On Sep 11, 9:40*am, grasshopper wrote:
Has any military experimented with vertically launching missiles from
the back of an aircraft for 360 degree targets?

Think missile sub concept......

I'd think the problem with that would be the slipstream. If you're
having the missile come out of a tube vertically, the slipstream's
vector will be perpendicular to the velocity vector produced by the
missile's motor. That's going to push the missile's initial
trajectory sharply towards the aft end of the aircraft. Once the
missile gets enough of its own velocity it may not matter much, but
I'd worry about it being blown into the tail in the first few seconds
after launch.

As Mr. Rasimus points out, some missiles do go vertical after launch
to acquire a target or extend their range- he mentioned the Standard
ARM, and I think the AIM-54 Phoenix did it as well. Not really the
same thing, though.

-JTD