Vought ASM-135 ASAT

The ASM-135 ASAT was an air-launched anti-satellite multistage missile developed by the LTV Aerospace division of Ling-Temco-Vought for the United States Air Force, which carried it only on F-15 Eagle fighters launched in a supersonic zoom climb. The Air Force issued LTV a contract in 1979 for an air-launched miniature vehicle able to attack satellites in low Earth orbit. A modified Boeing AGM-69 SRAM missile with a solid propellant rocket motor formed the first stage, the Altair 3 stage that also served as the fourth stage of the Scout rocket formed the second, and an LTV Miniature Homing Vehicle with an infrared sensor formed the third, striking by kinetic energy instead of a nuclear warhead. Fifteen missiles were produced and the Air Force planned an operational force of 112, but Congress restricted testing from 1983, the estimated cost rose from 500 million to 5.3 billion dollars, and the Reagan administration canceled the program in 1988.