Posted on 10/06/2004 4:56:12 PM PDT by csvset
Keep an eye on eBay. I'll sell some there.
Is this capability being replaced with something?
I guess if Kerry is elected the F-14s will carry some form of the long range spitball missle..
pong
Hmmmm... I think Iran still has some F-14s laying around....
Not for long...See Israeli bunkerbuster purchase...HEHEHEHHE!
They'll end up at a munitions depot site somewhere for safekeeping.
My question exactly. I'm sure there is some type of replacement. It may be a new technology that obsoleted the Phoenix. This was a true milestone missle. Tracking and firing on multiple targets in the air requires a great deal of calculation.
Yes, it is coded named 'HUMOR'.
The new plan is to defeat the enemy by making them laugh hysterically as Super Hornets run out of fuel on their way to long range intercepts. The hope is that raucous laughter will cause the enemy to neglect their targeting until the Aegis cruisers to lock them up.
I believe the radar-guided AIM-120 Sparrow has much of the functionality of the AIM-54 Phoenix, except maybe the range. I remember working on a second source proposal for the Phoenix in the 80s and it was dubbed the flying telephone pole. The thing was huge!
A few months before the first F-14 is to be flown, the Navy goes to Grumman with some concerns. It seems that they worry about spending $20 million a copy if all it can do is shoot down cruise missles. So, in typical Navy fashion, they decided that this $20 million, 20 ton aircraft must be capable of being a dogfighter.
Grumman didn't even blink. They installed a big red button on the pilot's instrument panel marked ACM JETT. When pushed, it makes the Tomcat light enough to dog fight...
... by blowing six $1 million dollar Phoenix missles into the sea.
Yes, a "more sensitive" missile to go along with the safer "Joycyln Elders" 20mm cannon shells.
They really screwed up, didn't they? The Tomcat had many years of service left in her with upgrades.
these are real old but have a long range - @ 90 miles +.....Different mission these days, these were built to shot down Soviet bombers approaching carrier groups during the cold war.....
Yes, both use an active guidance system.
Pilots like to dogfight up close. Its not fair to have a missile with such a range that the pilot can destroy targets over the horizon. We want those Korean war style up close and personal furballs where we give the enemy a chance.
Six Mil is a small price to pay for one live pilot and several downed MIGs.
Not quite true.
The Tomcat has four different jettison modes. Their is a pilot controlled emergency mode, but the specific ACM JETT that you describe can only be enabled by the RIO for the pilot's use.
The reason for that, is that it would be a very rare(never happened) occurrence where some aircraft would sneak up on a Tomcat with that big-ass radar, and I guarantee you that any Tomcat driver that let it happen deserved to get his ass blown up anyway.
Also, you could not land a Tomcat on a carrier holding 6 Phoenix missiles anyway, so one way or another, they were coming off that aircraft should one ever be loaded with 6. BARCAP cats, never carried more than one, if any -54s to begin with, and they would be responsible for ACM against that type of threat.
Intercepting missions would be handled by a Ready-aircraft outfitted for that role, after long range detection by AWACS or CAPs. At the time of the Tomcat's inception, the Russians had aircraft that could not go feet wet without detection, including their supersonic stuff.
Son, I was ready to pound you, until I finished your post and picked up the sarcasm. Stop teasing the Dog, huh?
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