AIM-7 Sparrow
| AIM-7 Sparrow | |
|---|---|
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| General Information | |
| Type | Air-to-air missile |
| Manufacturer | Hughes / Raytheon |
| development | 1952 |
| Commissioning | 1956 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 3560 - 3660 mm |
| diameter | 203 mm |
| Combat weight | 143-231 kg |
| span | 940-1020 mm |
| drive | Rocketdyne Mk 58 |
| speed | Do 4 |
| Range | 70 km |
| Furnishing | |
| Target location | semi-active radar target search |
| Warhead | 20 - 40 kg |
| Weapon platforms | Fighter planes |
| Lists on the subject | |
The AIM-7 Sparrow (German: Sperling ) is a supersonic, radar-controlled air-to-air missile of medium range. It was developed in the 1950s by the US companies Hughes and General Dynamics (now Raytheon ). The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is used on ships .
development
As early as 1947, the US Navy placed an order with the Sperry Corporation , which required a radar-guided guidance system for the unguided 12.7 cm HVAR (High Velocity Aerial Rocket) rocket. The original name was "KAS-1", from September 1947 "AAM-2" and finally from 1948 "AAM-N-2". The 12.7 cm diameter quickly proved to be too small during development, so a 20.3 cm missile was developed. The first wearing test of the prototype took place in 1948. Since the company was entering new technical territory, further development was slow and in small steps. The first successful launch of a test target took place in December 1952. The introduction began in 1956.
technology
The steering of the Sparrow is based on the principle of semi-active radar guidance. The rocket has only one signal receiver, which itself does not transmit any radar signals, but can only receive them. This makes so-called " illumination " of the target by the on-board radar of the carrier aircraft necessary, which means that the on-board radar continuously sends out radar signals in the direction of the target ( CW operating modes ). The Sparrow's seeker then uses the reflected radar energy to get to the target. The advantages of this system lie in the cost-effective production and the easy-to-integrate technology. However, the disadvantages are high susceptibility to failure, limited range and the need for uninterrupted target lighting, which means that the firing carrier aircraft itself remains detectable for a dangerously long time.
future
For a long time, the Sparrow's greatest weaknesses were its poor flight performance, the low probability of being shot down and the tactical disadvantages of the semi-active radar control. This tactical disadvantage is based on the need for target lighting with the on-board radar of the carrier platform. After the launch of the missile, the pilot had to continue to fly towards the target instead of turning around and getting to safety. Therefore, the Sparrow, at least in US stocks, was completely replaced by the AIM-120 AMRAAM . This has an active radar seeker head so that it can work according to the fire-and-forget principle. Furthermore, it is clearly superior to the Sparrow in all performance parameters, which it has proven through various kills.
variants
The naming of the Sparrow was made before 1963 in the form "AAM-N- X ", where X stood for the respective model number. However, a reform of the designation system was decided in 1963, so that the early Sparrow versions were also designated as AIM-7.
- AIM-7A: The original variant, which was introduced in 1956 as armament for the F3H Demon and F7U Cutlass fighters . Due to the immature technology, this version was taken out of service a few years later. Originally the rocket was called "AAM-N-2 Sparrow I".
- AIM-7B: This variant was to be used on the F5D Skylancer fighter aircraft . Compared to the AIM-7A variant, an active radar search head was considered. In 1956 the US Navy gave up the development, so that the Canadian CF-105 Arrow interceptor was planned as the future carrier platform . However, the program was finally canceled in September 1958. This version is also known under the name "AAM-N-3 Sparrow II".
- AIM-7C: This is the actual basic variant of the modern Sparrow missile family. The missile was introduced in August 1958, and a total of about 2000 guided missiles were produced. The original name is "AAM-N-6 Sparrow III".
- AIM-7D: The D variant represents a further development of the C design. A rocket motor based on liquid fuel and a new seeker head that could deal with higher target speeds and stronger radar interference were used . It was introduced on the new F-4 Phantom II . About 7500 guided missiles were produced.
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AIM-7E: In 1963 production was switched to this version. Again, a rocket motor made by Rocketdyne on a solid basis was used, which significantly improved the flight performance of the rocket. The production amounts to about 25,000 copies.
- AIM-7E-2: Due to the poor performance during the Vietnam War , this missile was introduced as a dogfight variant. It had a shorter minimum range, improved aerodynamics and an improved proximity fuse.
- AIM-7E-3: This version includes further improvements in the area of proximity detonator and reliability.
- AIM-7E-4: In order to improve the performance in connection with the AN / AWG-9 of the F-14 Tomcat , this variant was introduced.
- AIM-7F: In January 1972 Raytheon started developing the Sparrow. A dual-thrust rocket motor was now used. During the first few seconds of the flight (called “Boost”) a rocket mix designed for strong accelerations is used. During the cruise flight, a mixture is then used that is designed for a long flight duration. This enabled the range to be increased considerably. The seeker head has also been modernized. This was now compatible with modern Doppler pulse radars and had been reduced in size so that a larger warhead could be installed.
- AIM-7G: This variant was designed for use with the F-111D Aardvark fighter-bomber and had a new seeker head. Series production never took place.
- AIM-7M: This is the next generation of Sparrow. The main feature was the new monopulse radar seeker, which had "look-down / shoot-down" capabilities. Furthermore, the ECCM capacities were improved and a digital processor with programmable EPROM was introduced. The new autopilot enabled an optimized flight path so that radar illumination of the target was only necessary in the final phase. Production started in 1982.
- AIM-7N: This variant was supposed to increase the performance in combination with the air superiority fighters of the type F-15 Eagle , but it was never manufactured in large numbers.
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AIM-7P: This new variant has been divided into two blocks:
- AIM-7P Block I: In this version, the performance in low flight and the proximity fuse have been improved.
- AIM-7P Block II: The computer components were modernized, which now had more memory bandwidth, an EPROM and a new proximity fuse. The software was also extensively updated, so that the performance compared to low-flying targets in connection with the new target system was significantly increased. The ECCM capacities have also been expanded. The unit cost is approximately $ 165,000.
- AIM-7Q: There is no saved data about this version. It is assumed, however, that an additional infrared seeker should be integrated.
- AIM-7R: This variant was planned as the final Sparrow version. It should have an additional IR seeker head to massively increase the probability of being fired. However, the development was stopped in 1996 due to high costs.
Sea Sparrow
When the US Navy was looking for an air defense system for their ships, the Sparrow came into focus because it was already tried and tested and met the requirements of the Navy. The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow was designed on the basis of the AIM-7E . The guided missiles usually differ only insignificantly from each other, so that with each new Sparrow variant a new Sea Sparrow version was manufactured. As with the Sparrow, however, the missile has largely been replaced by newer systems; in the case of the Sea Sparrow from the RIM-162 ESSM .
commitment
The Sparrow was first used during the Vietnam War , mainly the AIM-7D and AIM-7E. The first launch took place on June 7, 1965, when Navy machines of the type F-4B Phantom shot down two MiG-17s with the Sparrow. In general, however, the initial combat performance was unsatisfactory. The main reason was the inability to identify a radar target as an enemy or friend at long range . The pilots therefore had to fly close to the radar contact for identification, so that the superior range of the Sparrow could not be used. This problem was exacerbated by the high minimum range, which was 1.5 km, and the poor maneuverability, which made the missile almost unusable for close combat. Due to these significant limitations, the Sparrow achieved a kill probability of only 10%, which meant that only every tenth missile fired could destroy its target. The introduction of the new E-2 and E-3 variants did not result in any decisive improvements. The Sparrow had 50 kills during the entire war. The processing of the battle results after the war also showed that the pilots were often very wasteful with their BVR weapons. Therefore, the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School , better known as the "Top Gun", was set up to improve the pilots' handling of these guided weapons.
The Israeli Air Force managed to shoot down at least one Mach 2.5 fast MiG-25 with a Sparrow. The Sparrow's last major deployment took place during the Second Gulf War in 1991. With a hit rate of 79%, a total of 24 kills were achieved with it, whereby the rate of the AIM-7M used was still 40% that could be improved.
NATO users
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Greece : with F-4E -
Italy : with F-104S -
Spain : with F-4C and EF-18A / B -
Turkey : with F-4E -
United Kingdom : with F-4J / K / M -
United States : with F-4B / C / D / E / G / J / N / S, F-14A / B / D, F-15A / B / C / D, F-16A / B, F-18A / B / C / D
Emergency aircraft
- AIM-7
- Chance-Vought F7U-3M "Cutlass"
- Douglas F3D "Skyknight"
- Grumman F-14A / D "Tomcat"
- Lockheed-Martin F-16A / B "Fighting Falcon"
- Lockheed F-104S "Starfighter"
- McDonnell F3H-2M "Demon"
- McDonnell Douglas F-4 "Phantom II"
- McDonnell Douglas F-15 "Eagle"
- McDonnell Douglas F / A-18 "Hornet"
- Mitsubishi F-2
- BAe Skyflash
Technical specifications
| system | AIM-7A | AIM-7B | AIM-7C | AIM-7E | AIM-7F | AIM-7M / P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| length | 3.56 m | 3.66 m | 3.66 m | 3.66 m | 3.66 m | 3.66 m |
| span | 94 cm | 102 cm | 102 cm | 102 cm | 102 cm | 102 cm |
| diameter | 20.3 cm | 20.3 cm | 20.3 cm | 20.3 cm | 20.3 cm | 20.3 cm |
| Takeoff weight | 143 kg | 176 kg | 172 kg | 197 kg | 231 kg | 231 kg |
| drive | Aerojet 1.8KS7800 | Aerojet 1.8KS7800 | Aerojet 1.8KS7800 | Rocketdyne Mk52 | Rocketdyne Mk58 | Rocketdyne Mk58 |
| speed | Do 2.5 | Do 2.5 | Do 4 | Do 4 | Do 4 | Do 4 |
| Range | 10 km | 7 km | 11 km | 30 km | 70 km | 70 km |
| Warhead | 20 kg | 20 kg | 30 kg Mk38 | 30 kg Mk38 | 39 kg Mk71 | 40 kg WDU-27 / B |
