4 ms·

I've never understood why the AIM-54 wasn't replatformed after the decision was made to retire the F-14. I guess procurement politics? But maybe also because

by ethbr0 4y ago

I've never understood why the AIM-54 wasn't replatformed after the decision was made to retire the F-14. I guess procurement politics? But maybe also because the terminal active radar guidance was no longer capable of burning through expected Russian ECM? And in a balancing of "substantially update and redesign" vs "invest elsewhere", long-range fleet missiles weren't a priority in the wake of the USSR's collapse and Russia's economic struggles.

dragonwriter 4y ago
As I understand it, the AIM-54 being too expensive for its utility and its function being less prioritized was part of the calculus of retiring the F-14, which happened after the AIM-54 was retired.
giantrobot 4y ago
> I've never understood why the AIM-54 wasn't replatformed after the decision was made to retire the F-14. It was a huge fucking missile. Only the F-14 was able to physically carry it and it's unique pylon. If adapted to other airframes they might have only been able to carry a single missile. Even the F-14 could only practically carry four of them. If it launched with the max of six and didn't fire any it would have to jettison two before attempting a landing. The AIM-120 in contrast could be carried by a number of US and allied fighters, had active radar homing (fire and forget), and BVR capability. The latest versions can even match the range of the AIM-54. The AIM-54 was designed to hit incoming high altitude bombers coming for a carrier battle group outside of the range they could launch nuclear ALCMs. With that job largely obviated by the collapse of the USSR and end of the Cold War there was never much need to keep the system in service. The danger to carrier battle groups today are lower altitude cruise missiles, opposing fighter/attack aircraft, and UAVs. A missile that really only works well against high altitude targets isn't all that useful.
- jabl 4y ago
  Yeah, wikipedia says the Phoenix weighed about 450kg, three times as much as an AMRAAM. And given that the latest versions, like you mention, have a range very close to the Phoenix, and the AMRAAM has been continually developed (presumably including advances in sensors, electronics and software), whereas Phoenix apparently wasn't developed since the 1986 AIM-54C. So except for a very slight advantage in nominal range, arguably the modern AMRAAM is vastly superior in every respect.
- Gravityloss 4y ago
  MBDA Meteor has the dimensions of Amraam but is air breathing and has very high range and speed. For one example, even the small Gripen has already fired it.

by ethbr0 4y ago

dragonwriter 4y ago

As I understand it, the AIM-54 being too expensive for its utility and its function being less prioritized was part of the calculus of retiring the F-14, which happened after the AIM-54 was retired.

giantrobot 4y ago

> I've never understood why the AIM-54 wasn't replatformed after the decision was made to retire the F-14. It was a huge fucking missile. Only the F-14 was able to physically carry it and it's unique pylon. If adapted to other airframes they might have only been able to carry a single missile. Even the F-14 could only practically carry four of them. If it launched with the max of six and didn't fire any it would have to jettison two before attempting a landing. The AIM-120 in contrast could be carried by a number of US and allied fighters, had active radar homing (fire and forget), and BVR capability. The latest versions can even match the range of the AIM-54. The AIM-54 was designed to hit incoming high altitude bombers coming for a carrier battle group outside of the range they could launch nuclear ALCMs. With that job largely obviated by the collapse of the USSR and end of the Cold War there was never much need to keep the system in service. The danger to carrier battle groups today are lower altitude cruise missiles, opposing fighter/attack aircraft, and UAVs. A missile that really only works well against high altitude targets isn't all that useful.

jabl 4y ago
Yeah, wikipedia says the Phoenix weighed about 450kg, three times as much as an AMRAAM. And given that the latest versions, like you mention, have a range very close to the Phoenix, and the AMRAAM has been continually developed (presumably including advances in sensors, electronics and software), whereas Phoenix apparently wasn't developed since the 1986 AIM-54C. So except for a very slight advantage in nominal range, arguably the modern AMRAAM is vastly superior in every respect.
Gravityloss 4y ago
MBDA Meteor has the dimensions of Amraam but is air breathing and has very high range and speed. For one example, even the small Gripen has already fired it.