AIM-120 AMRAAM
Encyclopedia
The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM , is a modern beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile
(AAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. Designed with the same form-factor as the previous generation of semi-active guided Sparrow missiles, it is a fire-and-forget missile with active guidance. It is also commonly known as the Slammer in USAF service. When an AMRAAM missile is being launched, NATO pilots use the brevity code
Fox Three
.
medium range missile (MRM) was purchased by the US Navy from original developer Howard Hughes
in the 1950s as its first operational air-to-air missile with "beyond visual range" (BVR) capability. With an effective range of about 12 miles (19.3 km), it was introduced as a radar beam riding
missile and then improved to a semi-active radar guided
missile which would home in on reflections from a target illuminated by the radar of the launching aircraft. It was effective at visual to beyond visual range. The early beam riding versions of the Sparrow missiles were integrated onto the F3H Demon
and F7U Cutlass
, but the definitive AIM-7 Sparrow was the primary weapon for the all-weather F-4 Phantom II
fighter/interceptor, which lacked an internal gun in the US Navy, USMC and early USAF versions. The F-4 mounted up to four AIM-7s carried in special recesses under the fuselage.
Although designed for non-maneuvering targets such as bombers, due to poor performance against fighters over North Vietnam, these missiles were progressively improved until they proved highly effective in dogfights. Together with the short range infrared guided AIM-9 Sidewinder
, they replaced the AIM-4 Falcon
IR and radar guided series for use in air combat by the USAF as well. A disadvantage to semi-active homing was that only one target could be illuminated by the launch aircraft at a time; also, the launch aircraft had to remain pointed in the direction of the target (within the azimuth of the aircraft radar, up to 60 degrees off the nose on some systems), which could be difficult or dangerous in aerial combat.
long range missile (LRM) for the fleet air defense mission. It was a large 1000 lb (453.6 kg) Mach 4 missile designed to counter cruise missile
s and the bombers that launched them. Originally intended for the straight-wing F6D Missileer
and then the navalized version of the F-111B, it finally saw service with the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the only fighter capable of carrying such a heavy missile. Phoenix was the first US fire-and-forget
multiple launch radar-guided missile: one which used its own active guidance system to guide itself without help from the launch aircraft when it closed on its target. This gave a Tomcat with a six-Phoenix load the unprecedented capability of tracking and destroying up to six targets beyond visual range, as far as 100 miles (160.9 km) away - the only US fighter with such capability.
A full load of six Phoenix missiles and its 2000 pounds (907.2 kg) dedicated launcher exceeded a typical Vietnam-era bomb load; only one, two or four missiles were normally flown off the carrier, as a full load was too heavy for a carrier landing. Although highly lauded in the press, its service in the US Navy was primarily as a deterrent, as its use was hampered by restrictive Rules of Engagement
conflicts such as Operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. The only reported combat successes were by Iranian Tomcats against Iraqi opponents. The US Navy retired the Phoenix in 2004 in light of availability of the AIM-120 AMRAAM on the F/A-18 Hornet
and the pending retirement of the F-14 Tomcat from active service in late 2006.
conducted an extensive evaluation of air combat tactics and missile technology from 1974-78 at Nellis AFB using the F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle equipped with Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles as blue force and Aggressor F-5E aircraft equipped with AIM-9L all-aspect
Sidewinders as the Red force. This Joint Test and Evaluaton (JT&E) was designated Air Combat Evaluation / Air Intercept Missile Evaluation
(ACEVAL/AIMVAL). A principal finding was the necessity to produce illumination for the Sparrow until impact resulted in the Red Force being able to launch their all-aspect Sidewinders before impact thereby resulting in mutual kills. What was needed was Phoenix type multiple launch and terminal active capability in a Sparrow size airframe. This led to a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) with European allies (principally the UK and Germany for development) for the US to develop an Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) with the USAF as lead service. The MOA also assigned responsibility for development of an Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile to the European team.
By the 1990s, the reliability of the Sparrow had improved so much from the dismal days of Vietnam that it accounted for the largest number of aerial targets destroyed in Desert Storm
. But while the USAF had passed on the Phoenix and their own similar AIM-47/YF-12 to optimize dogfight performance, they still desired the Navy's multiple-launch fire-and-forget capability for the F-15 and F-16. AMRAAM would need to be fitted on fighters as small as the F-16, and fit in the same spaces that were designed to fit the Sparrow on the F-4 Phantom. The European partners needed AMRAAM to be integrated on aircraft as small as the Sea Harrier. The US Navy needed AMRAAM to be carried on the F/A-18 Hornet and wanted capability for two to be carried on a launcher that normally carried one Sparrow to allow for more air-to-ground weapons.
AMRAAM would eventually be the primary weapon for the F-22 Raptor
which needed to fit all its missiles in internal weapons bays like the old F-106 Delta Dart
s in order to maintain a stealthy radar cross-section. The US Navy ultimately decided to retire its F-14 Tomcats and pass the Fleet Air Defense mission to the F/A-18C Hornets and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, which needed even more advanced versions of AMRAAM to replace the Phoenix capability.
. Although Europe initially adopted AMRAAM, an effort to develop the MBDA Meteor
, a competitor to AMRAAM, was begun. Eventually ASRAAM was developed solely by the UK with another source for its seeker. After protracted development, deployment of AMRAAM (AIM-120A) began in September 1991 with USAF F-15 Eagle squadrons. The US Navy followed suit in 1993 with the F/A-18C.
The eastern counterpart of AMRAAM is the very similar Russian
AA-12 Adder
, commonly known in the west as "AMRAAMski." Likewise, France began its own missile development with the MICA
concept that used the same airframe for separate radar and IR guidance versions.
Once the missile closes in on the target, its active radar guides it to intercept. This feature, known as "fire-and-forget", frees the aircrew from the need to further provide guidance, enabling the aircrew to aim and fire several missiles simultaneously at multiple targets and perform evasive maneuvers while the missiles guide themselves to the targets.
The missile also features the ability to "Home on Jamming," giving it the ability to switch over from active radar homing to passive homing - homing on jamming signals from the target aircraft. Software on board the missile allows it to detect if it is being jammed, and guide on its target using the proper guidance system.
AMRAAM uses two-stage guidance
when fired at long range. The aircraft passes data to the missile just before launch, giving it information about the location of the target aircraft from the launch point and its direction and speed. The missile uses this information to fly on an interception course to the target using its built in inertial navigation system
(INS). This information is generally obtained using the launching aircraft's radar, although it could come from an infrared
search and tracking system (IRST), from a data link
from another fighter aircraft, or from an AWACS aircraft.
After launch, If the firing aircraft or surrogate continues to track the target, periodic updates—such as changes in the target's direction and speed—are sent from the launch aircraft to the missile, allowing the missile to adjust its course so that it is able to close to a self-homing distance where it will be close enough to "catch" the target aircraft in the basket (the missile's radar field of view in which it will be able to lock onto the target aircraft, unassisted by the launch aircraft).
Not all armed services using the AMRAAM have elected to purchase the mid-course update option, which limits AMRAAM's effectiveness in some scenarios. The RAF
initially opted not to use mid-course update for its Tornado F3
force, only to discover that without it, testing proved the AMRAAM was less effective in BVR engagements than the older semi-active radar homing
BAE Skyflash
weapon—the AIM-120's own radar is necessarily of limited range and power compared to that of the launch aircraft.
"Pitbull" would be called out on the radio , just as "Fox Three" would be called out upon launch.
If the missile is fired at short range (typically visual range), it can use its active seeker just after launch, making the missile truly "fire and forget". The NATO brevity code "Maddog" is used in this situation.
(Pk) is determined by several factors, including aspect (head-on interception, side-on or tail-chase), altitude, the speed of the missile and the target, and how hard the target can turn. Typically, if the missile has sufficient energy during the terminal phase, which comes from being launched close enough to the target from an aircraft flying high and fast enough, it will have an excellent chance of success. This chance drops as the missile is fired at longer ranges as it runs out of overtake speed at long ranges, and if the target can force the missile to turn it might bleed off enough speed that it can no longer chase the target.
If the targets are armed with missiles, the fire-and-forget nature of the AMRAAM is valuable, enabling the launching aircraft to fire missiles at the target and subsequently take defensive actions. Even if the targets have longer-range semi-active radar homing
(SARH
) missiles, they will have to chase the launching aircraft in order for the missiles to track them, effectively flying right into the AMRAAM. If the target aircraft fires missiles and then turns and runs away, those missiles will not be able to hit. Of course, if the target aircraft have long range missiles, even if they are not fire-and-forget, the fact that they force the launching aircraft to turn and run reduces the kill probability, since it is possible that without the mid-course updates the missiles will not find the target aircraft. However the chance of success is still good and compared to the relative impunity the launching aircraft enjoy, this gives the AMRAAM-equipped aircraft a decisive edge. If one or more missiles fail to hit, the AMRAAM-equipped aircraft can turn and re-engage, although they will be at a disadvantage compared to the chasing aircraft due to the speed they lose in the turn, and would have to be careful that they are not being tracked with SARH
missiles.
(NATO AA-12 "Adder") — perhaps MiG-29s, Su-27s or similar. In this case engagement is very much down to teamwork and could be described as "a game of chicken." Both flights of aircraft can fire their missiles at each other beyond visual range (BVR), but then face the problem that if they continue to track the target aircraft in order to provide mid-course updates for the missile's flight, they are also flying into their opponents' missiles. Although in this regard the RVV-AE (which is the missile's export name or R-77 the official Russian Air force designation) does have an advantage as it has a greater range than the AMRAAM (when the AIM-120D is deployed the AMRAAM will have 30+ miles more range than the standard R-77 but much less than the ramjet powered R-77M and the Meteor missiles which will also enter service along with AIM-120D). This assumes of course that all aircraft will detect each other.
, USN, and the United States Marine Corps. The AIM-120A is no longer in production and shares the enlarged wings and fins with the successor AIM-120B. The AIM-120C has smaller "clipped" aerosurfaces to enable internal carriage on the USAF F-22 Raptor
. AIM-120B deliveries began in 1994, and AIM-120C deliveries began in 1996.
The AIM-120C has been steadily upgraded since it was introduced. The AIM-120C-6 contained an improved fuse (Target Detection Device) compared to its predecessor. The AIM-120C-7 development began in 1998 and included improvements in homing and greater range (actual amount of improvement unspecified). It was successfully tested in 2003 and is currently being produced for both domestic and foreign customers. It helped the U.S. Navy
replace the F-14 Tomcat
s with F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
s – the loss of the F-14's long-range AIM-54 Phoenix
missiles (already retired) can be partially offset with a longer-range AMRAAM, but note that the AMRAAM does not have the long range capability of the Phoenix missile.
The AIM-120D is an upgraded version of the AMRAAM with improvements in almost all areas, including 50% greater range (than the already-extended range AIM-120C-7) and better guidance over its entire flight envelope yielding an improved kill probability (Pk
). Raytheon began testing the D model on August 5, 2008, the company reported that an AIM-120D launched from an F/A-18F Super Hornet passed within lethal distance of a QF-4 target drone at the White Sands Missile Range
.
There are also plans for Raytheon
to develop a ramjet
-powered derivative of the AMRAAM, the Future Medium Range Air-Air Missile (FMRAAM). It is not known whether the FMRAAM will be produced since the target market, the British Ministry of Defence, has chosen the Meteor missile
over the FMRAAM for a BVR missile for the Eurofighter Typhoon
aircraft.
Raytheon is also working with the Missile Defense Agency
to develop the Network Centric Airborne Defense Element
(NCADE), an anti-ballistic missile derived from the AIM-120. This weapon will be equipped with a Ramjet engine and an IR seeker derived from the Sidewinder
missile. In place of a proximity-fused warhead, the NCADE will use a kinetic energy hit-to-kill vehicle based on the one used in the Navy's RIM-161 Standard Missile 3
.
AMRAAM will continue to serve in the arsenal of the USAF, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps until at least 2020 when the Joint Dual Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM
) would potentially enter service. The -120A and -120B models are currently nearing the end of their service life while the -120D variant has just entered full production.
Raytheon
successfully tested launching AMRAAM missiles from a five-missile carrier on a M1097 Humvee. This system will be known as the SLAMRAAM (Surface Launched (SL) and AMRAAM). They receive their initial guidance information from a radar not mounted on the vehicle. Since the missile is launched without the benefit of an aircraft's speed or high altitude, its range is considerably shorter. Raytheon is currently marketing an SL-AMRAAM EX, purported to be an extended range AMRAAM and bearing a resemblance to the ESSM (Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile).
The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System
(NASAMS), developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
, consists of a number of vehicle-pulled launch batteries (containing six AMRAAMs each) along with separate radar trucks and control station vehicles.
While still under evaluation for replacement of current US Army assets, the SL-AMRAAM has been deployed in several nations military forces, including Egypt. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested the purchasing of SL-AMRAAM as part of a larger 7 billion dollar foreign military sales package. The sale would include 288 AMRAAM C-7 missiles.
The US Army has test fired the SL-AMRAAM from a HIMARS artillery rocket launcher as a common launcher, as part of a move to switch to a larger and more survivable launch platform.
The National Guard Association of the United States has sent a letter asking for the United States Senate to stop the Army's plan to drop the SLAMRAAM program because without it there would be no path to modernize the Guard's AN/TWQ-1 Avenger Battalions.
On 6 January 2011, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced that the U.S. Army has decided to terminate acquisition of the SLAMRAAM as part of a budget-cutting effort.
shot down an Iraq
i MiG-25 that violated the southern no-fly-zone. Interestingly enough, this missile was returned from the flight line as defective a day earlier. AMRAAM gained a second victory in January 1993 when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down by a USAF F-16C
.
The third combat use of the AMRAAM was in 1994, when a Republika Srpska Air Force
J-21 Jastreb
aircraft was shot down by a USAF F-16C that was patrolling the UN-imposed no-fly-zone over Bosnia. In that engagement at least 3 other Serbian aircraft were shot down by USAF F-16C fighters using AIM-9 missiles (see Banja Luka incident
for more details). At that point three launches in combat resulted in three kills, resulting in the AMRAAM being informally named "slammer" in the second half of the 1990s.
In 1998 and 1999 AMRAAMs were again fired by USAF F-15 fighters at Iraq
i aircraft violating the No-Fly-Zone, but this time they failed to hit their targets. During the spring of 1999, AMRAAMs saw their main combat action during Operation Allied Force
, the Kosovo
bombing campaign. Six Serbian MiG-29 were shot down by NATO (4 USAF F-15C, 1 USAF F-16C, 1 Dutch F-16A MLU), all of them using AIM-120 missiles (the kill by the F-16C may have happened due to friendly fire, from SA-7 MANPAD fired by Serbian infantry).
As of mid 2008, the AIM-120 AMRAAM has shot down nine enemy aircraft (six MiG-29s, one MiG-25, one MiG-23, and one Soko J-21 Jastreb
). An AMRAAM was also involved in a friendly-fire incident in 1994 when F-15 fighters patrolling the Southern No-Fly Zone inadvertently shot down
a pair of U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters.
received AIM-120 AMRAAMs from the U.S. Air Force as part of the Peace Puma Plan, which also included ten F-16D fighters. In 2009, Chile ordered another 100 AIM-120 C7.
In 2006 Poland
received AIM-120C-5 missiles to arm its new F-16C/D Block 52+ fighters.
In early 2006 the Pakistan Air Force
(PAF) ordered 500 AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM missiles as part of a $650 million F-16 ammunition deal to equip the PAF's F-16C/D Block 52+ and F-16A/B MLU fighters. The PAF get the first three F-16 Block 52+ on 3 July 2010 and first batch of AMRAAMs on 26 July 2010.
In 2007, the United States government agreed to sell 218 AIM-120C-7 missiles to Taiwan as part of a large arms sales package that also included 235 AGM-65G-2 Maverick missiles. Total value of the package, including launchers, maintenance, spare parts, support and training rounds, was estimated at around $421 million USD. This supplemented an earlier Taiwanese purchase of 120 AIM-120C-5 missiles a few years ago.
2008 has brought announcements of new or additional sales to Singapore, Finland, Morocco and South Korea; in December 2010 the Swiss
government requested 150 missiles.
Pakistan Air Force
500 additional AMRAAMs delivered as of 2009 from USA.
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
(AAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. Designed with the same form-factor as the previous generation of semi-active guided Sparrow missiles, it is a fire-and-forget missile with active guidance. It is also commonly known as the Slammer in USAF service. When an AMRAAM missile is being launched, NATO pilots use the brevity code
Brevity code
Multiservice tactical brevity codes are codes used by various military forces. The codes procedure words, a type of voice procedure, are designed to convey complex information with a few words.-American/NATO codes:...
Fox Three
Fox (code word)
Fox is a brevity code used by NATO pilots to signal the simulated or actual release of an air-to-air munition or other combat function. Army aviation elements may use a different nomenclature, as the nature of helicopter fired weapons is almost always air-to-surface. 'Fox' is short for 'foxtrot',...
.
AIM-7 Sparrow MRM
The AIM-7 SparrowAIM-7 Sparrow
The AIM-7 Sparrow is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as various allied air forces and navies. Sparrow and its derivatives were the West's principal beyond visual...
medium range missile (MRM) was purchased by the US Navy from original developer Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
in the 1950s as its first operational air-to-air missile with "beyond visual range" (BVR) capability. With an effective range of about 12 miles (19.3 km), it was introduced as a radar beam riding
Beam riding
Beam-riding, also known as beam guidance, is a technique of directing a missile to its target by means of radar or a laser beam. The name refers to the way the missile flies down the guidance beam, which is aimed at the target...
missile and then improved to a semi-active radar guided
Semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing, or SARH, is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive detector of a radar signal – provided by an external ...
missile which would home in on reflections from a target illuminated by the radar of the launching aircraft. It was effective at visual to beyond visual range. The early beam riding versions of the Sparrow missiles were integrated onto the F3H Demon
F3H Demon
The McDonnell F3H Demon was a subsonic swept-wing United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. After severe problems with Westinghouse J40 engine that was ultimately abandoned, the successor to the McDonnell F2H Banshee served starting in 1956 redesigned with the J71 engine...
and F7U Cutlass
F7U Cutlass
The Vought F7U Cutlass was a United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War era. It was a highly unusual, semi-tailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the German Arado company at the end of World War II, though Vought...
, but the definitive AIM-7 Sparrow was the primary weapon for the all-weather F-4 Phantom II
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
fighter/interceptor, which lacked an internal gun in the US Navy, USMC and early USAF versions. The F-4 mounted up to four AIM-7s carried in special recesses under the fuselage.
Although designed for non-maneuvering targets such as bombers, due to poor performance against fighters over North Vietnam, these missiles were progressively improved until they proved highly effective in dogfights. Together with the short range infrared guided AIM-9 Sidewinder
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...
, they replaced the AIM-4 Falcon
AIM-4 Falcon
The Hughes AIM-4 Falcon was the first operational guided air-to-air missile of the United States Air Force.-Development: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...
IR and radar guided series for use in air combat by the USAF as well. A disadvantage to semi-active homing was that only one target could be illuminated by the launch aircraft at a time; also, the launch aircraft had to remain pointed in the direction of the target (within the azimuth of the aircraft radar, up to 60 degrees off the nose on some systems), which could be difficult or dangerous in aerial combat.
AIM-54 Phoenix LRM
The US Navy later developed the AIM-54 PhoenixAIM-54 Phoenix
The AIM-54 Phoenix is a radar-guided, long-range air-to-air missile , carried in clusters of up to six missiles on F-14 Tomcats, its only launch platform. The Phoenix was the United States' only long-range air-to-air missile. The weapons system based on Phoenix was the world's first to allow...
long range missile (LRM) for the fleet air defense mission. It was a large 1000 lb (453.6 kg) Mach 4 missile designed to counter cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
s and the bombers that launched them. Originally intended for the straight-wing F6D Missileer
F6D Missileer
The Douglas F6D Missileer was a proposed carrier-based US Navy fleet defense fighter aircraft, designed by Douglas Aircraft Company in response to a 1959 US Navy requirement...
and then the navalized version of the F-111B, it finally saw service with the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the only fighter capable of carrying such a heavy missile. Phoenix was the first US fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a third-generation method of missile guidance. The military uses the term for a type of missile which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance , and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the...
multiple launch radar-guided missile: one which used its own active guidance system to guide itself without help from the launch aircraft when it closed on its target. This gave a Tomcat with a six-Phoenix load the unprecedented capability of tracking and destroying up to six targets beyond visual range, as far as 100 miles (160.9 km) away - the only US fighter with such capability.
A full load of six Phoenix missiles and its 2000 pounds (907.2 kg) dedicated launcher exceeded a typical Vietnam-era bomb load; only one, two or four missiles were normally flown off the carrier, as a full load was too heavy for a carrier landing. Although highly lauded in the press, its service in the US Navy was primarily as a deterrent, as its use was hampered by restrictive Rules of Engagement
Rules of engagement
Rules of Engagement refers to those responses that are permitted in the employment of military personnel during operations or in the course of their duties. These rules of engagement are determined by the legal framework within which these duties are being carried out...
conflicts such as Operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. The only reported combat successes were by Iranian Tomcats against Iraqi opponents. The US Navy retired the Phoenix in 2004 in light of availability of the AIM-120 AMRAAM on the F/A-18 Hornet
F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
and the pending retirement of the F-14 Tomcat from active service in late 2006.
ACEVAL/AIMVAL
The Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
conducted an extensive evaluation of air combat tactics and missile technology from 1974-78 at Nellis AFB using the F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle equipped with Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles as blue force and Aggressor F-5E aircraft equipped with AIM-9L all-aspect
All-aspect
An all-aspect missile is one which is able to track a target no matter which way the target faces relative to the missile. In other words, an all-aspect missile can be launched against a target in a tail-chase engagement, in a head-on engagement, in a side-on engagement, from above, from below,...
Sidewinders as the Red force. This Joint Test and Evaluaton (JT&E) was designated Air Combat Evaluation / Air Intercept Missile Evaluation
ACEVAL/AIMVAL
The Air Combat Evaluation and the Air Intercept Missile Evaluation were two back-to-back Joint Test & Evaluations chartered by the United States Department of Defense that ran from 1974-78 at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Both the U. S...
(ACEVAL/AIMVAL). A principal finding was the necessity to produce illumination for the Sparrow until impact resulted in the Red Force being able to launch their all-aspect Sidewinders before impact thereby resulting in mutual kills. What was needed was Phoenix type multiple launch and terminal active capability in a Sparrow size airframe. This led to a Memorandum of Agreement
Memorandum of Agreement
A memorandum of agreement or cooperative agreement is a document written between parties to cooperatively work together on an agreed upon project or meet an agreed objective. The purpose of an MOA is to have a written understanding of the agreement between parties.An MOA is a good tool to use for...
(MOA) with European allies (principally the UK and Germany for development) for the US to develop an Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) with the USAF as lead service. The MOA also assigned responsibility for development of an Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile to the European team.
Requirements
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. But while the USAF had passed on the Phoenix and their own similar AIM-47/YF-12 to optimize dogfight performance, they still desired the Navy's multiple-launch fire-and-forget capability for the F-15 and F-16. AMRAAM would need to be fitted on fighters as small as the F-16, and fit in the same spaces that were designed to fit the Sparrow on the F-4 Phantom. The European partners needed AMRAAM to be integrated on aircraft as small as the Sea Harrier. The US Navy needed AMRAAM to be carried on the F/A-18 Hornet and wanted capability for two to be carried on a launcher that normally carried one Sparrow to allow for more air-to-ground weapons.
AMRAAM would eventually be the primary weapon for the F-22 Raptor
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals...
which needed to fit all its missiles in internal weapons bays like the old F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it has proven to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date...
s in order to maintain a stealthy radar cross-section. The US Navy ultimately decided to retire its F-14 Tomcats and pass the Fleet Air Defense mission to the F/A-18C Hornets and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, which needed even more advanced versions of AMRAAM to replace the Phoenix capability.
Development
AMRAAM was developed as the result of an agreement (the Family of Weapons MOA, no longer in effect by 1990), among the United States and several other NATO nations to develop air-to-air missiles and to share production technology. Under this agreement the U.S. was to develop the next generation medium range missile (AMRAAM) and Europe would develop the next generation short range missile (ASRAAM). When the German ASRAAM seeker development ran into problems, the MOA was abrogated and this breakdown led to the U.S. developing AIM-9X Sidewinder and Germany the IRIS-TIRIS-T
The IRIS-T is a German-led program to develop a short-range air-to-air missile to replace the venerable AIM-9 Sidewinder found in some of the NATO member countries...
. Although Europe initially adopted AMRAAM, an effort to develop the MBDA Meteor
MBDA Meteor
Meteor is an active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile being developed by MBDA. It is to equip the Eurofighter Typhoons of the UK's Royal Air Force , Germany's Luftwaffe, Spain's Ejército del Aire and Italy's Aeronautica Militare Italiana, the British and Italian F-35s , the...
, a competitor to AMRAAM, was begun. Eventually ASRAAM was developed solely by the UK with another source for its seeker. After protracted development, deployment of AMRAAM (AIM-120A) began in September 1991 with USAF F-15 Eagle squadrons. The US Navy followed suit in 1993 with the F/A-18C.
The eastern counterpart of AMRAAM is the very similar Russian
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
AA-12 Adder
Vympel R-77
The Russian R-77 Missile is a medium range, air-to-air, active radar-guided missile system. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, thus gaining a nickname: Amraamski....
, commonly known in the west as "AMRAAMski." Likewise, France began its own missile development with the MICA
MBDA MICA
The MBDA MICA is an anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system. It is intended for use both by air platforms as individual missiles as well as ground units and ships, which can be equipped with the rapid fire MICA Vertical Launch System...
concept that used the same airframe for separate radar and IR guidance versions.
Operational features summary
AMRAAM has an all-weather, beyond-visual-range (BVR) 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 a datalink to guide the missile to a point where its active radar turns on and makes terminal intercept of the target. An inertial reference unit and micro-computer system 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 feature, known as "fire-and-forget", frees the aircrew from the need to further provide guidance, enabling the aircrew to aim and fire several missiles simultaneously at multiple targets and perform evasive maneuvers while the missiles guide themselves to the targets.
The missile also features the ability to "Home on Jamming," giving it the ability to switch over from active radar homing to passive homing - homing on jamming signals from the target aircraft. Software on board the missile allows it to detect if it is being jammed, and guide on its target using the proper guidance system.
Interception course stage
Missile guidance
Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness...
when fired at long range. The aircraft passes data to the missile just before launch, giving it information about the location of the target aircraft from the launch point and its direction and speed. The missile uses this information to fly on an interception course to the target using its built in inertial navigation system
Inertial navigation system
An inertial navigation system is a navigation aid that uses a computer, motion sensors and rotation sensors to continuously calculate via dead reckoning the position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object without the need for external references...
(INS). This information is generally obtained using the launching aircraft's radar, although it could come from an infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
search and tracking system (IRST), from a data link
Joint Tactical Information Distribution System
The Joint Tactical Information Distribution System is an L band TDMA network radio system used by the United States armed forces and their allies to support data communications needs, principally in the air and missile defense community...
from another fighter aircraft, or from an AWACS aircraft.
After launch, If the firing aircraft or surrogate continues to track the target, periodic updates—such as changes in the target's direction and speed—are sent from the launch aircraft to the missile, allowing the missile to adjust its course so that it is able to close to a self-homing distance where it will be close enough to "catch" the target aircraft in the basket (the missile's radar field of view in which it will be able to lock onto the target aircraft, unassisted by the launch aircraft).
Not all armed services using the AMRAAM have elected to purchase the mid-course update option, which limits AMRAAM's effectiveness in some scenarios. The RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
initially opted not to use mid-course update for its Tornado F3
Panavia Tornado ADV
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant is a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service in 1986. It was retired on 22 March 2011 by the Royal Air Forceand is now only in service with the...
force, only to discover that without it, testing proved the AMRAAM was less effective in BVR engagements than the older semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing, or SARH, is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive detector of a radar signal – provided by an external ...
BAE Skyflash
Skyflash
The British Aerospace Skyflash was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian Aeronautica Militare and Royal Saudi Air Force Tornados and Swedish Flygvapnet Viggens...
weapon—the AIM-120's own radar is necessarily of limited range and power compared to that of the launch aircraft.
Terminal stage and impact
Once the missile closes to self-homing distance, it turns on its active radar seeker and searches for the target aircraft. If the target is in or near the expected location, the missile will find it and guide itself to the target from this point. At the point where an AMRAAM switches to autonomous self-guidance, the NATO brevity codeBrevity code
Multiservice tactical brevity codes are codes used by various military forces. The codes procedure words, a type of voice procedure, are designed to convey complex information with a few words.-American/NATO codes:...
"Pitbull" would be called out on the radio , just as "Fox Three" would be called out upon launch.
If the missile is fired at short range (typically visual range), it can use its active seeker just after launch, making the missile truly "fire and forget". The NATO brevity code "Maddog" is used in this situation.
General considerations
Once in its terminal mode, the missile's advanced electronic counter countermeasures (ECCM) support and good maneuverability mean that the chance of it hitting or exploding close to the target is high (on the order of 90%), as long as it has enough remaining energy to maneuver with the target if it is evasive. The kill probabilityProbability of kill
Computer games, simulations, models, and operations research programs often require a mechanism to determine statistically whether the engagement between a weapon and a target resulted in a kill, or the probability of kill...
(Pk) is determined by several factors, including aspect (head-on interception, side-on or tail-chase), altitude, the speed of the missile and the target, and how hard the target can turn. Typically, if the missile has sufficient energy during the terminal phase, which comes from being launched close enough to the target from an aircraft flying high and fast enough, it will have an excellent chance of success. This chance drops as the missile is fired at longer ranges as it runs out of overtake speed at long ranges, and if the target can force the missile to turn it might bleed off enough speed that it can no longer chase the target.
Lower-capability targets
This leads to two main engagement scenarios. If the target is not armed with any medium or long-range fire-and-forget weapons, the attacking aircraft need only get close enough to the target and launch the AMRAAM. In these scenarios, the AMRAAM has a high chance of hitting, especially against low-maneuverability targets. The launch distance depends upon whether the target is heading towards or away from the firing aircraft. In a head-on engagement, the missile can be launched at longer range, since the range will be closing fast. In this situation, even if the target turns around, it is unlikely it can speed up and fly away fast enough to avoid being overtaken and hit by the missile (as long as the missile is not released too early). It is also unlikely the enemy can outmaneuver the missile since the closure rate will be so great. In a tail-on engagement, the firing aircraft might have to close to between one-half and one-quarter maximum range (or maybe even closer for a very fast target) in order to give the missile sufficient energy to overtake the targets.If the targets are armed with missiles, the fire-and-forget nature of the AMRAAM is valuable, enabling the launching aircraft to fire missiles at the target and subsequently take defensive actions. Even if the targets have longer-range semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing, or SARH, is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive detector of a radar signal – provided by an external ...
(SARH
Sarh
Sarh is the third largest city in Chad, after N'Djamena and Moundou. It is the capital of Moyen-Chari region and the department of Barh Köh. It lies 350 miles south-east of the capital Ndjamena on the Chari River...
) missiles, they will have to chase the launching aircraft in order for the missiles to track them, effectively flying right into the AMRAAM. If the target aircraft fires missiles and then turns and runs away, those missiles will not be able to hit. Of course, if the target aircraft have long range missiles, even if they are not fire-and-forget, the fact that they force the launching aircraft to turn and run reduces the kill probability, since it is possible that without the mid-course updates the missiles will not find the target aircraft. However the chance of success is still good and compared to the relative impunity the launching aircraft enjoy, this gives the AMRAAM-equipped aircraft a decisive edge. If one or more missiles fail to hit, the AMRAAM-equipped aircraft can turn and re-engage, although they will be at a disadvantage compared to the chasing aircraft due to the speed they lose in the turn, and would have to be careful that they are not being tracked with SARH
Sarh
Sarh is the third largest city in Chad, after N'Djamena and Moundou. It is the capital of Moyen-Chari region and the department of Barh Köh. It lies 350 miles south-east of the capital Ndjamena on the Chari River...
missiles.
Similarly armed targets
The other main engagement scenario is against other aircraft with fire-and-forget missiles like the Vympel R-77Vympel R-77
The Russian R-77 Missile is a medium range, air-to-air, active radar-guided missile system. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, thus gaining a nickname: Amraamski....
(NATO AA-12 "Adder") — perhaps MiG-29s, Su-27s or similar. In this case engagement is very much down to teamwork and could be described as "a game of chicken." Both flights of aircraft can fire their missiles at each other beyond visual range (BVR), but then face the problem that if they continue to track the target aircraft in order to provide mid-course updates for the missile's flight, they are also flying into their opponents' missiles. Although in this regard the RVV-AE (which is the missile's export name or R-77 the official Russian Air force designation) does have an advantage as it has a greater range than the AMRAAM (when the AIM-120D is deployed the AMRAAM will have 30+ miles more range than the standard R-77 but much less than the ramjet powered R-77M and the Meteor missiles which will also enter service along with AIM-120D). This assumes of course that all aircraft will detect each other.
Variants and upgrades
Air-to-air missile versions
There are currently three variants of AMRAAM, all in service with the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, USN, and the United States Marine Corps. The AIM-120A is no longer in production and shares the enlarged wings and fins with the successor AIM-120B. The AIM-120C has smaller "clipped" aerosurfaces to enable internal carriage on the USAF F-22 Raptor
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals...
. AIM-120B deliveries began in 1994, and AIM-120C deliveries began in 1996.
The AIM-120C has been steadily upgraded since it was introduced. The AIM-120C-6 contained an improved fuse (Target Detection Device) compared to its predecessor. The AIM-120C-7 development began in 1998 and included improvements in homing and greater range (actual amount of improvement unspecified). It was successfully tested in 2003 and is currently being produced for both domestic and foreign customers. It helped the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
replace the F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
s with F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft. The F/A-18E single-seat variant and F/A-18F tandem-seat variant are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm gun and can carry air-to-air...
s – the loss of the F-14's long-range AIM-54 Phoenix
AIM-54 Phoenix
The AIM-54 Phoenix is a radar-guided, long-range air-to-air missile , carried in clusters of up to six missiles on F-14 Tomcats, its only launch platform. The Phoenix was the United States' only long-range air-to-air missile. The weapons system based on Phoenix was the world's first to allow...
missiles (already retired) can be partially offset with a longer-range AMRAAM, but note that the AMRAAM does not have the long range capability of the Phoenix missile.
The AIM-120D is an upgraded version of the AMRAAM with improvements in almost all areas, including 50% greater range (than the already-extended range AIM-120C-7) and better guidance over its entire flight envelope yielding an improved kill probability (Pk
Probability of kill
Computer games, simulations, models, and operations research programs often require a mechanism to determine statistically whether the engagement between a weapon and a target resulted in a kill, or the probability of kill...
). Raytheon began testing the D model on August 5, 2008, the company reported that an AIM-120D launched from an F/A-18F Super Hornet passed within lethal distance of a QF-4 target drone at the White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
.
There are also plans for Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
to develop a ramjet
Ramjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
-powered derivative of the AMRAAM, the Future Medium Range Air-Air Missile (FMRAAM). It is not known whether the FMRAAM will be produced since the target market, the British Ministry of Defence, has chosen the Meteor missile
MBDA Meteor
Meteor is an active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile being developed by MBDA. It is to equip the Eurofighter Typhoons of the UK's Royal Air Force , Germany's Luftwaffe, Spain's Ejército del Aire and Italy's Aeronautica Militare Italiana, the British and Italian F-35s , the...
over the FMRAAM for a BVR missile for the Eurofighter Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
aircraft.
Raytheon is also working with the Missile Defense Agency
Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. The agency has its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was established in 1983 and was headed by Lt...
to develop the Network Centric Airborne Defense Element
Network Centric Airborne Defense Element
The Network Centric Airborne Defense Element is an anti-ballistic missile system being developed by Raytheon for the Missile Defense Agency. On Sept. 18, 2008 Raytheon announced it had been awarded a $10 million contract to continue NCADE research and development...
(NCADE), an anti-ballistic missile derived from the AIM-120. This weapon will be equipped with a Ramjet engine and an IR seeker derived from the Sidewinder
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...
missile. In place of a proximity-fused warhead, the NCADE will use a kinetic energy hit-to-kill vehicle based on the one used in the Navy's RIM-161 Standard Missile 3
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3
The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 is a ship-based missile system used by the US Navy to intercept short-to intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although primarily designed as an anti-ballistic missile, the SM-3 has also been employed in an...
.
AMRAAM will continue to serve in the arsenal of the USAF, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps until at least 2020 when the Joint Dual Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM
JDRADM
The Next Generation Missile , formerly the Joint Dual Role Air Dominance Missile , is a proposed Beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all weather day and night performance....
) would potentially enter service. The -120A and -120B models are currently nearing the end of their service life while the -120D variant has just entered full production.
Ground-launched systems
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
successfully tested launching AMRAAM missiles from a five-missile carrier on a M1097 Humvee. This system will be known as the SLAMRAAM (Surface Launched (SL) and AMRAAM). They receive their initial guidance information from a radar not mounted on the vehicle. Since the missile is launched without the benefit of an aircraft's speed or high altitude, its range is considerably shorter. Raytheon is currently marketing an SL-AMRAAM EX, purported to be an extended range AMRAAM and bearing a resemblance to the ESSM (Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile).
The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System
NASAMS
NASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
(NASAMS), developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace , one of two operating companies of Kongsberg Gruppen of Norway, is a supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications...
, consists of a number of vehicle-pulled launch batteries (containing six AMRAAMs each) along with separate radar trucks and control station vehicles.
While still under evaluation for replacement of current US Army assets, the SL-AMRAAM has been deployed in several nations military forces, including Egypt. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested the purchasing of SL-AMRAAM as part of a larger 7 billion dollar foreign military sales package. The sale would include 288 AMRAAM C-7 missiles.
The US Army has test fired the SL-AMRAAM from a HIMARS artillery rocket launcher as a common launcher, as part of a move to switch to a larger and more survivable launch platform.
The National Guard Association of the United States has sent a letter asking for the United States Senate to stop the Army's plan to drop the SLAMRAAM program because without it there would be no path to modernize the Guard's AN/TWQ-1 Avenger Battalions.
On 6 January 2011, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced that the U.S. Army has decided to terminate acquisition of the SLAMRAAM as part of a budget-cutting effort.
Operational history
The AMRAAM was used for the first time on 27 December 1992, when a USAF F-16DF-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
shot down an Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i MiG-25 that violated the southern no-fly-zone. Interestingly enough, this missile was returned from the flight line as defective a day earlier. AMRAAM gained a second victory in January 1993 when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down by a USAF F-16C
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
.
The third combat use of the AMRAAM was in 1994, when a Republika Srpska Air Force
Republika Srpska Air Force
The Republika Srpska Air Force was the air force of Republika Srpska and was used primarily during the Bosnian war. In 2005, it was integrated into the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. SFOR still plays a large role in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which consists of the Federation of Bosnia and...
J-21 Jastreb
Soko J-21 Jastreb
|-See also:...
aircraft was shot down by a USAF F-16C that was patrolling the UN-imposed no-fly-zone over Bosnia. In that engagement at least 3 other Serbian aircraft were shot down by USAF F-16C fighters using AIM-9 missiles (see Banja Luka incident
Banja Luka incident
The Banja Luka incident on February 28, 1994, was an incident in which six Republika Srpska Air Force J-21 Jastreb single-seat light attack jets were engaged, and four of them shot down, by United States Air Force F-16s southwest of Banja Luka, Bosnia....
for more details). At that point three launches in combat resulted in three kills, resulting in the AMRAAM being informally named "slammer" in the second half of the 1990s.
In 1998 and 1999 AMRAAMs were again fired by USAF F-15 fighters at Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i aircraft violating the No-Fly-Zone, but this time they failed to hit their targets. During the spring of 1999, AMRAAMs saw their main combat action during Operation Allied Force
Operation Allied Force
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, the Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
bombing campaign. Six Serbian MiG-29 were shot down by NATO (4 USAF F-15C, 1 USAF F-16C, 1 Dutch F-16A MLU), all of them using AIM-120 missiles (the kill by the F-16C may have happened due to friendly fire, from SA-7 MANPAD fired by Serbian infantry).
As of mid 2008, the AIM-120 AMRAAM has shot down nine enemy aircraft (six MiG-29s, one MiG-25, one MiG-23, and one Soko J-21 Jastreb
Soko J-21 Jastreb
|-See also:...
). An AMRAAM was also involved in a friendly-fire incident in 1994 when F-15 fighters patrolling the Southern No-Fly Zone inadvertently shot down
1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident
The 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident, sometimes referred to as the Black Hawk Incident, was a friendly fire incident over northern Iraq that occurred on April 14, 1994 during Operation Provide Comfort...
a pair of U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters.
Foreign sales
In 2005, ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
received AIM-120 AMRAAMs from the U.S. Air Force as part of the Peace Puma Plan, which also included ten F-16D fighters. In 2009, Chile ordered another 100 AIM-120 C7.
In 2006 Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
received AIM-120C-5 missiles to arm its new F-16C/D Block 52+ fighters.
In early 2006 the Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
(PAF) ordered 500 AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM missiles as part of a $650 million F-16 ammunition deal to equip the PAF's F-16C/D Block 52+ and F-16A/B MLU fighters. The PAF get the first three F-16 Block 52+ on 3 July 2010 and first batch of AMRAAMs on 26 July 2010.
In 2007, the United States government agreed to sell 218 AIM-120C-7 missiles to Taiwan as part of a large arms sales package that also included 235 AGM-65G-2 Maverick missiles. Total value of the package, including launchers, maintenance, spare parts, support and training rounds, was estimated at around $421 million USD. This supplemented an earlier Taiwanese purchase of 120 AIM-120C-5 missiles a few years ago.
2008 has brought announcements of new or additional sales to Singapore, Finland, Morocco and South Korea; in December 2010 the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
government requested 150 missiles.
Operators
- Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air ForceThe Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
- Belgian Air Component
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Royal Bahraini Air ForceRoyal Bahraini Air ForceThe Royal Bahraini Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Bahrain Defense Force. The air force had 650 personnel in 1992 and 1,500 in 2009.- History :...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Royal Canadian Air ForceRoyal Canadian Air ForceThe history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
- CF-188
- Chilean Air ForceChilean Air ForceThe Chilean Air Force is the air force of Chile, a branch of the Chilean military.-History:The first step towards the current FACh was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell, when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile on December 20, 1910, being trained as a pilot in France...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- NASAMSNASAMSNASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
(ordered)
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Czech Air ForceCzech Air ForceThe Czech Air Force is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The Air Force, with the Land Forces, comprises the Joint Forces, the main combat power of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic...
- Saab JAS 39 Gripen
- Danish Air Force
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Egypt Air Force
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Finnish Air ForceFinnish Air ForceThe Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...
- F/A-18 HornetF/A-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
- NASAMS 2NASAMS 2The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System 2 is a module-based, distributed and netted medium range air-defence system, designed by the Norwegian Kongsberg Gruppen...
(ordered)
- F/A-18 Hornet
- LuftwaffeLuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
- F-4 Phantom IIF-4 Phantom IIThe McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
- Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
- F-4 Phantom II
- Hellenic Air ForceHellenic Air ForceThe Hellenic Air Force, abbreviated to HAF is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid in Greece and around the...
- F-4 Phantom IIF-4 Phantom IIThe McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-4 Phantom II
- Hungarian Air ForceHungarian Air ForceThe Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army.- 1918 to Pre–World War II :Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools...
- Saab JAS 39 Gripen
- Israeli Air ForceIsraeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
- F-15C Eagle
- F-15I Strike Eagle (Ra'am)
- F-16I Fighting Falcon (Sufa)
- Italian Air ForceAeronautica MilitareThe Italian Air Force is the air force of the Italian Republic. It has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history...
- Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- Eurofighter Typhoon
- Italian NavyItalian NavyItalian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic...
- AV-8 Harrier II
- Japan Air Self-Defense ForceJapan Air Self-Defense ForceThe , or JASDF, is the aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems...
- F-15 EagleF-15 EagleThe McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
- Mitsubishi F-2Mitsubishi F-2The Mitsubishi F-2 is a multirole fighter manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, with a 60/40 split in manufacturing between Japan and the USA. Production started in 1996 and the first aircraft entered service in 2000. The first 76...
- F-15 Eagle
- Royal Jordanian Air ForceRoyal Jordanian Air ForceThe Royal Jordanian Air Force is the air force branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces.-Early days:...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Republic of Korea Air ForceRepublic of Korea Air ForceThe Republic of Korea Air Force is the air force of South Korea...
- F-15K Strike Eagle
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- Northrop F-5E/F
- Kuwait Air ForceKuwait Air ForceThe Kuwait Air Force is the air arm of the State of Kuwait. The Air Force headquarters is located at Al Mubarak Air Base, with the remaining forces stationed at Air Defence Brigade, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base...
- F/A-18C/D HornetF/A-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
- F/A-18C/D Hornet
- Royal Malaysian Air Force (120-C5)
- F/A-18C/D HornetF/A-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
- F/A-18C/D Hornet
- Royal Moroccan Air ForceRoyal Moroccan Air ForceThe Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces.-History:...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Royal Netherlands Air ForceRoyal Netherlands Air ForceThe Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Royal Netherlands ArmyRoyal Netherlands ArmyThe Royal Netherlands Army is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands.-Short history:The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins date back to 1572, when the so-called Staatse Leger was raised...
- NASAMSNASAMSNASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
- NASAMS
- Royal Norwegian Air ForceRoyal Norwegian Air ForceThe Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- NASAMSNASAMSNASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO)
- Pakistan Air ForcePakistan Air ForceThe Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
500 additional AMRAAMs delivered as of 2009 from USA.
- Polish Air ForcePolish Air ForceThe Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Portuguese Air ForcePortuguese Air ForceThe Portuguese Air Force is the air force of Portugal. Formed on July 1, 1952, with the Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval united in a single independent Air Force, it is one of the three branches of the Portuguese Armed Forces and its origins dates back to 1912, when the military aviation...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Republic of China Air ForceRepublic of China Air ForceThe Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- F-CK-1
- Northrop F-5E/F
- Republic of Singapore Air ForceRepublic of Singapore Air ForceThe Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...
- F-15SG Strike Eagle
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- Upgraded F-5S/T
- Swiss Air ForceSwiss Air ForceThe Swiss Air Force is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on July 31, 1914, as part of the Army and as of January 1966 an independent service.In peacetime, Dübendorf is the operational Air Force HQ...
- Royal Saudi Air ForceRoyal Saudi Air ForceThe Royal Saudi Air Force , is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability...
- F-15 EagleF-15 EagleThe McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
- F-15S Strike Eagle
- F-15 Eagle
- Spanish Air ForceSpanish Air Force-The early stages:Hot air balloons had been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Alfredo Kindelán, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located...
- F/A-18 HornetF/A-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
- Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
- F/A-18 Hornet
- Spanish ArmySpanish ArmyThe Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...
- NASAMSNASAMSNASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
- NASAMS
- Spanish NavySpanish NavyThe Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
- AV-8 Harrier II
- Swedish Air ForceSwedish Air ForceThe Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.-History:The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded...
- Saab JAS 39 Gripen Made under license as the Robot 99
- Royal Thai Air ForceRoyal Thai Air ForceThe Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
- Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D
- F-16 A/B Block 15(ADF/MLU) Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- Turkish Air ForceTurkish Air ForceThe Turkish Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It ranks 3rd in NATO in terms of fleet size behind the USAF and Royal Air Force with a current inventory of 798 aircraft .-Initial stages:...
- F-4 Phantom IIF-4 Phantom IIThe McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-4 Phantom II
- United Arab Emirates Air ForceUnited Arab Emirates Air ForceThe United Arab Emirates Air Force is the air force of the United Arab Emirates . Its predecessor was established in 1968, when the Emirates were still under British rule. Since then, it has undergone a continual reorganization and expansion in terms of both capability and numbers of aircraft...
- F-16E/F Block 60F-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-16E/F Block 60
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- Panavia Tornado ADVPanavia Tornado ADVThe Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant is a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service in 1986. It was retired on 22 March 2011 by the Royal Air Forceand is now only in service with the...
(retired) - Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
- Panavia Tornado ADV
- Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
- Sea Harrier FA Mk.2 (retired)
- United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
- F-15 EagleF-15 EagleThe McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
- F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
- F-22 RaptorF-22 RaptorThe Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals...
- F-15 Eagle
- United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
- F/A-18A+/C HornetF/A-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
- F/A-18E/F Super HornetF/A-18E/F Super HornetThe Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft. The F/A-18E single-seat variant and F/A-18F tandem-seat variant are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm gun and can carry air-to-air...
- EA-18G GrowlerEA-18G GrowlerThe Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G will replace the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. The Growler's electronic warfare capability is...
- F/A-18A+/C Hornet
- U.S. Marine Corps
- F/A-18C/D HornetF/A-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
- AV-8 Harrier II
- F/A-18C/D Hornet
In service
- AIM-7 SparrowAIM-7 SparrowThe AIM-7 Sparrow is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as various allied air forces and navies. Sparrow and its derivatives were the West's principal beyond visual...
- Vympel R-27
- Vympel R-33Vympel R-33The Vympel R-33 is a long-range air-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union. It is the primary armament of the MiG-31 interceptor, intended to attack large high-speed targets such as the SR-71 Blackbird, the B-1 Lancer bomber, and the B-52 Stratofortress....
- Vympel R-77Vympel R-77The Russian R-77 Missile is a medium range, air-to-air, active radar-guided missile system. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, thus gaining a nickname: Amraamski....
- MBDA MICAMBDA MICAThe MBDA MICA is an anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system. It is intended for use both by air platforms as individual missiles as well as ground units and ships, which can be equipped with the rapid fire MICA Vertical Launch System...
- Sky Sword IISky Sword IIThe TC-2 Sky Sword II is a radar guided air-to-air missile developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan Republic of China during the 1990s for the ROC Air Force...
- SD-10SD-10The PL-12 , also designated SD-10 , is a radar-guided air-to-air missile developed by China's Luoyang Electro-Optical Technology Development Center...
External links
- Federation of American Scientists page
- GlobalSecurity.org page
- GlobalSecurity.org HUMRAAM page
- Designation-Systems page
- FMRAAM at Global-Defence.com
- Meteor vs. FMRAAM at Global-Defence.com
- Raytheon: AIM-120 AMRAAM
- More HUMRAAM information
- NASAMS (Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace official information)
- NASAMS (third-party information)
- Quo Vadis - AMRAAM? (Historical)