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AIM-54 PhoenixDescription: Long-range air-to-air missile, carried in clusters of up to six missiles on the F-14 Tomcat.Background: The Phoenix missile is the Navy's only long-range air-to-air missile. It is an airborne weapons control system with multiple-target handling capabilities, used to kill multiple air targets with conventional warheads. Near simultaneous launch is possible against up to six targets in all weather and heavy jamming environments. The improved Phoenix, the AIM-54C, can better counter projected threats from tactical aircraft and cruise missiles. General Characteristics: Primary Function: Long-range air-launched air intercept missile Contractor: Hughes Aircraft Co. and Raytheon Co. Unit Cost: $477,131 Power Plant: Solid propellant rocket motor built by Hercules Length: 13 feet (3.9 meters) Weight: 1,024 pounds (460.8 kg) Diameter: 15 inches (38.1 cm) Wing Span: 3 feet (.9 meters) Range: In excess of 100 nautical miles (115 statute miles, 184 km) Speed: In excess of 3,000 mph (4,800 kmph) Guidance System: Semi-active and active radar homing Warheads: Proximity fuse, high explosive Warhead Weight: 135 pounds (60.75 kg) Date Deployed: 1974
AIM-120 AMRAAMDescription: The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range, Air-to-Air missile is a new generation air-to-air missile, developed as the result of a joint agreement among the United States and its major allies.Features: The AMRAAM has an all-weather, beyond-visual-range capability. It improves the aerial combat capabilities of U.S. and allied aircraft to meet the future threat of enemy air-to-air weapons. AMRAAM serves as a follow-on to the AIM-7 Sparrow missile series. The new missile is faster, smaller, and lighter, and has improved capabilities against low-altitude targets. It also incorporates an active radar in conjunction with an inertial reference unit and micro-computer system, which makes the missile less dependent upon the fire-control system of the aircraft. Once the missile closes in on the target, its active radar guides it to intercept. This enables the pilot to aim and fire several missiles simultaneously at multiple targets and perform evasive maneuvers while the missiles guide themselves to the targets. Background: The AIM-120 grew out of a joint agreement, no longer in effect, among the United States and several NATO nations to develop air-to-air missiles and to share the production technology. General Characteristics Primary Function: Medium-range, air-to-air tactical missile Contractor: Hughes/Raytheon Power Plant: High performance, directed rocket motor Length: 12 feet (3.6 meters) Launch Weight: 335 pounds (150.75 kilograms) Diameter: Seven inches (17.78 centimeters) Wing Span: 21 inches (53.3 centimeters) Speed: Supersonic Warhead: Blast Fragmentation; high explosive Unit Cost: $386,000 Date Deployed: September 1991 Aircraft platforms: Navy: F-14D and F/A-18 Air Force: F-15 and F-16 NATO: German F-4, British Tornado and Sea Harrier
AIM-9 SidewindersDescription: The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft.Features: The Sidewinder has a high-explosive warhead and an infrared heat-seeking guidance system. Its main components are an infrared homing guidance section, an active optical target detector, a high-explosive warhead and a rocket motor. The guidance section enables the missile to home in on the engine exhaust of target aircraft. An infrared unit costs less than other types of guidance systems and can be used day or night in all weather conditions. The infrared seeker also permits the pilot to launch the missile then leave the area or take evasive action while the missile guides itself to the target. Background: A prototype of the Sidewinder, the AIM-9A, was first fired successfully in September 1953. The initial production version, designated AIM-9B, entered operational use in 1956 and has been improved upon steadily since. The L model was the first Sidewinder with the ability to attack from all angles, including head-on. The AIM-9M, currently the only one operational, has the all-aspect capability of the L model while providing all-around higher performance. The M model has improved defense against infrared countermeasures, enhanced background discrimination capability, and a reduced-smoke rocket motor. These modifications increase its ability to locate and lock on a target and decrease the missile's chances for detection. Deliveries began in 1983. The AIM-9M-7 was a specific modification to AIM-9M in response to threats expected in the Persian Gulf war zone. The AIM-9M and AIM-9X are future variants presently under development. The Sidewinder is the most widely used air-to-air missile in the West, with more than 110,000 missiles produced for 27 nations excluding the United States. The AIM-9 is one of the oldest, least expensive and most successful missiles in the entire U.S. weapons inventory.
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