AGM - 69 SRAM The Boeing AGM - 69 SRAM ( Short - range attack missile ) was a nuclear air - to - surface missile designed to replace the older AGM - 28 Hound Dog stand - off missile . The requirement for the weapon was issued by the Strategic Air Command of the USAF in 1964 , and the resultant AGM - 69A SRAM entered service in 1972 . It was carried by the B - 52 , the FB - 111A , and , for a very short period starting in 1986 , by the B - 1Bs based at Dyess AFB in Texas . SRAMs were also carried by the B - 1Bs based at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota , Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota , and McConnell AFB in Kansas up until late 1993 . SRAM had an inertial navigation system as well as a radar altimeter which enabled the missile to be launched in either a semi - ballistic or terrain - following flight path . The SRAM was also capable of performing one " major maneuver " during its flight which gave the missile the capability of reversing its course and attacking targets that were behind it , sometimes called an " over - the - shoulder " launch . The missile had a Circular Error Probable ( CEP ) of about and a maximum range of . The SRAM used a single W69 nuclear warhead with a variable yield of 17 kilotons as a fission weapon , or 210 kilotons as a fusion weapon with Tritium boost enabled . The aircrew could turn a switch on the Class III command to select the destructive yield required . The SRAM missile was completely coated with 2 cm of soft rubber , used to absorb radar energy and also dissipate heat during flight . The three fins on the tail were made of a phenolic material , also designed to minimize any reflected radar energy . All electronics , wiring , and several safety devices were routed along the top of the missile , inside a raceway . On the B - 52 , SRAMs were carried externally on 2 wing pylons ( 6 missiles on each pylon ) and internally on an eight - round rotary launcher mounted in the bomb bay ; maximum loadout was 20 missiles . The B - 1B could carry 8 missiles on up to three rotary launchers ( one in each of its three stores bays ) for a maximum loadout of 24 missiles . The FB - 111A could carry two missiles internally and four more missiles under the aircraft ' s swing - wing . On the FB - 111A , the externally - mounted missiles required the addition of a tailcone to reduce aerodynamic drag during supersonic flight . Upon rocket motor ignition , this tailcone was blown away by the exhaust plume . About 1 , 500 missiles were built at a cost of about $ 592 , 000 each by the time production ended in 1975 . The Boeing Company sub - contracted with the Lockheed Propulsion Company for the propellants , which subsequently closed with the end of the SRAM program . An upgraded AGM - 69B was proposed in the late 1970s , with an upgraded motor to be built by Thiokol and a W80 warhead , but it was cancelled ( along with the B - 1A ) in 1978 . Various plans for alternative guidance schemes , including an anti - radar seeker for use against air defense installations and even a possible air - to - air missile version , came to nothing . A new weapon , the AGM - 131 SRAM II , began development in 1981 , intended to arm the resurrected B - 1B , but it was cancelled in 1991 by then president George H . W . Bush along with most of the U . S . Strategic Modernization effort ( including Peacekeeper Mobile ( Rail ) Garrison , Small ICBM and Minuteman III modernization ) in an effort by the U . S . to ease nuclear pressure on the disintegrating Soviet Union . The AGM - 69A was finally retired in 1993 over growing concerns about the safety of its warhead and rocket motor . With the end of the Cold War it is unlikely to be replaced in the immediate future . There were serious concerns about the solid rocket motor , when several motors suffered cracking of the propellant , thought to occur due to the hot / cold cycling year after year . Cracks in the propellant could cause catastrophic failure once ignited . The SRAM was effectively replaced by the AGM - 86 cruise missile , which has longer range , though easier to intercept . Service history . The number of AGM - 69 missiles in service , by year :