 28 , 1954 General Electric was awarded a USAF development contract to construct the XJ - 85 - GE - 1 . The USAF designated the XJ85 project MX - 2273 . During April 1955 , the USAF began a program to develop a short range air - launched decoy missile to simulate the radar cross section of a bomber . On January 18 , 1956 , the USAF released General Operational Requirement ( GOR ) 139 . Design . McDonnell Aircraft Corporation submitted a design which included a cropped - delta - wing decoy constructed largely of fiberglass and carried internally within a B - 52 . The following month on February 1 , 1956 , the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was awarded a contract to develop Weapon System 122A which included the GAM - 72 " Green Quail " missile . In June 1956 General Electric was selected as the engine contractor for the GAM - 72 . Guidance components were built by Summers Gyroscope and the countermeasures equipment by Ramo - Wooldridge Corporation . The GAM - 72 was designed with a high - mounted delta wing and no horizontal stabilizer . A slab - sided fuselage and two sets of vertical stabilizers contributed to the GAM - 72s ability to simulate the radar cross section of a bomber . Initially the GAM - 72 was powered by a YJ85 - GE - 3 . This jet engine produced 2 , 450 lbf ( 10 . 9 kN ) of thrust with a thrust - to - weight ratio goal of ( 6 : 1 ) . The GAM - 72s guidance system could be pre - programmed on the ground to execute two turns and one speed change during a flight time of 45 to 55 minutes . Flight duration depended on altitude . The GAM - 72 was designed to operate at altitudes between 35 , 000 ft ( 10 , 668 m ) to 50 , 000 ft ( 15 , 240 m ) at speeds between Mach 0 . 75 to Mach 0 . 9 . Range varied between 357 nm and 445 nm ( 661 to 716 km ) , also depending on altitude . Two GAM - 72s with folded wings and stabilizers were packaged together for mounting in the bomber weapons bay . Before launch the bomber ' s radar navigator lowered the GAM - 72 using a retractable arm from the airplane ' s weapons bay into the slipstream below the aircraft . The wings and stabilizers of the GAM - 72 were unfolded , the jet engine was started , and the missile was launched . Flight testing of the XGAM - 72 began in July 1957 at Holloman Air Force Base and the adjacent White Sands Missile Range . Initially testing involved the XGAM - 72 being captively carried by a B - 52 . The first glide flight of the XGAM - 72 occurred in November 1957 . Three test launch es were completed in 1957 . The first successful powered flight of the XGAM - 72 occurred in August 1958 . This flight lasted 14 minutes and covered 103 nautical miles ( 191 km ) . A total of ten test flights occurred in 1958 , seventeen flights in 1959 , with the final four flights being completed in 1960 . Operational testing then moved to Eglin Air Force Base , Florida , United States where the 4135th Strategic Wing launched a GAM - 72 on June 8 , 1960 . McDonnell Aircraft received a production contract for the GAM - 72A on December 31 , 1958 . Reliability problems encountered during testing resulted in McDonnell replacing the J85 - GE - 3 with the J85 - GE - 7 engine in the production GAM - 72A . The GAM - 72A was also about 200 lb ( 90 kg ) heavier than the GAM - 72 . This increase in weight when combined with a slightly smaller wing area reduced the maximum range of the GAM - 72A to 402 statute miles ( 647 km ) . The first production GAM - 72A flight was in March 1960 . The final GAM - 72A was delivered by McDonnell Aircraft on May 28 , 1962 . A total of 616 GAM - 72A missiles were produced by McDonnell Aircraft . The inventory of GAM - 72As in the USAF peaked at 492 in 1963 . During 1963 all remaining GAM - 72A missiles were modified to the GAM - 72B configuration . A barometric switch for terrain avoidance was added so the GAM - 72B could operate at lower altitudes . In 1963 the GAM - 72 was re - designated the ADM - 20 Operational history . Although originally planned for deployment with the B - 47 and the B - 52 , the GAM - 72A was only deployed with the B - 52 . The first production GAM - 72A was delivered to the 4135th Strategic Wing , at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida on September 13 , 1960 . Initial operational capability was reached on February 1 , 1961 when the first squadron of the 4135th Strategic Wing was equipped with the GAM - 72A . On January 1 , 1962 B - 52 aircraft carried the GAM - 72A decoy on airborne alert for the first time . Full operational capability was reached when the GAM - 72A was deployed with the fourteenth and final B - 52 squadron on April 15 , 1962 . The operational version of the GAM - 72 carried internal radar reflectors facing forward and to each side of the aircraft . Up to 100 lb ( 45 kg ) of payload could be accommodated internally by the GAM - 72 . This internal space could be used to house a radar repeater or a chaff dispenser . An infrared burner in the tail could produce intense heat to simulate the heat signature of a bomber . The GAM - 72 was not armed . Eight GAM - 72A decoys could be accommodated in the B - 52s weapons bay but the normal decoy load was two . Ground radar continued to improve , and the effectiveness of the GAM - 72B , redesignated in 1963 as the ADM - 20C , decreased over time . The AGM - 69 Short Range Attack Missile ( SRAM ) allowed bombers to attack air - defense systems from a distance . By 1971 , the USAF no longer considered the ADM - 20C a credible decoy . The commander of the Strategic Air Command wrote the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force " that the Quail was only slightly better than nothing . " The last ADM - 20C operational test was flown at Eglin Air Force Base on July 13 , 1972 . On June 30 , 1978 , the last ADM - 20C came off alert status . The last ADM - 20C was removed from the United States Air Force inventory on December 15 , 1978 . Operator . The number of GAM - 72As in service , by year :