The U.S. Air Force has unveiled the first official rendering of its next-generation nuclear cruise missile, the AGM-181 ...

The air-launched cruise missile had become operational four years earlier, in December 1982, with the 416th Bombardment Wing, Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y., which deactivated when the base closed ...

The U.S. Air Force has released for the first time a rendering of the new AGM-181A Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) which is set to replace the current AGM-86B ALCM.

An AGM-86 ALCM is loaded onto a B-52 at Minot Air Force Base. These updated AGMs have a slightly different shape than the earlier ones, pictured above.

The AGM-86B nuclear-capable air-launched cruise missile was tested by the Air Force Global Strike Command’s 2nd Bomb Wing and Air Combat Command’s 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron recently.

The Air-Launched Cruise Missile Replacement Is Overdue . The LRSO is intended to replace the AGM-86, and to compliment the conventional AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM).

The AGM-86 as a dedicated air-to-ground cruise missile was first launched from underneath the wing of a Boeing B-52G Stratofortress in March 1976.

The testing is done every five to 10 years to make sure the B-52 can provide the voltage required to use the AGM-86 air-launched cruise missile.

At the time the AGM-86 air-launched cruise missile was all the rage (it is still in service today) so the 747 CMCA concept was built with the 21ft winged missile in mind.