AGM - 45 Shrike AGM - 45 Shrike is an American anti - radiation missile designed to home in on hostile anti - aircraft radar . The Shrike was developed by the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by mating a seeker head to the rocket body of an AIM - 7 Sparrow . It was phased out by U . S . in 1992 and at an unknown time by the Israeli Air Force ( the only other major user ) , and has been superseded by the AGM - 88 HARM missile . The Israel Defense Forces developed a version of the Shrike that could be ground - launched and mounted it on an M4 Sherman chassis as the Kilshon ( Hebrew for " Trident " ) . History . The Shrike was first employed during the Vietnam War by the Navy in 1965 using A - 4 aircraft . The Air Force adopted the weapon the following year using F - 105F and G Thunderchief Wild Weasel SEAD aircraft , and later the F - 4 Phantom II in the same role . The range was nominally shorter than the SA - 2 Guideline missiles that the system was used against , although it was a great improvement over the early method of attacking SAM sites with rockets and bombs from F - 100F Super Sabre s . A Shrike was typically lofted about 30 degrees above the horizon at a Fan Song radar some 15 miles ( 25 km ) away for a flight time of 50 seconds . Tactics incrementally changed over the campaigns of 1966 and 1967 until the advent of the AGM - 78 Standard ARM . This new weapon allowed launches from significantly longer range with a much easier attack profile , as the ARM could be launched up to 180 degrees off target and still expect a hit and its speed allowed it to travel faster than the SA - 2 . Even after the AGM - 78 entered service , the Weasels still carried the Shrike because the ARM cost about $ 200 , 000 , while a Shrike cost only $ 7 , 000 . If USAF pilots expended an ARM they would have to fill out a lengthy form during debriefing . A somewhat standard load for the F - 105G was a 650 US gal ( 2 , 500 L ) centerline fuel tank , two AGM - 78s on inboard pylons and two Shrikes on the outboards . The mix varied slightly for jamming pods and the occasional AIM - 9 Sidewinder but this was the baseline . Although the Shrike missile did not enter regular service with the United Kingdom , it was supplied to the RAF for use in the Falklands War of 1982 . RAF Shrikes were fitted to modified Vulcan bombers in order to attack Argentinian radar installations during Operation Black Buck . The main target was a Westinghouse AN / TPS - 43 long range 3D radar that the Argentine Air Force deployed during April to guard the Falklands ' surrounded airspace . The Argentine operators were aware of the anti - radar missiles and would simply turn it off during the Vulcan ' s approaches . This radar would remain intact during the whole conflict . However , air defences remained operational during the attacks and the Shrikes hit two of the less valuable and rapidly replaced secondary fire control radars . Also , following a Vulcan making an emergency landing at Rio de Janeiro , Brazilian authorities confiscated one Shrike which was not returned . About 95 AGM - 45s were used in 1991 during Desert Storm against Iraqi air defense , mostly by F - 4Gs . Variants . The Shrike ' s limitations are characterized primarily in the fact that subvariants abound , each tuned to a different radar band . Angle gating , used to prioritize targets , was included in every subvariant of the AGM - 45A and B after the A - 2 and B - 2 . It was also slow and the lack of punch in the warhead made it difficult for bomb damage assessment , as well as inflicting any damage to the Fan Song Radar vans beyond a shattered radar dish , an easy item to replace or repair . The short range , combined with its lack of speed ( compared to the SA - 2 SAM ) made for a difficult attack . The missile had to be well within the range of the SAM and if a SAM was fired the SAM would get to the aircraft first . Also the missile had few tolerances and had to be launched no more than + or - 3 degrees from the target . Many pilots in Vietnam did not like the Shrike because of its limitations and its success rate of around 25 % . The differences between the AGM - 45A and B are in the rocket motor used , and in the warheads capable of being fitted . The AGM - 45A used the Rocketdyne Mk 39 Mod 0 ( or apparently in some cases the Aerojet Mk 53 Mod 1 ) motor , while the AGM - 45B used Aerojet Mk 78 Mod 0 which greatly increased the range of the missile . As for warheads , the Mk 5 Mod 0 , Mk 86 Mod 0 , and WAU - 8 / B could all be fitted to the AGM - 45A and were all blast - fragmentation in nature . The AGM - 45B made use of the improved Mk 5 Mod 1 and Mk 86 Mod 1 warheads , as well as , the WAU - 9 / B , again all blast - fragmentation in type . The following table provides information on what radar bands were associated with certain guidance sections , and the subvariant designation . For unknown reasons , - 5 and - 8 were not produced .