F-22 weapons bay

Does anyone have a general idea for max airspeed the raptor can deploy or open its weapons bay to fire? I’ve always been curious about this

Raptor can release weapons, AIM-9, AIM-120, JDAM, SDB, while flying supersonically. The Mach number stated is about 1.2

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/f22_arti ... tem_id=101
https://defense-update.com/20120808_fir ... aunch.html

Raptor can release weapons, AIM-9, AIM-120, JDAM, SDB, while flying supersonically. The Mach number stated is about 1.2

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/f22_arti ... tem_id=101
https://defense-update.com/20120808_fir ... aunch.html

That strange, F-35 can open weapon bay at Mach 1.6

Raptor can release weapons, AIM-9, AIM-120, JDAM, SDB, while flying supersonically. The Mach number stated is about 1.2

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/f22_arti ... tem_id=101
https://defense-update.com/20120808_fir ... aunch.html

It's higher than that (much higher). It can release weapons from it's internal bay virtually over it's entire envelope. Certainly up to Mach 2.0. (If you think about it you'll realize why it's a must-have.) There's at least one F-22 pilot who's been quoted saying Mach 2.0 at 60,000 feet. Jay Miller's F-22 book mentions several tests that were pretty impressive.

First guided supersonic launch of an AIM-120 was on Nov. 5th 2002. Mach 1.5 at 35,000ft.
Nov. 22nd an AIM-9M from Mach 1.4 at 24,000ft.
Jan. 2004 AIM-9 launched from Mach 1.2 and 100deg./sec. roll at 5,000ft.
Feb. 18th AIM-9 launch "at high roll rate" at Mach 1.4 at 10,000ft.
March 18th. AIM-120 launch at Mach 1.5 at 15,000ft.
June 10th AIM-9 launched at Mach 1.7, 21,000ft while pulling 4gs.

These speeds where weapons are released are insane.

But if you think about it, haven't we been doing this for a long time? A-12 Oxcart and the Hughes Super Falcon missile?? I may be off on the missile name, but I know 3 were carried and they were BIG.

These speeds where weapons are released are insane.

But if you think about it, haven't we been doing this for a long time? A-12 Oxcart and the Hughes Super Falcon missile?? I may be off on the missile name, but I know 3 were carried and they were BIG.

The YF-12 launched from Mach 3.2 and 80,000 or so feet and hit the target. At least one as low as 1,500 feet. (Shoot-Down.)

These speeds where weapons are released are insane.

But if you think about it, haven't we been doing this for a long time? A-12 Oxcart and the Hughes Super Falcon missile?? I may be off on the missile name, but I know 3 were carried and they were BIG.

The YF-12 launched from Mach 3.2 and 80,000 or so feet and hit the target. At least one as low as 1,500 feet. (Shoot-Down.)

YF-12A right, I stand corrected.

That's quite an impressive feat, especially for the time period!

These speeds where weapons are released are insane.

But if you think about it, haven't we been doing this for a long time? A-12 Oxcart and the Hughes Super Falcon missile?? I may be off on the missile name, but I know 3 were carried and they were BIG.

The YF-12 launched from Mach 3.2 and 80,000 or so feet and hit the target. At least one as low as 1,500 feet. (Shoot-Down.)

YF-12A right, I stand corrected.

That's quite an impressive feat, especially for the time period!

Impressive even today IMO considering the AIM-54C is considered a long range dumb bomb.

considering the AIM-54C is considered a long range dumb bomb.

By who?

considering the AIM-54C is considered a long range dumb bomb.

By who?

Ehhhh...vaguely remember reading about some Tomcat drivers calling the AIM-54C a torpedo or something joking about its effectiveness.

considering the AIM-54C is considered a long range dumb bomb.

By who?

Ehhhh...vaguely remember reading about some Tomcat drivers calling the AIM-54C a torpedo or something joking about its effectiveness.

That might be due to the weight. They are 1,000 lbs each. That is almost 3 AIM-120's each. 4 AIM-54Cs with 2 AIM-7M and 2 sidewinders that is over 5,000 lb. That a lot of weight, compared to a F-15 with 6 AIM-120s and 2 Sidewinders is about 2,400 lbs.

considering the AIM-54C is considered a long range dumb bomb.

By who?

Ehhhh...vaguely remember reading about some Tomcat drivers calling the AIM-54C a torpedo or something joking about its effectiveness.

The joke in the fleet was that the Phoenix was an air to ground missile...

considering the AIM-54C is considered a long range dumb bomb.

By who?

Ehhhh...vaguely remember reading about some Tomcat drivers calling the AIM-54C a torpedo or something joking about its effectiveness.

"The great white hope"

After ODS, they really worked hard on emphasizing the F-14D as a strike fighter, but it was never successfully made to integrate with the AIM-120. Flight and separation testing with the AIM-120 wing glove stations caused unexpected aerodynamic issues, so the fleet F-14s never got it.

Another thing I learned was that the F-14 was designed from the start to be a multi-role strike fighter, but the fighter culture in the Navy killed that quickly and did the same thing the USAF did initially with the F-15, "not a pound for air-to-ground".

Go to 7:19

From what I've gathered, the Phoenix was only successful in Iranian service. Claims of one Phoenix downing 3 Mig-23's for example. Downing Foxbats as well. The Iraqi's certainly gave the F-14 and the AWG-9 a lot of respect, so even if the pk wasn't very high the weapon still had the desired psychological impact.

In US service, I've only heard about it being used once. Over Iraq, at extremely long range two F-14's fired 2 Phoenix at Mig-25's, but something about the way they were rigged up wrong led to the missile's not working. That was an expensive day, as if I'm not mistaken the Phoenix was a million dollar missile?

If I were flying the F-14, I'd only want to carry 1 or 2 of those babies. Because if you didn't use them, they were just dead weight should you happen to get to the merge. Too bad the AIM-120D didnt' come along sooner. With its much lighter weight and super slender profile, I'm betting the Tomcat could have supercruised with as many as 4 of them, perhaps more.

Iran still flies them, so perhaps they'll have one more day in the sun. They're ancient though, and would be summarily sacked by Israeli F-15's, 16's and F-35's. Word on the street is that they've reverse engineered the Phoenix though, and that could get interesting vs. say, Super Hornets...