Missile AGM-123 Skipper

The AGM-123 Skipper was a short-range air-to-surface missile developed by the United States in the 1980s. It was designed to be a low-cost precision strike weapon for use against high-value tactical targets.

The Skipper was intended to be carried by a variety of strike aircraft like the F-16, A-10, and F/A-18. It had a range of around 12 miles when rocket boosted on launch. The missile used laser and infrared guidance to hit fixed land targets with pinpoint accuracy using a focused blast warhead.

Its key features included the ability to loiter after launch, redesignate targets in flight, and operate in adverse weather conditions. This gave the Skipper some standoff capability as an inexpensive yet precise munition.

The AGM-123 completed testing by the mid-1980s but failed to enter full production, with only a small number built. It was envisioned as an interim system until the debut of the longer-ranged AGM-130 standoff missile in the 1990s which overtook the Skipper program. While never operationally deployed, the Skipper concept helped inform later precision guided missile developments.