ALCM
Air-Launched Cruise Missile
An Air-Launched Cruise Missile is a long-range precision weapon carried and released by an aircraft, using jet propulsion and guidance systems to strike distant targets.
Air-Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCMs) are standoff weapons that allow bomber and strike aircraft to attack heavily defended targets without entering the range of enemy air defenses. After release from the carrier aircraft, the missile deploys wings and a small turbofan or turbojet engine, then navigates autonomously using a combination of inertial guidance, GPS, and terrain-following radar to reach its target with high precision.
The AGM-86 ALCM, carried by the B-52 Stratofortress, was developed during the Cold War as a nuclear delivery system but has since been adapted for conventional strike. The more modern AGM-158 JASSM and its extended-range variant JASSM-ER represent the current standard for U.S. air-launched cruise missiles, combining stealth shaping with ranges exceeding 900 kilometers.
ALCMs are valued because they keep the launch aircraft safely outside threat envelopes while still delivering precise effects on target. This standoff capability has only grown more important as integrated air defense systems have become more lethal and widespread.
Related Terms
Cruise Missile
A guided weapon that uses aerodynamic lift and a jet engine to fly at low altitude over long distances, navigating autonomously to its target with high precision.
JDAM(Joint Direct Attack Munition)
Joint Direct Attack Munition is a low-cost guidance kit that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided weapons using GPS and inertial navigation.
PGM(Precision-Guided Munition)
Precision-Guided Munition is any weapon that uses a guidance system to steer itself to a specific target, achieving dramatically greater accuracy than unguided weapons.
Related Articles
The JASSM Cruise Missile: The Stealthy Standoff Weapon
The AGM-158 JASSM is a stealth cruise missile that gives fighter jets the ability to destroy heavily defended targets from 575 miles away, without ever entering the enemy's air defense envelope. At roughly $1.3 million per missile, it costs less than a Tomahawk and is harder to shoot down. Over 5,000 have been ordered, making it the backbone of American standoff strike.
B-52 Stratofortress Strategic Bomber - The BUFF
Boeing’s B-52 long-range strategic bomber is not only one of the most iconic symbols of the Cold War; it’s also the longest-serving combat aircraft in any major nation’s arsenal. Since…