ADM-20 Quail

ADM-20 Quail
ADM-20 Quail in flight
Type	Decoy cruise missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	September 13, 1960
Production history
Manufacturer	McDonnell Aircraft
Produced	November 1957
Specifications
Mass	1,198 lb (543 kg)
Length	12 ft 9 in (3.88 m)
Height	2 ft 1 in (0.66 m) (wings folded); 3 ft 3 in (1.02 m) (wings unfolded).
Wingspan	2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) (wings folded); 5 ft 4 in (1.65 m) (wings unfolded).
Warhead	None
Engine	General Electric J85-GE-7 turbojet; 2,450 lbf (10.9 kN) thrust.
Operational range	445 miles (716 km)
Flight ceiling	50,000 ft (15,200 m)
Flight altitude	50,000 ft (15,200 m).
Maximum speed	0.9 Mach
Guidance system	Autopilot integrated with a Rate integrating gyroscope pre-programmed to turn the ADM-20.
Launch platform	B-52 Stratofortress.

The McDonnell ADM-20 Quail was a subsonic, jet powered, air-launched decoy cruise missile built by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. The Quail was designed to be launched by the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber and its original United States Air Force designation was GAM-72 (GAM standing for Guided Aircraft Missile).^[1]

Quail contained electronics and radar reflectors intended to make it indistinguishable from a B-52 approaching at low altitude. This would force Soviet defenses to divide their missiles and interceptors between multiple targets, reducing the chance that a bomber would be targeted.

Design of an improved version of Quail began in January 1968, with the system being termed the Subsonic Cruise Aircraft Decoy. This program incorporated several significant changes to the starting design before the AGM-86 ALCM was created.