AGM-62A Walleye I ER (510 kg)
| This page is about the "extended-range" AGM-62A Walleye I ER (510 kg). For the original TV-guided munition of the same designation, see AGM-62A Walleye I (505 kg). |
Contents
Description
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The AGM-62A Walleye I ER is an American guided bomb for aircraft use. It is one of the first guided bombs introduced into War Thunder in Update "Ground Breaking".
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
| Bomb characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Guidance | TV |
| Mass | 510 kg |
| Explosive mass | 201.8 kg |
| Explosive type | Composition B |
| TNT equivalent | 264.36 kg |
The Walleye is physically large, as big as a the 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bomb. This is due to the guidance system in the ordnance, with the explosive amount more analogous to a 1,000 lb bomb. In fact, the design makes the ordnance look like a missile, though it would be a misnomer to label it as such since it does not contain any of its own propulsion, simply gliding itself to the locked-on target.
Effective damage
As mentioned earlier, the explosive amount in the Walleye is closer to equivalent to the 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bomb. The Walleye contains a TNT equivalent of 264.36 kg in its warhead, compared to the LDGP Mk 83's 272.43 kg TNT equivalent. However, its combat utility can be much higher than a LDGP Mk 83 due to the TV guidance in the Walleye, allowing precise targeting of ground targets from a high-altitude.
Comparison with analogues
Give a comparative description of bombs that have firepower equal to this weapon.
Usage in battles
In War Thunder the AGM-62 has a TV guidance system similar to the AGM-65B missile. It is best used against ground targets, moving or static, and while there are no SAM threats present. Attempting to use the AGM-62 in a SAM heavy environment will likely get the launching aircraft shot down, as by the time one gets to a proper release altitude and speed, found a target, and then dropped it, a SAM system will have likely already spotted and engaged you (often while you're busy searching for a target). Furthermore, the slow moving, predictable nature of the Walleye means that radar guided AAA can easily destroy it should they spot it.
The AGM-62 can also lock positions on the ground making it difficult to determine when the guidance system has locked onto a vehicle/target or the position near the vehicle/target. This is an issue for ground realistic battles where a stopped target may start moving at any moment making it important that the vehicle is being tracked, and with no way to determine whether the target or the ground is locked, it can make these weapons somewhat annoying to use in ground RB. Furthermore, the AGM-62 uses whatever bomb timer you have set, so remember to reset it to "assault fuse" when selecting Walleye loadouts, as a bomb delay for the Walleye serves no purpose.
Also remember that in night battles the sensor on the AGM-62 cannot lock anything, making it useless, so choose a non-Walleye loadout in said battles.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good for precision drops on static targets and can lock onto moving targets
- Explosive payload is large enough for close hits to do devastating damages to ground targets.
- Can be lobbed onto a target from quite a long distance if deployed at high speed and altitude
- Can be dropped onto slow moving/hovering helicopters
Cons:
- Locking onto targets (especially moving ones) can be difficult due to distance and/or ground obstructions
- Cannot be dropped without lock
- Large size means only a few can be carried by aircraft
- Will undershoot the target if the release speed/altitude is too low
- Cannot lock targets at night (even if the target is illuminated)
- Cannot adjust its magnification level
- Is relatively easy to intercept with radar guided AAA/SAMs
- TV-guided camera views from the aircraft's frontal arc, requires pointing the aircraft at the general location of the enemy to begin targeting
History
Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
External links
