Post-war Developments
After the war the increasing sophistication of electronics allowed these systems to be developed as practical devices; from the 1960s air forces deployed a number of such systems, including the USAF's AGM-62 Walleye. Contrast seekers were also steadily improved, becoming very effective in the widely used AGM-65 Maverick missile. Both were standard systems until the 1980s when the development of laser guidance and GPS based systems made them unnecessary for all but the most accurate of roles. Various TV-based systems remain in limited service for super-accurate uses, but have otherwise been removed.
In the anti-shipping role, direct attack from an aircraft even at long range became more dangerous due to the deployment of anti-aircraft missiles on ships. Weapons such as the Bat had ranges too short to keep the attacking aircraft out of range, especially in a force provided by air cover. This was addressed with the introduction of small jet engines that greatly extended the range, producing the anti-shipping missile class that remains widely used today.
Similarly, the need to attack well-defended targets such as airbases and military command posts led to the development of newer generations of glide bombs. European air forces use a glide package with a cluster bomb warhead for remotely attacking airbases. Laser and GPS guidance systems are used.
Read more about this topic: Glide Bomb
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