WEBVTT 00:00.146 --> 00:02.149 (dramatic music) 00:02.149 --> 00:04.482 ^(explosion) 00:06.475 --> 00:09.467 - [Announcer] The AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile 00:09.467 --> 00:10.767 or ALCM for short 00:10.767 --> 00:14.218 is the nation's only nuclear cruise missile. 00:14.218 --> 00:17.615 The ALCM is the key air component of the nuclear triad 00:17.615 --> 00:20.040 and provides the nation with the strategic capability 00:20.040 --> 00:23.502 to assure our allies and deter potential adversaries. 00:23.502 --> 00:25.951 (plane taking off) 00:25.951 --> 00:29.925 Since 1982, the ALCM has provided a clear, visible, 00:29.925 --> 00:31.932 and tailorable nuclear deterrent 00:31.932 --> 00:35.182 that also denies geographic sanctuaries 00:35.253 --> 00:37.219 to potential adversaries. 00:37.219 --> 00:39.652 The ALCM is designed to deliver a nuclear payload 00:39.652 --> 00:42.384 on target, destroying it on impact. 00:42.384 --> 00:45.071 With a nuclear yield significantly larger 00:45.071 --> 00:47.691 than the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. 00:47.691 --> 00:50.159 As a stand-off weapon, the ALCM can be launched 00:50.159 --> 00:52.216 from outside the combat area, 00:52.216 --> 00:54.831 allowing air crews to strike distant targets 00:54.831 --> 00:55.723 (explosion) 00:55.723 --> 00:57.021 with a high degree of accuracy 00:57.021 --> 00:58.245 without exposing themselves 00:58.245 --> 01:00.478 to potentially deadly enemy fire 01:00.478 --> 01:03.484 and keeping clear of the nuclear blast. 01:03.484 --> 01:06.367 ^- What the ALCM does serves as a very important piece 01:06.367 --> 01:09.267 ^of the air-delivered nuclear capability. 01:09.267 --> 01:12.579 Everything we do to sustain the weapons system right now 01:12.579 --> 01:14.559 ensures that nuclear deterrence. 01:14.559 --> 01:15.861 - [Announcer] The ALCM was initially designed 01:15.861 --> 01:17.650 with a 10-year lifespan, 01:17.650 --> 01:19.657 but has been in use for about 35 years. 01:19.657 --> 01:22.937 Largely due to a successful sustainment program, 01:22.937 --> 01:25.586 managed by the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, 01:25.586 --> 01:28.737 Missile Sustainment Division, at Tinker Air Force Base. 01:28.737 --> 01:32.537 ^- Our mission here in the Cruise Missile Division 01:32.537 --> 01:35.276 ^is to make sure that our weapons systems are safe 01:35.276 --> 01:38.776 and reliable for nuclear and conventional. 01:38.801 --> 01:42.619 We do this with a highly committed and dedicated workforce 01:42.619 --> 01:45.711 with a sense of ownership, a sense of urgency, 01:45.711 --> 01:47.544 and 100% quality. 01:47.608 --> 01:49.340 That, combined with our stakeholders 01:49.340 --> 01:52.839 to assure that our cruise missiles are highly effective. 01:52.839 --> 01:57.006 To make sure that they are never doubted and always feared. 01:58.744 --> 02:00.653 - [Announcer] Welcome to Tinker Air Force Base, 02:00.653 --> 02:02.236 home to the Nuclear Weapons Center 02:02.236 --> 02:03.483 Missile Sustainment Division, 02:03.483 --> 02:05.694 where the ALCM and its conventional variant, 02:05.694 --> 02:07.611 the CALCM, are managed. 02:08.000 --> 02:10.238 ^- The avionics integration support facility 02:10.238 --> 02:13.213 ^allows us to develop, implement, and test software changes 02:13.213 --> 02:15.288 ^as well as troubleshoot field hardware 02:15.288 --> 02:17.121 and software problems. 02:17.213 --> 02:18.997 We directly support the war fighter 02:18.997 --> 02:20.511 in missile and launcher maintenance 02:20.511 --> 02:22.599 as well as flight-test analysis. 02:22.599 --> 02:25.230 Our lab and expertise provides us the ability 02:25.230 --> 02:28.939 to perform real-time fault analysis and problem resolution 02:28.939 --> 02:30.539 with field and hardware issues. 02:30.539 --> 02:32.874 - [Voice On Radio] Coming down. 02:32.874 --> 02:34.541 (explosion) 02:34.541 --> 02:36.208 That was a good one. 02:36.992 --> 02:39.890 - The CALCM became operational in 1991 02:39.890 --> 02:41.773 during Operation Desert Storm, 02:41.773 --> 02:45.214 and also saw significant use in operations Desert Strike, 02:45.214 --> 02:48.457 Desert Fox, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom, 02:48.457 --> 02:49.957 and Iraqi Freedom. 02:51.101 --> 02:52.377 (explosion) 02:52.377 --> 02:54.234 - [Voice On Radio] We have missile. 02:54.234 --> 02:57.090 ^- It is one of the most powerful weapon systems 02:57.090 --> 02:58.754 ^that the Air Force has. 02:58.754 --> 03:02.921 ^We pray every day that this weapons system is not used. 03:03.277 --> 03:04.942 But if it ever needs to be used, 03:04.942 --> 03:08.025 we owe it to our friends, our family, 03:08.838 --> 03:11.751 we owe it to this nation that they will work 03:11.751 --> 03:13.393 and work as advertised. 03:13.393 --> 03:15.562 (explosion) 03:15.562 --> 03:17.210 - [Announcer] The ALCM program office relies 03:17.210 --> 03:20.429 on the talents and skills of a significant number of people 03:20.429 --> 03:22.479 from across functional areas 03:22.479 --> 03:24.646 to keep the ALCM relevant. 03:24.646 --> 03:27.943 Functions include program management, equipment specialists, 03:27.943 --> 03:30.610 engineering, logistics, finance, 03:30.637 --> 03:33.470 contracting, security, and others. 03:34.130 --> 03:36.667 ^- We're very hard-working, dedicated people. 03:36.667 --> 03:39.834 ^Dedicated to ensuring the tax-payers' dollars are spent 03:39.834 --> 03:43.986 in a manner in which we are getting the best value. 03:43.986 --> 03:48.153 ^- To be able to make a 20 or 30 year-old missile fly 03:51.932 --> 03:54.797 with the precision that it needs to have, 03:54.797 --> 03:57.218 with the reliability that it needs to fly with, 03:57.218 --> 03:58.551 it's incredible. 03:58.576 --> 04:02.303 ^- Keep the bad guys away, that's exactly right. 04:02.303 --> 04:05.970 ^Keep everything safe for my family, friends, 04:06.709 --> 04:07.955 country, community. 04:07.955 --> 04:09.914 - [Announcer] The importance of nuclear deterrence 04:09.914 --> 04:13.381 is a major strategy for our national security. 04:13.381 --> 04:14.440 It takes the program office here 04:14.440 --> 04:16.183 at the Missile Sustainment Division, 04:16.183 --> 04:18.291 full of talented and dedicated people 04:18.291 --> 04:19.961 of all skill sets and functions 04:19.961 --> 04:24.030 to ensure that the ALCM is never doubted, always feared. 04:24.030 --> 04:26.569 (dramatic music) 04:26.569 --> 04:28.902 ^(explosion)