NMC Grumman F-14A Tomcat 157988 by Wing attack Plan R Via Flickr: F-14A-40-MC. C.N. 9. Naval Air Missile Test Center based at NAS Point Mugu, CA. 9th prototype for AN/AWG-9 radar evaluation. Withdrawn from service to MASDC 12 March, 1982 as AA 1K0005. Departed MASDC 5 August, 1985 to NARF (Naval Air Rework Facility), NAS North Island, CA. On exhibit at NAS Oceana Air Park, VA. Photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Reprint). I found similar photos on the internet dated around October, 1974. The AIM-54 Phoenix is/was a radar-guided, long-range air-to-air missile (AAM), carried in clusters of up to six missiles on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, its only operational launch platform. The Phoenix was the United States' only long-range air-to-air missile. The combination of Phoenix missile and the AN/AWG-9 guidance radar was the first aerial weapons system that could simultaneously engage multiple targets. Due to its active radar tracking, the brevity code "Fox Three" was used when firing the AIM-54. Both the missile and the aircraft were used by Iran and the United States Navy. In US service both are now retired, the AIM-54 Phoenix in 2004 and the F-14 in 2006. They were replaced by the shorter-range AIM-120 AMRAAM, employed on the F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet—in its AIM-120D version, the latest version of the AMRAAM just matches the Phoenix's maximum range. The AIM-54 is credited with 62 air-to-air kills, all scored by Iran during the eight-year Iran–Iraq War. Following the retirement of the F-14 by the U.S. Navy, the weapon's only current operator is the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. Characteristics- The following is a list of AIM-54 Phoenix specifications: -Primary function: long-range, air-launched, air-intercept missile -Contractor: Hughes Aircraft Company and Raytheon Corporation -Unit cost: about $477,000, but this varied greatly -Power plant: solid propellant rocket motor built by Hercules Incorporated -Length: 13 ft (4.0 m) -Weight: 1,000–1,040 pounds (450–470 kg) -Diameter: 15 in (380 mm) -Wing span: 3 ft (910 mm) -Range: over 100 nautical miles (120 mi; 190 km) (actual range is classified) -Speed: 3,000+ mph (4,680+ km/h) -Guidance system: semi-active and active radar homing -Warheads: proximity fuze, high explosive -Warhead weight: 135 pounds (61 kg) -Users: US (U.S. Navy), Iran (IRIAF) -Date deployed: 1974 -Date retired (U.S.): September 30, 2004