AIM-7
Sparrow
Unofficial
names/slang: n/a
Function:
Air-to-Air Guided Missile
Date
deployed: Mar. 1976
Contractor:
Raytheon
Unit cost:
approx. $125,000
Length:
12' - 0" (3.64m)
Wingspan:
3' - 4" (1.0m)
Diameter:
0' - 8" (0.20m)
Speed:
unavailable
Weight at
launch: approx. 500 lbs.
Guidance:
Semi-active radar
Range:
approx. 40 - 45 mi
Engine:
Hercules MK 58
solid propellant rocket motor
Warhead:
AIM-7F - 39 kg Continuous Rod; AIM-7M/P/R - 39 kg HE
fragmentation |
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Mission:
The AIM-7 Sparrow is a radar-guided, air-to-air
missile with a high-explosive warhead. The versatile
Sparrow has all-weather, all-altitude operational
capability and can attack high-performance aircraft
and missiles from any direction. It is a widely
deployed missile used by U.S. and North Atlantic
Treaty Organization forces.
Features: The missile has four major
sections: guidance section, warhead, control and
rocket motor. It has a cylindrical body with four
wings at mid-body and four tail fins. Although
external dimensions of the Sparrow remained
relatively unchanged from model to model, the
internal components of newer missiles represent
major improvements with vastly increased
capabilities.
Background: The AIM-7F joined the Air
Force inventory in 1976 as the primary medium-range,
air-to-air missile for the F-15 Eagle. The AIM-7M,
the only current operational version, entered
service in 1982. It has improved reliability and
performance over earlier models at low altitudes and
in electronic countermeasures environments. It also
has a significantly more lethal warhead. The latest
software version of the AIM-7M is the H-Build that
has been produced since 1987 and incorporates
additional improvements in guidance. The F-15 Eagle
and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters carry the AIM-7M
Sparrow. U.S. and NATO navies operate a
surface-to-air/surface version of this missile
called the RIM-7F/M Sea Sparrow. In the Persian Gulf
War, the radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow proved to be a
potent air-to-air weapon used by Air Force fighter
pilots. Twenty-two Iraqi fixed-wing aircraft and
three Iraqi helicopters were downed by radar-guided
AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.
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