Phoenix AIM-54A (QUESTION)

"eXistenZ" wrote in message
...
Anyone who knows the answer to this Question Please help me in any way
possible,.

To The Nearest Tenth of a Mile, What is the Maximum Range of a AIM-54A
Phoenix Air to Air Missile?

The longest-ranged AIM-54A-shot I've ever heard so far was scored during
some kind of a testing, against a high+fast flying drone, in early 1979s.
The missile hit the target 204km from the launching point ( i.e. after
indeed crossing 204km).

The longest-ranged shot for a kill was scored in December 1981, when two
IRIAF F-14As engaged four incoming Iraqi Mirage F.1EQs. The Tomcats fired
several AIM-54As from a distance of some 140km+.

Their kills were confirmed by independent sources (including US, Iranian,
Iraqi, and Saudi).

Few years later there should've been an even more spectacular shot that
killed a fast accelerating-away (Soviet-flown) Iraqi MiG-25, but I don't
have all the details about that case, so can't call it a "confirmed" as of
yet.

most military websites claim 100 Nautical miles
while other sites say 110 nautical miles,.

Eventually, this should depend on the version: most of books from the 1980s
state the range of the AIM-54A was "100nm". Most of the books from the 1990s
state the range of the AIM-54C was "up to "110nm".

It was definitely never more than this: quite on the contrary, the usual
engagement ranges in combat were between 40 and 70km.

Tom Cooper
Freelance Aviation Journalist & Historian
Vienna, Austria

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Author:
Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988:
http://www.acig.org/pg1/content.php

Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...hp/title=S6585

African MiGs
http://www.acig.org/afmig/

Arab MiG-19 & MiG-21 Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...=S6550~ser=COM

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