*** Welcome to piglix ***

AIM-120C

AIM-120 AMRAAM
AIM-120 AMRAAM.jpg
An AIM-120 AMRAAM mounted on the wingtip launcher of an F-16 Fighting Falcon
Type Medium-range, active radar homing air-to-air missile
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service September 1991–present
Used by See operators
Production history
Manufacturer

Hughes: 1991–97

Raytheon: 1997–present
Unit cost

• $300,000–$400,000 for 120C variants

• $1,786,000(FY2014) for 120D
Variants AIM-120A, AIM-120B, AIM-120C, AIM-120C-4/5/6/7, AIM-120D
Specifications
Weight 335 lb (152 kg)
Length 12 ft (3.7 m)
Diameter 7 in (180 mm)
Warhead

High explosive blast-fragmentation
• AIM-120A/B: WDU-33/B, 50 pounds (22.7 kg)

• AIM-120C-5: WDU-41/B, 40 pounds (18.1 kg)
Detonation
mechanism

Active RADAR Target Detection Device (TDD)

Quadrant Target Detection Device (QTDD) in AIM-120C-6 – lots 13+.

Engine Solid-fuel rocket motor
Wingspan 20.7 in (530 mm) AIM-120A/B
Operational
range

• AIM-120A/B: 55–75 km (30–40 nmi)
• AIM-120C-5: >105 km (>57 nmi)

• AIM-120D (C-8): >160 km (>97 nmi)
Speed Mach 4 (4,900 km/h; 3,045 mph)
Guidance
system
inertial guidance, terminal active radar homing
Launch
platform

Aircraft:

Surface-launched:


Hughes: 1991–97

• $300,000–$400,000 for 120C variants

High explosive blast-fragmentation
• AIM-120A/B: WDU-33/B, 50 pounds (22.7 kg)

Active RADAR Target Detection Device (TDD)

• AIM-120A/B: 55–75 km (30–40 nmi)
• AIM-120C-5: >105 km (>57 nmi)

Aircraft:

Surface-launched:

The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced "am-ram"), is a modern beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. Designed with 7-inch diameter instead of 8-inch diameter form-and-fit factors, and employing active transmit-receive radar guidance instead of semi-active receive-only radar guidance, it is a fire-and-forget upgrade to the previous generation Sparrow missiles. When an AMRAAM missile is being launched, NATO pilots use the brevity code Fox Three.

The AIM-7 Sparrow 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 km), it was introduced as a radar beam-riding missile and then it was improved to a semiactive 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 its U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and early U.S. Air Force versions. The F-4 carried up to four AIM-7s in built-in recesses under its belly.


...
Wikipedia

...