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What about the AIM-54 Pheonix Missile?
When the US Navy is going to retire all of its F-14 Tomcats, what will
happen with the feared long-range Pheonix missile? As I know, the F-14 is the only frame that can carry this weapon. Or am I wrong? Will the Super Hornet use the AIM-54? Or will they retire the AIM-54 also, as it has no longer such a military value as during the Cold War? Thx for the Info |
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Flub wrote:
When the US Navy is going to retire all of its F-14 Tomcats, what will happen with the feared long-range Pheonix missile? As I know, the F-14 is the only frame that can carry this weapon. Or am I wrong? Will the Super Hornet use the AIM-54? Or will they retire the AIM-54 also, as it has no longer such a military value as during the Cold War? Phoenix will be retired together with the Tomcat around 2010(?). Andreas |
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Andreas Parsch wrote in message ...
Flub wrote: When the US Navy is going to retire all of its F-14 Tomcats, what will happen with the feared long-range Pheonix missile? As I know, the F-14 is the only frame that can carry this weapon. Or am I wrong? Will the Super Hornet use the AIM-54? Or will they retire the AIM-54 also, as it has no longer such a military value as during the Cold War? Phoenix will be retired together with the Tomcat around 2010(?). "By 2007" according to a March 2003 report: http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...0327-nns05.htm Brooks Andreas |
#4
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On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 12:58:58 +0200, Andreas Parsch wrote:
? Phoenix will be retired together with the Tomcat around 2010(?). How many are left ? It would have the makings of a seriously long legged ARM. greg -- $ReplyAddress =~ s#\@.*$##; # Delete everything after the '@' Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Absorbent and yellow and pourous is he! If nautical nonsense be something you wish! Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish! |
#5
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"Flub" wrote in message
When the US Navy is going to retire all of its F-14 Tomcats, what will happen with the feared long-range Pheonix missile? As I know, the F-14 is the only frame that can carry this weapon. Or am I wrong? Will the Super Hornet use the AIM-54? Or will they retire the AIM-54 also, as it has no longer such a military value as during the Cold War? The F-14As go away by the end of 2004 (if not earlier) and the Bs and Ds by 2007/2008. I believe Phoenix is actually being retired before the F-14. Earlier this year, they talked about a "vertical kill" to the Phoenix budget line to free up money for new programs. If that happened, look for the missile to disappear by 2004. No other aircraft can fire Pheonix, but the rnage of AMRAAM keeps creeping up. At some point, it may be a match to AIM-545 (perhaps with a ramjet engine like Meteor, perhaps not). -- Tom Schoene Replace "invalid" with "net" to e-mail "If brave men and women never died, there would be nothing special about bravery." -- Andy Rooney (attributed) |
#6
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In article et, "Thomas
Schoene" wrote: "Flub" wrote in message When the US Navy is going to retire all of its F-14 Tomcats, what will happen with the feared long-range Pheonix missile? As I know, the F-14 is the only frame that can carry this weapon. Or am I wrong? Will the Super Hornet use the AIM-54? Or will they retire the AIM-54 also, as it has no longer such a military value as during the Cold War? The F-14As go away by the end of 2004 (if not earlier) and the Bs and Ds by 2007/2008. I believe Phoenix is actually being retired before the F-14. Earlier this year, they talked about a "vertical kill" to the Phoenix budget line to free up money for new programs. If that happened, look for the missile to disappear by 2004. No other aircraft can fire Pheonix, but the rnage of AMRAAM keeps creeping up. At some point, it may be a match to AIM-545 (perhaps with a ramjet engine like Meteor, perhaps not). That won't help the F-14D fleet though. They can't shoot AIM-120 without aircraft upgrades and radar software. Have to balance the cost of that against the cost of keeping some AIM-54s alive. -- Harry Andreas Engineering raconteur |
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#8
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Kevin Brooks wrote:
: Not necessarily. Given that the air threat to the CV's, or for that : matter to their strike packages, is greatly reduced these days, the : USN may be willing to place the major air defense/air superiority : roles solely in the hands of the F-18's with their AIM-120's, and use Well, it does not need to be a 'great' threat to do serious damage: Look at the achievements of the Argentineans with only five Exocet missiles. One of the lessons of the Falklands war (now again conviently forgotten by the British) is that a fleet really needs a strong BVR defense, capable of intercepting low-flying aircraft at distances up to 100 km away. But AIM-54 is now a relatively old weapon (although upgraded several times) and it was designed primarily to defend the fleet against Soviet bombers attacking at high and medium altitude, launching the very big Soviet cruise missiles of the period. The threat has changed, the attack profile of an enemy force would now probably bring them in just a few feet above the waves, only poppping up to fire their missiles. It is likely that AIM-120 has better performance against low-flying targets, although AIM-54's range against high-flying targets is still unrivalled. The F-18E/AIM-120 combination may actually provide a better fleet defense than F-14/AIM-54. Emmanuel Gustin http://users.skynet.be/Emmanuel.Gustin/ |
#9
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"Emmanuel.Gustin" wrote in message ... Kevin Brooks wrote: snip But AIM-54 is now a relatively old weapon (although upgraded several times) and it was designed primarily to defend the fleet against Soviet bombers attacking at high and medium altitude, launching the very big Soviet cruise missiles of the period. The threat has changed, the attack profile of an enemy force would now probably bring them in just a few feet above the waves, only poppping up to fire their missiles. Emanuel, already the Tu-22Ms could attack approaching at low levels: also, the Kh-22M had a low-level trajectory selectable. In the 1990s the threat has changed only in so far that it became more dangerous: the stuff that could now be eventually attacking USN carriers are such things like supersonic cruise missiles, and Su-30s that can fire back (which the Tu-22M-3s couldn't). It is likely that AIM-120 has better performance against low-flying targets, although AIM-54's range against high-flying targets is still unrivalled. The F-18E/AIM-120 combination may actually provide a better fleet defense than F-14/AIM-54. I strongly doubt this: no version of the F/A-18 matches the speed and/or endurance of the F-14 - especially not the combination of these two characteristics. As you certainly know, Emanuel, it makes a huge difference if one is intercepting an incoming threat some 100km away from the carrier, or 250km away. As next, given the lack of speed and endurance, there is also the lack of range: the AIM-120 can't - and will for the next ten years or so also not be able to - intercept enemy at such ranges like the AIM-54 can. The result of this is that the slower, and shorter-ranged F/A-18s, armed only with AIM-120s, are in a danger of literaly being overrun by faster, longer-ranged, and fighters - such like Su-30s - that carry weapons with a similar (or potentially better) range to that of the AIM-120. Given the fact that the pk of the AIM-54 in combat against threats of its time was higher than the pk of the AIM-120 in combat against the threats of its time, it is doubtfull any F/A-18 would have a serious chance of intercepting and stopping - just for example - a formation of four such opponents like Su-30s (regardless how far out from the carrier), without either coming too late on the station, or being outranged by enemy weapons and shot down in return, or outrun, or outmaneuvered.... or all of this combined. Given that also the new cruise-missiles became much more sophisticated, faster and longer-ranged than such earlier stuff like Kh-22/AS-4 Kitchens (which were nifty and malfunctioning weapons any way), this threat did actually not diminish but is increasing, while the AIM-120-armed F/A-18 has much less chance of intercepting such threats (especially because of the lack of speed and the weapons-range) than even the 20-years older AIM-54-armed F-14... Tom Cooper Co-Author: Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988: http://www.acig.org/pg1/content.php and, Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat: http://www.osprey-publishing.co.uk/t...hp/title=S6585 |
#10
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"Flub" wrote in message ... When the US Navy is going to retire all of its F-14 Tomcats, what will happen with the feared long-range Pheonix missile? Its debateable how feared the Phoenix is. The Iranians claimed a number of kills from theirs, but the reality is that the Phoenix never saw use in the role it was designed for, which is defending carrier task groups at long range from Soviet bomber attack. tim gueguen 101867 |
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