The AIR-2 Genie and Tactical Nuclear Weapons

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sean D. Smith
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The strategic nuclear weapons at the disposal of the United States are commonly characterized by the nuclear triad, a phrase describing the three main methods of weapon delivery -- strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and missiles launched from submarines.

Those three categories are the most well-known, but in addition to that strategic arsenal, over the years there have also been numerous tactical nuclear weapons, weapons intended for use on the battlefield -- everything from warheads launched from recoilless guns to nuclear-equipped artillery shells.

One tactical nuclear weapon of particular relevance to aviation and Minot Air Force Base is the Douglas AIR-2 Genie, a rocket designed during the height of the Cold War, and launched from the Convair F-106 interceptor.

The AIR-2 was intended for air to air use, and it had no guidance system. It was equipped with a W25 nuclear warhead, a 200-pound, compact fission bomb.

During the Cold War, the United States was shocked by how quickly the Soviet Union duplicated not only the atomic bomb, but the means to deliver it. During the height of the tensions, the precarious state of global politics created an urgent fear of a nuclear strike, forcing both sides to find ways to defend themselves.

Interceptor aircraft existed to counter long-range strategic bombers, but the tactics of the period dictated that those bombers flying in formation, often in large numbers. To prevent a nuclear strike, interceptors would have to shoot down every enemy aircraft, which was an unrealistic scenario given the air to air weapons technology at the time.

The AIR-2 was developed as a means of destroying an entire aircraft formation at once. The weapon had a range of approximately six miles, and it was detonated not by impact, but by time delay, meaning that the rocket didn't even have to hit an enemy bomber to be effective; the nuclear warhead would do the work, and the delay would give the interceptor pilot time to escape.

More than 3000 AIR-2 weapons were built, and the United States shared them with the Royal Canadian Air Force. An AIR-2 was only detonated once, in a test called Operation Plumbbob in 1957.

As the Cold War went on and ICBMs eclipsed strategic bombers as the most threatening means of delivering a strategic nuclear strike, interceptor aircraft and weapons like the AIR-2 lost much of their relevance, and the AIR-2 was retired from service in 1988.