Because of numerous problems in the development phase, the first flight of an XAGM-53A missile did not occur before March 1970.

On 4 February 1971, in its first live warhead test, a Condor made a direct hit on the ex-US navy destroyer escort USS Vammen, while tests later that year demonstrated the ability to hit targets at a range of 30 nmi (35 mi; 56 km).

The missile was launched by the strike aircraft from a distance of up to 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) to the general target area.

When the AGM-53 approached the expected target position, the image of the TV camera in the missile's nose was transmitted back to the operator in the launching aircraft.

The operator could switch between wide and narrow field-of-view images to find a suitable target.