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74-454: Since the beginning of the 21st century, the detection range and the accuracy of airborne radars have been increasing, and fighters equipped with various types of air-to-air missiles and low-altitude cruise missiles continue to improve in performance, creating a demand for a more capable AEW&C. To address the above issues, China started the development of the KJ-500, its third AEW&C, in

148-678: A combination of any of those three warhead types) is typically used in the attempt to disable or destroy the target aircraft. Warheads are typically detonated by a proximity fuze or by an impact fuze if it scores a direct hit. Less commonly, nuclear warheads have been mounted on a small number of air-to-air missile types (such as the AIM-26 Falcon ) although these are not known to have ever been used in combat. Guided missiles operate by detecting their target (usually by either radar or infrared methods, although rarely others such as laser guidance or optical tracking ), and then "homing" in on

222-451: A cone shape as the distance from the attacking aircraft increases. This will result in less accuracy for the missile because the beam may actually be larger than the target aircraft when the missile arrives. The missile could be securely within the beam but still not be close enough to destroy the target. Infrared guided (IR) missiles home on the heat produced by an aircraft. Early infra-red detectors had poor sensitivity, so could only track

296-426: A fixed dorsal radome containing three AESA radar arrays for 360-degree coverage and is said to be more efficient than the two-planar 'balance beam' array design used on the earlier KJ-200 . Production of older AEW&C types reportedly ceased production in 2018 in response to the KJ-500 reaching full operational capability. In March 2022, General Kenneth Wilsbach , commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces , identified

370-479: A lock on a target) rendered it largely ineffective against maneuvering fighters. Moreover, it could be cooled only once. Limited coolant supply meant that once cooled, the missile would expend its supply of liquid nitrogen in two minutes, rendering it useless on the rail. The missile also had a small warhead, and lacked proximity fusing. As a result, only five kills were scored, all with the AIM-4D version. (The Falcon

444-605: A more powerful motor that allows the missile to maneuver against crossing targets and launch at greater ranges, gives the launching aircraft improved tactical freedom. Other members of the 4th generation use focal plane arrays to offer greatly improved scanning and countermeasures resistance (especially against flares). These missiles are also much more agile, some by employing thrust vectoring (typically gimballed thrust ). The latest generation of short-range missiles again defined by advances in seeker technologies, this time electro-optical imaging infrared (IIR) seekers that allow

518-476: A more powerful, longer-burning rocket engine, increasing speed and range. It had a larger warhead (28.7 lb / 13 kg) and better guidance systems. The SARH versions were GAR-3 ( AIM-4E ) and the improved GAR-3A ( AIM-4F ). The infrared version was the GAR-4A ( AIM-4G ). About 2,700 SARH missiles and 3,400 IR Super Falcons were produced, replacing most earlier versions of the weapon in service. The Falcon

592-576: A narrow (30-degree) field of view and required the attacker to position himself behind the target ( rear aspect engagement ). This meant that the target aircraft only had to perform a slight turn to move outside the missile seeker's field of view and cause the missile to lose track of the target ("break lock"). The second-generation of short-range missiles utilized more effective seekers that were better cooled than its predecessors while being typically "uncaged"; resulting in improved sensitivity to heat signatures, an increase in field of view as well as allowing

666-411: A rocket of some type and the control actuation system or CAS. Dual-thrust solid-fuel rockets are common, but some longer-range missiles use liquid-fuel motors that can "throttle" to extend their range and preserve fuel for energy-intensive final maneuvering. Some solid-fuelled missiles mimic this technique with a second rocket motor which burns during the terminal homing phase. There are missiles, such as

740-407: A specified range. Towed decoys which closely mimic engine heat and infra-red jammers can also be used. Some large aircraft and many combat helicopters make use of so-called "hot brick" infra-red jammers, typically mounted near the engines. Current research is developing laser devices which can spoof or destroy the guidance systems of infra-red guided missiles. See Infrared countermeasure . Start of

814-565: A target from various angles, not just from behind, where the heat signature from the engines is strongest. Other types rely on radar guidance (either on-board or "painted" by the launching aircraft). In 1999 R-73 missile were adapted by Serb forces for surface to air missiles. The Houthi movement Missile Research and Development Centre and the Missile Force have tried to fire R-27/R-60/R-73/R-77 against Saudi aircraft. Using stockpiles of missiles from Yemeni Air Force stocks. The issue for

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888-463: Is called "off- boresight " launch. For example, the Russian Su-27 is equipped with an infra-red search and track (IRST) system with laser rangefinder for its HMS-aimed missiles. A recent advancement in missile guidance is electro-optical imaging. The Israeli Python-5 has an electro-optical seeker that scans designated area for targets via optical imaging. Once a target is acquired,

962-636: Is likely the General Dynamics F-111 's internal bay would have accommodated the missile as well, but by the time of service the Air Force had already dropped the Falcon for use against fighters, as well as the idea of using the F-111 as an air combat fighter. The GAR-1 had semi-active radar homing (SARH), giving a range of about 5 mi (8.0 km). About 4,000 missiles were produced. It

1036-582: Is possible for the system to take missiles straight from an aircraft. After a live-fire test occurred in September 2020 off the coasts of Florida, during which it successfully engaged a simulated cruise missile, in 2022 NASAMS was deployed to Ukraine, where for the first time this missile system was used in real combat conditions, and, according to Ukrainian government, was able to shot down more than 100 aerial targets. A conventional explosive blast warhead, fragmentation warhead, or continuous rod warhead (or

1110-589: Is still a limitation to some degree) and could be distracted by the sun, a reflection of the sun off of a cloud or ground object, or any other "hot" object within its view. More modern infra-red guided missiles can detect the heat of an aircraft's skin, warmed by the friction of airflow, in addition to the fainter heat signature of the engine when the aircraft is seen from the side or head-on. This, combined with greater maneuverability, gives them an " all-aspect " capability, and an attacking aircraft no longer had to be behind its target to fire. Although launching from behind

1184-489: Is subject to a minimum range, before which it cannot maneuver effectively. In order to maneuver sufficiently from a poor launch angle at short ranges to hit its target, some missiles use thrust vectoring , which allow the missile to start turning "off the rail", before its motor has accelerated it up to high enough speeds for its small aerodynamic surfaces to be useful. Short-range air-to-air missiles (SRAAMs), typically used in " dogfighting " or close range air combat compare to

1258-414: Is that it enables a " fire-and-forget " mode of attack, where the attacking aircraft is free to pursue other targets or escape the area after launching the missile. Semi-active radar homing (SARH) guided missiles are simpler and more common. They function by detecting radar energy reflected from the target. The radar energy is emitted from the launching aircraft's own radar system. However, this means that

1332-512: Is the "home on jam" mode which, when installed, allows a radar-guided missile to home in on the jammer of the target aircraft if the primary seeker is jammed by the electronic countermeasures of the target aircraft. Air-to-air missiles are typically long, thin cylinders in order to reduce their cross section and thus minimize drag at the high speeds at which they travel. Missiles are divided into five primary systems (moving forward to aft): seeker, guidance, warhead, motor, and control actuation. At

1406-537: The R-60M or the Python-3 . The R-73 (missile) ( AA-11 Archer ) entered service in 1985 and marked a new generation of dogfight missile. It had a wider field of view and could be cued onto a target using a helmet mounted sight . This allowed it to be launched at targets that would otherwise not be seen by older generation missiles that generally stared forward while waiting to be launched. This capability, combined with

1480-686: The ASRAAM and Sea Ceptor . The air-to-air missile grew out of the unguided air-to-air rockets used during the First World War . Le Prieur rockets were sometimes attached to the struts of biplanes and fired electrically, usually against observation balloons , by such early pilots as Albert Ball and A. M. Walters. Facing the Allied air superiority, Germany in World War II invested limited effort into missile research, initially adapting

1554-687: The GAR-9 (later AIM-47 Falcon ). The Air Force deployed AIM-4 in May 1967 during the Vietnam War on the new F-4D Phantom II , which carried it on the inner wing pylons and was not wired to carry the AIM-9 Sidewinder . The missile's combat performance was very poor. The Falcon, already operational on Air Defense Command aircraft, was designed to be used against bombers, and its slow seeker cooling times (as much as six or seven seconds to obtain

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1628-719: The Meteor , are emerging as propulsion that will enable future medium- to long-range missiles to maintain higher average speed across their engagement envelope. Air-to-air missiles are broadly put in two groups. Those designed to engage opposing aircraft at ranges of around 30 km to 40 km maximum are known as short-range or "within visual range" missiles (SRAAMs or WVRAAMs) and are sometimes called " dogfight " missiles because they are designed to optimize their agility rather than range. Most use infrared guidance and are called heat-seeking missiles. In contrast, medium- or long-range missiles (MRAAMs or LRAAMs), which both fall under

1702-552: The Northrop F-89 Scorpion , McDonnell F-101B Voodoo and Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart interceptors . The only other users were Canada, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, whose CF-101 Voodoo , Saab 35 Draken and Dassault Mirage III S carried the Falcon. Canada also hoped to use them on the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow interceptor; however, this was never realized because of

1776-818: The Swiss Air Force for use on the Dassault Mirage III S, and license-manufactured in Sweden for the Swedish Air Force (as the Rb 28 ) to equip the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen . The seeker of the missile was also redesigned. The AIM-4F/AIM-4G Super Falcon remained in USAF and ANG service, primarily with Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart interceptors, until the final retirement of

1850-666: The XAIM-4H , which had a laser proximity fuze , new warhead, and better maneuverability. It was cancelled the following year without entering service. A larger version of the Falcon carrying a 0.25-kiloton nuclear warhead was developed as the GAR-11 (later designated the AIM-26 Falcon ), while a long-range version was developed for the North American XF-108 Rapier and Lockheed YF-12 interceptors as

1924-480: The beyond-visual-range missiles . Most of the short-range air-to-air missiles are infrared guided and few are active radar guided . Those missiles usually classified into five "generations" according to the historical technological advances. Most of these advances were in infrared seeker technology (later combined with digital signal processing ). Early short-range missiles such as the early Sidewinders and K-13 (missile) ( AA-2 Atoll ) had infrared seekers with

1998-492: The 21st century missiles such as the ASRAAM use an " imaging infrared " seeker which "sees" the target (much like a digital video camera), and can distinguish between an aircraft and a point heat source such as a flare. They also feature a very wide detection angle, so the attacking aircraft does not have to be pointing straight at the target for the missile to lock on. The pilot can use a helmet mounted sight (HMS) and target another aircraft by looking at it, and then firing. This

2072-551: The Arrow's cancellation. Fighters carrying the Falcon were often designed with internal weapons bays for carrying this missile. The Scorpion carried them on wingtip pods, while the Delta Dagger and Delta Dart had belly bays with a trapeze mechanism to move them into the airstream for launch. The F-101B had an unusual bay arrangement where two were stored externally, and then the bay door would rotate to expose two more missiles. It

2146-577: The F-4Ds to carry more reliable AIM-9 Sidewinders. Although it was an unauthorized field modification, the entire air force eventually followed his example. Used from 1965 through 1972 in Vietnam, Falcons achieved their only kills during Operation Rolling Thunder (1965–68) , with only 5 successful hits scored after 54 launches in aerial combat. The AIM-4 was also produced as the HM-55S (radar-guided) for

2220-490: The KJ-500 as enablers for long-range Chinese air-to-air missiles. Limited performance parameters of KJ-500 have been published as follows: Air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile ( AAM ) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles ). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors , usually solid fueled but sometimes liquid fueled . Ramjet engines, as used on

2294-494: The MBDA Meteor, that "breathe" air (using a ramjet , similar to a jet engine) in order to extend their range. Modern missiles use "low-smoke" motors – early missiles produced thick smoke trails, which were easily seen by the crew of the target aircraft alerting them to the attack and helping them determine how to evade it. The CAS is typically an electro-mechanical, servo control actuation system, which takes input from

Shaanxi KJ-500 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-538: The R-27 and R-77 is the lack of a radar to support their guidance to the target. However the R-73 and R-60 are infra-red heat seeking missiles. They only require, power, liquid nitrogen "to cool the seeker head" and a pylon to launch the missile. These missiles have been paired with a "US made FLIR Systems ULTRA 8500 turrets". Only one near miss has been verified and that was a R-27T fired at Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA. However

2442-587: The US that early F-4 variants were armed only with missiles in the 1960s. High casualty rates during the Vietnam War caused the US to reintroduce autocannon and traditional dogfighting tactics but the missile remains the primary weapon in air combat. In the Falklands War British Harriers , using AIM-9L missiles were able to defeat faster Argentinian opponents. Since the late 20th century all-aspect heat-seeking designs can lock-on to

2516-537: The USN's AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder . Post-war research led the Royal Air Force to introduce Fairey Fireflash into service in 1957 but their results were unsuccessful. The Soviet Air Force introduced its K-5 into service in 1957. As missile systems have continued to advance, modern air warfare consists almost entirely of missile firing. The use of beyond-visual-range combat became so pervasive in

2590-405: The anti-bomber role. At this stage the weapon was still designed to be fired out of a tube, now leading from a weapon bay behind the nose-mounted radar with the launch tube exiting below the radar antenna. Instead of a magazine with multiple missiles, three missiles were placed in the tube tip-to-tail. Housing in a tube presented several problems, but primary among them was that there was no way for

2664-683: The anti-radiation missile (ARM) design, pioneered during Vietnam and used to home in against emitting surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites, to an air intercept weapon. Current air-to-air passive anti-radiation missile development is thought to be a countermeasure to airborne early warning and control (AEW&C – also known as AEW or AWACS) aircraft which typically mount powerful search radars. Due to their dependence on target aircraft radar emissions, when used against fighter aircraft passive anti-radiation missiles are primarily limited to forward-aspect intercept geometry. For examples, see Vympel R-27 and Brazo . Another aspect of passive anti-radiation homing

2738-657: The attack radar to illuminate the target during part or all of the missile interception itself. Radar guidance is normally used for medium- or long-range missiles, where the infra-red signature of the target would be too faint for an infra-red detector to track. There are three major types of radar-guided missile – active, semi-active, and passive. Radar-guided missiles can be countered by rapid maneuvering (which may result in them "breaking lock", or may cause them to overshoot), deploying chaff or using electronic counter-measures . Active radar (AR)-guided missiles carry their own radar system to detect and track their target. However,

2812-424: The category of beyond-visual-range missiles (BVRAAMs), tend to rely upon radar guidance, of which there are many forms. Some modern ones use inertial guidance and/or "mid-course updates" to get the missile close enough to use an active homing sensor. The concepts of air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air missiles are closely related, and in some cases versions of the same weapon may be used for both roles, such as

2886-558: The drawback is that these missiles are intended to be fired from one jet fighter against another. So the motors and fuel load are smaller than a purpose built surface to air missile. On the Western side, the Norwegian-American made NASAMS air defense system has been developed for using AIM-9 Sidewinder , IRIS-T and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to intercept targets. None of these missiles require modifications and hence it

2960-406: The four I had (already) selected and couldn't tell which of the remaining was perking and which head was already expiring on its launch rail. Twice upon returning to base I had the tech rep go over the switchology and firing sequences. We never discovered I was doing anything wrong. Colonel Olds became exasperated with the Falcon's poor combat performance. He ordered his entire fighter wing to rewire

3034-414: The front is the seeker, either a radar system, radar homer, or infra-red detector. Behind that lies the avionics which control the missile. Typically after that, in the centre of the missile, is the warhead, usually several kilograms of high explosive surrounded by metal that fragments on detonation (or in some cases, pre-fragmented metal). The rear part of the missile contains the propulsion system, usually

Shaanxi KJ-500 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-422: The front or side aspects, as opposed to just the hotter engine nozzle(s) from rear-aspect, allowing for a true all-aspect capability. This significantly expanded potential attacking envelopes, allowing the attacker to fire at a target which was side-on or front-on to itself as opposed to just the rear. While the field-of-view was still restricted to a fairly narrow cone, the attack at least did not have to be behind

3182-488: The guidance system and manipulates the airfoils or fins at the rear of the missile that guide or steers the weapon to target. Nowadays, countries start developing hypersonic air-to-air missile using scramjet engines (such as R-37 , or AIM-260 JATM ), which not only increases efficiency for BVR battles, but it also makes survival chances of target aircraft drop to nearly zero. A number of terms frequently crop up in discussions of air-to-air missile performance. A missile

3256-426: The hot exhaust pipes of an aircraft. This meant an attacking aircraft had to maneuver to a position behind its target before it could fire an infra-red guided missile. This also limited the range of the missile as the infra-red signature soon become too small to detect with increasing distance and after launch the missile was playing "catch-up" with its target. Early infrared seekers were unusable in clouds or rain (which

3330-428: The infrared-homing Falcons were built. All of the early Falcons had a small 7.6 lb (3.4 kg) warhead, limiting their lethal radius. Also limiting them tactically was that Falcon lacked a proximity fuze : the fuzing for the missile was in the leading edges of the wings, requiring a direct hit to detonate. In 1958, Hughes introduced a slightly enlarged version of the Falcon, initially dubbed Super Falcon , with

3404-406: The late 2000s. The KJ-500 was required to have three important features, which are good detection capability, good identification ability, and quick responsiveness. The KJ-500 was also required to be the core force of the information combat system, its equipped technology has four major characteristics, which are networking, multi-functionality, high-integration, and lightweight. The aircraft carries

3478-417: The launch aircraft has to maintain a "lock" on the target (keep illuminating the target aircraft with its own radar) until the missile makes the interception. This limits the attacking aircraft's ability to maneuver, which may be necessary should threats to the attacking aircraft appear. An advantage of SARH-guided missiles is that they are homing on the reflected radar signal, so accuracy actually increases as

3552-480: The long delta form that it and its various descendants would carry into the 2000s. The first test firings took place in 1949, at which time it was designated AAM-A-2 and given the popular name Falcon . A brief policy of assigning fighter and bomber designations to missiles led it to be redesignated F-98 in 1951. In 1955, the policy changed again, and the missile was again redesignated GAR-1 . The initial GAR-1 and GAR-2 models entered service in 1956. It armed

3626-512: The missile and said of it: By the beginning of June, we all hated the new AIM-4 Falcon missiles. I loathed the damned useless things. I wanted my Sidewinders back. In two missions I had fired seven or eight of the bloody things and not one guided. They were worse than I had anticipated. Sometimes they refused to launch; sometimes they just cruised off into the blue without guiding. In the thick of an engagement with my head twisting and turning, trying to keep track of friend and foe, I'd forget which of

3700-482: The missile close to the target. At a predetermined point (frequently based on time since launch or arrival near the predicted target location) the missile's radar system is activated (the missile is said to "go active"), and the missile then homes in on the target. If the range from the attacking aircraft to the target is within the range of the missile's radar system, the missile can "go active" immediately upon launch. The great advantage of an active radar homing system

3774-500: The missile gets closer because the reflection comes from a "point source": the target. Against this, if there are multiple targets, each will be reflecting the same radar signal and the missile may become confused as to which target is its intended victim. The missile may well be unable to pick a specific target and fly through a formation without passing within lethal range of any specific aircraft. Newer missiles have logic circuits in their guidance systems to help prevent this problem. At

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3848-408: The missile that allows it to home in on the jamming signal. An early form of radar guidance was " beam-riding " (BR). In this method, the attacking aircraft directs a narrow beam of radar energy at the target. The air-to-air missile was launched into the beam, where sensors on the aft of the missile controlled the missile, keeping it within the beam. So long as the beam was kept on the target aircraft,

3922-403: The missile will lock-on to it for the kill. Electro-optical seekers can be programmed to target vital area of an aircraft, such as the cockpit. Since it does not depend on the target aircraft's heat signature, it can be used against low-heat targets such as UAVs and cruise missiles . However, clouds can get in the way of electro-optical sensors. Evolving missile guidance designs are converting

3996-405: The missile would ride the beam until making the interception. While conceptually simple, the move is hard because of the challenge of simultaneously keeping the beam solidly on the target (which could not be relied upon to cooperate by flying straight and level), continuing to fly one's own aircraft, and monitoring enemy countermeasures. An added complication was that the beam will spread out into

4070-484: The missile's seeker to lock-on before launch. The original concept would be firing against interceptor aircraft that were slowly approaching the B-52 and would be somewhere fairly close to directly behind the aircraft. In the case of a fighter, the target might not be so conveniently located, and with no way to know if it could see the target while inside the tube, this meant it might never lock-on properly. Eventually, it

4144-402: The missiles to "see" images rather than single "points" of infrared radiation (heat). The sensors combined with more powerful digital signal processing provide the following benefits: Examples of fifth generation short-range missiles include: For each missile, short notes are given, including an indication of its range and guidance mechanism. AIM-4 Falcon The Hughes AIM-4 Falcon

4218-481: The possibility of leading a missile within its FOV for an increased probability of kill against a maneuvering target. In some cases, the improved sensitivity to heat signatures allows for a very limited side and even all-aspect tracking, as is the case with the Red Top missile . In conjunction with improved control surfaces and propulsion motors over the first generation of dogfight missiles, the technological advances of

4292-564: The projectile of the unguided 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 infantry barrage rocket system into the air-launched BR 21 anti-aircraft rocket in 1943; leading to the deployment of the R4M unguided rocket and the development of various guided missile prototypes such as the Ruhrstahl X-4 . The US Navy and US Air Force began equipping guided missiles in 1956, deploying the USAF's AIM-4 Falcon and

4366-493: The same time that the original MX-798 had been released, a specification for a forward-firing missile for fighter aircraft had been released as MX-799. This had progressed to the point of testing prototype rounds, as the AAM-A-1 Firebird , when its subsonic speed and manual guidance were realized to be serious problems. The project was cancelled, and the recently released MX-904 was redirected to replace Firebird in

4440-402: The same time, jamming the missile lock-on is easier because the launching aircraft is further from the target than the missile, so the radar signal has to travel further and is greatly attenuated over the distance. This means that the missile may be jammed or "spoofed" by countermeasures whose signals grow stronger as the missile gets closer. One counter to this is a "home on jam" capability in

4514-471: The second-generation short-range missiles allowed them to be used not just on non-maneuvering bombers, but also actively maneuvering fighters. Examples include advanced derivatives of the K-13 (missile) and AIM-9 such as K-13M ( R-13M , Object 380) or AIM-9D / G / H . This generation introduced much more sensitive seekers that are capable of locking onto the warm heat irradiated by the skins of aircraft from

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4588-409: The size of the radar antenna is limited by the small diameter of missiles, limiting its range which typically means such missiles are launched at a predicted future location of the target, often relying on separate guidance systems such as Global Positioning System , inertial guidance , or a mid-course update from either the launching aircraft or other system that can communicate with the missile to get

4662-410: The target increases the probability of a hit, the launching aircraft usually has to be closer to the target in such a tail-chase engagement . An aircraft can defend against infra-red missiles by dropping flares that are hotter than the aircraft, so the missile homes in on the brighter, hotter target. In turn, IR missiles may employ filters to enable it to ignore targets whose temperature is not within

4736-440: The target on a collision course. Although the missile may use radar or infra-red guidance to home on the target, the launching aircraft may detect and track the target before launch by other means. Infra-red guided missiles can be "slaved" to an attack radar in order to find the target and radar-guided missiles can be launched at targets detected visually or via an infra-red search and track (IRST) system, although they may require

4810-446: The target. Also typical of the third generation of short-range missiles are further improved agility over the previous generation as well as their ability to radar-slave; which is acquiring tracking data from the launching aircraft's radar or IRST systems, allowing attackers to launch missiles without ever pointing the nose of the aircraft at an enemy prior to leading the missile. Examples of this generation of dogfight missiles include

4884-476: The weapon in salvos of both types to increase the chances of a hit (a heat-seeking missile fired first, followed moments later by a radar-guided missile). The GAR-2 was about 1.5 in (40 mm) longer and 16 lb (7 kg) heavier than its SARH counterpart. Its range was similar. It was replaced in production by the GAR-2A (later AIM-4C ), with a more sensitive infrared seeker . A total of about 26,000 of

4958-497: The weapon was as a self-defense weapon for bomber aircraft , which would carry a magazine of three missiles in the rear fuselage, and fire them through a long tube that led through the area that normally held the tail turret. In the case of the B-52 , the missile contained a tuner for the bomber's A-3 rear-facing radar, and would follow the signal being reflected off the target aircraft using a semi-active radar homing (SARH) system. At

5032-711: Was also experimentally fired by the F-102 Delta Dagger against ground targets at night using its infrared seeker.) The weapon was unpopular with pilots from the onset and was supplemented or partially withdrawn in 1969, to be replaced in the F-4D by the Sidewinder after retrofitting the proper wiring. Colonel Robin Olds , USAF, commanding the F-4D-equipped 8th Tactical Fighter Wing , was an outspoken critic of

5106-426: Was decided to abandon the tube-launched concept and mount the missile on the wings or in weapon bays that would point the missile at the target prior to launch. This change also allowed the seeker to use infrared homing as well as SARH. Interchangeable seekers were developed, allowing an aircraft to carry either type, or both. Additionally, freed from the tube, the missile's wings were allowed to grow larger and took on

5180-570: Was ineffective against maneuverable fighters over Vietnam . Lacking proximity fusing , the missile would detonate only if a direct hit was scored. Only five kills were recorded. With the AIM-4's poor kill record rendering the F-4D ineffective at air-to-air combat, the fighters were modified to carry the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile instead, which was already carried on USAF F-4Cs , USN and USMC F-4 Phantom II and F-8 Crusader jet fighters. The Sidewinder

5254-551: Was more effective in the fighter vs fighter role on the F-4 platform, and improved versions continue to serve the armed forces of the United States and numerous allied nations to this day. Development of a guided air-to-air missile began in 1946. Hughes Aircraft was awarded a contract for a subsonic missile under the project designation MX-798 , which soon gave way to the supersonic MX-904 in 1947. The original purpose of

5328-520: Was redesignated AIM-4 in September 1962. The final version of the original Falcon was the GAR-2B (later AIM-4D ), which entered service in 1963. This was intended as a fighter combat weapon, combining the lighter, smaller airframe of the earlier GAR-1/GAR-2 weapon with the improved IR seeker of the GAR-4A/AIM-4G. An effort to address the limitations of AIM-4D led to the development in 1970 of

5402-513: Was replaced in production by the GAR-1D (later AIM-4A ), with larger control surfaces. About 12,000 of this variant were produced, the major production version of the SARH Falcon. The GAR-2 (later AIM-4B ) was a heat-seeker, generally limited to rear-aspect engagements , but with the advantage of being a ' fire and forget ' weapon. As would also be Soviet practice, it was common to fire

5476-501: Was the first operational guided air-to-air missile of the United States Air Force . Development began in 1946; the weapon was first tested in 1949. The missile entered service with the USAF in 1956. Produced in both heat-seeking and radar-guided versions, the missile served during the Vietnam War with USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II units. Designed to shoot down slow bombers with limited maneuverability, it

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