#aim120

[sentinelchicken]

Two of the 301st Fighter Wing’s Vipers with one making a spirited break to the right showing off the platform nicely. The AIM-120 medium range missiles are on the wingtip rails (Stations 1 and 9) and the AIM-9 Sidewinders are the outer underwing stations (Stations 2 and 8). Note that the left Sidewinder is the new AIM-9X and the right Sidewinder is a captive training load- usually that’s for balance, but there are times the training round can be fitted with instrumentation for a variety of purposes. ⁣ ⁣ Prior to the introduction of the AIM-120 missile to the F-16 fleet in January 1992, the Sidewinders were carried on the wingtip rails. It’s now standard to carry the AIM-120s on the wingtip rails- as a heavier missile (approximately 330 lbs versus 186 lbs for the Sidewinder), it acts as a mass damper on the outer wing, reducing flexing of the wings which in turn prolongs the structural life of the wing. ⁣ ⁣ This was something during the design phase of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet in the 1940s that was found in principle- podded engines on the outboard wings acted as mass dampers and allowed for a lighter wing structure compared to Stratojet design iterations that did not have podded engines. Such a layout was then applied to the B-52 Stratofortress and the Boeing 707/KC-135 programs as well. ⁣ ⁣ The first fully guided test firing of an AIM-120 missile was from an F-16 which scored a central hit on a QF-102 drone. The first combat firing of the missile was also from an F-16, in December 1992 during Operation Southern Watch over Iraq which resulted in a downed MiG-25 Foxbat. ⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport ⁣ ⁣ #airport #planespotting ⁣ ⁣ #Lockheed #F16 #FightingFalcon #301stFW #USAF #AirForceReserve #AIM120 #AMRAAM⁣ ⁣ #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight ⁣ ⁣ #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVk4GZtF2bh/?utm_medium=tumblr

[your-raifu-is-shit]

Roast the AIM-120 AMRAAM

The AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) is the primary beyond-visual-range missile for the United States and many of its allies. Possessing an inertial navigation system and datalink for mid-course guidance and an active radar seeker for terminal the missile allows for fire-and-forget tactics as once the seeker turns on the launching aircraft doesn’t need to support it anymore. It was first introduced in the early 1990s and has received several upgrades in the years since, increasing it’s effective range, guidance logic, seeker quality, and overall lethality.

So what’s the problem?

It’s too fucking good.

It’s a goddamn insta-win button.

You get yourself up to a high altitude and high speed, you can toss that fucker out there and ruin someone’s day from WAY the hell away. “Medium range” is a bit of a misleading term, dating back to the early versions of the missile - the latest AIM-120D version is estimated to have a max effective range of over 80 nautical miles according to unclassified sources. The active seeker means you don’t need to keep yourself vulnerable by supporting it all the way in to the target, and you couple that with passive sensors like you’ve got on the F-35 and you can wreck somebody’s shit without them even knowing until their RWR spells out “FUCK!”

That ain’t how real men fight.

Real men charge into WVR with nothing but guns and Fox-2s, and I don’t mean your fancy-pants all-aspect lock-on after launch AIM-9X bullshit, I mean the kind you gotta shove up your opponent’s engine nozzle, the kind that get distracted by campfires on the ground below.

THAT’S how you fuckin’ dogfight.

[vbeserk]

AIM-120 AMRAAM being removed from a F-22A Raptor.

And don’t ask me why the missile fins were removed, i have no idea why they did that.

Source: US Air Force

[skc-official]

Happy Foxgirl Friday! Fox Three.

[rhk111sblog]

The West just gave an incredible Deal to Argentina recently for their F-16 Aircraft, giving them such a low Price for an Aircraft loaded with great Weapons and Equipment. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should demand to get the same Deal, if not more, especially as it has been moving towards an Alliance to them more under this Administration of Bong Bong Marcos (BBM).

This was initially released as an Article last April 20, 2024 at https://therhk111militaryandarmspage.blogspot.com/2024/04/afp-demand-west-same-deal-argentinas-f-16-aircraft.html

[rhk111sblog]

Reports are that the United States (US) is delaying the integration of US-made Missiles like the AIM-9X Sidewinder and AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) to South Korea’s new KF-21 Boramae Aircraft.

It seems to me that now that South Korea is becoming very successful in the Arms Export Industry, rivaling now that of the US’ Military-Industrial Complex, the US is now putting pressure on South Korea to limit their success.

And to think that South Korea is supposed to be a major “Ally” of the US. That’s the US for you, always putting their very own Interests first. I guess for the US, there are no “Allies” when it comes to business.

My suggestion to the South Koreans would be to just have their Boramae integrate as many other non-US Missiles as possible so future Customers will have a lot of choices. Right now, as far as I know, the KF-21 is integrated with the Infra-Red Imaging System-Tail/thrust vector-controlled (IRIS-T) and Meteor Missiles.

Here is the Link to the Article at the View US Global Website: https://viewusglobal.com/asia/article/75582/

SOURCE: No American Missiles for KF-21: What this means for South Korea’s Fighter Jet {Archived Link}