Forum: General F-16 forum

With missiles past service life and no funding to keep it working, I'd doubt many sparrows still in inevntory are still war-capable but training is another story. These are probably inerts. There should be a process for safely disposing live missiles past its sell-by date (unsafe to keep live explosives too long).

At lot 20+ and a 20 year service life = early variant amraams are the "old stuff" in today's context.

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...I'd doubt many sparrows still in inevntory are still war-capable but training is another story. These are probably inerts.

There's absolutely no reason to carry an inert AIM-7 for AIM-7 employment training.

This is an internal onboard FCS and point the CW function. Very Happy

If I thought I had a shot at anything except a helicopter or an A-10 'type' aircraft, I'd use the 'best' ordnance on the wing first. How many chances does one get?

(We couldn't employ the AIM-7F from the F-4D. Against the -7F armed Eagle, we always had the 'shorter stick'. Story of my life. Bang Head

)

thats awesome....we dont have sparrows for vipers....120 A's are about as bad as itll get in the USAF

The yellow and brown bands on the Sparrows mean they are live missiles. I can see the bands when I look up close on my computer, I think they are pretty small on the provided picture. Anyways, I think it is unusual that traning would occur with Sparrows since Amraams have been in service for around 20 yrs, and they are basically obsolete when compared to modern BVR missiles. I also find it unusual that Hornets would be flying around the Gulf area with Sparrows since this is the most likely area that a shooting war could occur.

I vaguely recall reading somewhere that the Sea Sparrow has had several improvements over the years to make it more reliable and effective in the counter-ASM and anti-ship roles (think Excocet). Just wondering if some of these improvements could have migrated into the A2A version to perhaps push the counter-ASM/anti-ship umbrella out past the horizon? Illumination can be done either by the launch aircraft or by a ship-based Fire Control System once the target breaks the horizon.

Just a speculatin' Wink

If the Sparrow has a larger warhead and longer range it might have an advantage against F-14 size aircraft. Target from F-22s but launched from Hornets... more speculation. Wink

awsome wrote:

If the Sparrow has a larger warhead and longer range it might have an advantage against F-14 size aircraft. Target from F-22s but launched from Hornets... more speculation. Wink

The AMRAAM has a longer range than the Sparrow.

speculation is much more fun when combined with ignorance! Embarassed

I bet the Sparrow would be more effective against MPAs that would potentially be carrying ASMs. It is also possible that its effectiveness against large targets would be improved because of the fact that the reflected energy off the target would be greater.

I've read online that current deliveries of AMRAAM missiles are suspended until they can get problems with the rocket motors worked out (apparently being stored at cold temperatures or carried at altitude aggravates the missile motor problem). See http://www.defensenews.com/article/2012 ... MRAAM-Buys and http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairw ... 20801.aspx
That might explain why fighters are using the current stock of Sparrow missiles in the Gulf. But according to the second website I listed AiM-7 Sparrows are also having motor problems? Shrug

I don't know what to think!

Sorry for going of topic for a second but can aircraft currently do the targeting for the sm2 or sm3?

I won't pretend to know all the ins and outs, or what ships and aircraft do and do not have the capability, but to my knoweldge the E-2C and certain Aegis equipped vessels share that ability through the Cooperative Engagement capability (CEC). I am unsure if Super Hornets and the like are similarly capable. perhaps someone here can expound further.

As for why they are carrying Sparrows, are missiles carry-limited? meaning is there a limit to how many times they can be carried aloft and landed with? If so, I could see using Sparrows so as to not burn up AMRAAM cycles.

Missiles are definately carry-limited. I don't know how many cycles the different missiles can go through, but they are fairly quick becoming obsolete (or due as they say) when they are flown during extensive periods of time and through different flying regimes. It's not the G-forces that take those out, but more the vibrations of high speed taxi and flutter while flying.

Greets,

The other thing I will add, which occurred to me last night, is that the Navy is liable to have the largest/youngest stock of Sparrows in the US Inventory. The AIM-7 sevred as the primary A2A weapon of the F-14 Tomcat, as AMRAAM was never integrated, and Phoenix was retired in '03 I believe it was. I wouldn't have the numbers, but I presume the USN would have had to either top up their Sparrow order, refurb some (if such a thing were possible, or perhaps buy some from the USAF (if the models were compatible).

bump for prosperity sake

Forum: General F-16 forum

Sparrows in 2012