The
Hughes AN/ASG-18 was a prototype fire control
system and radar, originally intended for the
XF-108 Rapier interceptor aircraft, for the
United States Air
Force.
The
AN/ASG-18 was the U.S.
's first
pulse doppler radar, and had
look-down/shoot-down
capability, though it could only track one target at a time.
This was paired with an
infrared search and track
system. Range of the radar was estimated at between 200 and 300
miles (322 to 482 km), with reliable detection of bomber-sized
targets at 100 miles. The installation itself was massive, weighing
2,100 lb (953 kg), and taking up most of the nose of the aircraft.
The system was to be used with the Hughes
AIM-47 Falcon missile, which also had a range
of about 100 miles.
While development work was done with the XF-108, the AN/ASG-18 and
Falcon missiles were first tested on a highly modified
Convair B-58 bomber. To
fit the radar, the nose was lengthened nearly 7 feet (2.13 m), and
the infrared sensors were mounted on either side of the forward
fuselage. A single missile was housed in a specially built pod
underneath the fuselage.
Known as "Snoopy" due to the shape of the nose, before the
AN/ASG-18 equipped B-58 could fly, the XF-108 program was
cancelled, and the proposed
Lockheed YF-12
interceptor was to instead receive the radar/missile system pair.
Tests of the system were conducted first in
1960 and until
1963 only on the
modified B-58, after which the YF-12 took over until the
cancellation of the whole program in
1966
.
References