AGM-78 Standard ARM

🇺🇸United States

Raytheon / Hughes

1968 – Present

Overview

The AGM-78 Standard ARM was an American anti-radiation missile developed in the late 1960s for suppressing enemy air defenses, designed to replace the AGM-45 Shrike. Notable for its ability to lock onto and track enemy radar emissions, it was larger and more expensive than its predecessor but was phased out by the 1980s in favor of the more advanced AGM-88 HARM due to its outdated technology and production costs.

Specifications

General

Length M4.57 m

Range Km90 km

GuidancePassive radar homing

Warhead Kg97 kg

Launch Weight Kg620 kg

Research Notes

Larger successor to Shrike for SEAD missions

AGM-78 expanded U.S. anti-radiation capability beyond the smaller Shrike missile.

The AGM-78 Standard ARM was developed during the Vietnam War era as a more capable anti-radiation missile than the smaller AGM-45 Shrike. It adapted technology from the Standard naval missile family into an air-launched weapon for suppressing enemy radars. The goal was to give strike aircraft longer reach, larger warhead effect, and better radar-homing options against surface-to-air missile sites.

Section Sources

General Dynamics AGM-78 Standard ARMDesignation-Systems.net • development source for AGM-78 Standard ARM AGM-78 Standard ARMWeaponsystems.net • development source for AGM-78 Standard ARM

Anti-radiation seeker on a Standard missile body

A larger body and improved passive homing made AGM-78 a stronger SEAD weapon.

Standard ARM used a large missile body, passive radar-homing seeker options, and a substantial warhead to attack radar emitters. Later versions improved memory and seeker performance so the missile could continue toward a radar site even if the emitter shut down. Its size limited carriage options, but it delivered more reach and destructive effect than early Shrike weapons.

Section Sources

General Dynamics AGM-78 Standard ARMDesignation-Systems.net • design source for AGM-78 Standard ARM

Bridge to later anti-radiation missiles

Standard ARM bridged early Shrike-era SEAD and later HARM-era anti-radiation warfare.

AGM-78 served with U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft before later systems such as AGM-88 HARM became dominant. Its service matters because it marks the transition from early radar-homing weapons toward more capable suppression-of-enemy-air-defence doctrine. The missile helped define how aircraft could force SAM operators to shut down or risk destruction.

Section Sources

General Dynamics AGM-78 Standard ARMDesignation-Systems.net • service source for AGM-78 Standard ARM AGM-78 Standard ARMWeaponsystems.net • service source for AGM-78 Standard ARM

Sources & References

Missile Threat missile databaseCenter for Strategic and International Studies • 2026