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The F-i4 Tomcats used by the U. S. Navy for fleet air defense, and by the Imperial Iranian Air Force in the air superiority and interception roles, are armed with Hughes AIM-54 Phoenix long- range air-to-air missiles.
The weapon had been intended to equip carrier-borne F-inBs; for that application the specified requirements were the ability to guide four rounds to their targets simultaneously, at very long range, at maximum weight of 1,000 pounds, and with high accuracy. The primary threat was defined as a mass bomber raid.
With the cancellation of the F-111B and its replacement by the F-14, however, the missile was also given a more difficult task. Additional specifications included target maneuverability and minimum range, and the selection of objectives was broadened to include aircraft flying in close formation, high-altitude types such as the MiG-25 "Foxbat,” and sea-skimming cruise missiles. When the supersonic Tupolev "Backfire” bomber appeared, it in turn became potential prey for the Phoenix-armed F-14.
Targets are detected and tracked by the Tomcat’s AWG-9 fire-control system, which uses a pulse-Doppler radar for tracking and illumination. The radar can detect an F-4 Phantom-size target at more than 115 nautical miles range across a 150 nautical-mile front. This is some two-and-one-half times the range which can be achieved by the AWG-10 radar in the F-4J Phantom, and the AWG-j’s surveillance volume is 15 times that of the Phantom equipment. An infra-red subsystem provides independent search and tracking as a back-up. Up to 24 potential targets can be analyzed simultaneously by the AWG-9, and the rear-seat operator, with the help of the fire-control computer, selects up to six for attack.
The Tomcat’s full load of six Phoenix missiles can be launched in salvo and guided simultaneously to individual targets. A typical time to fire all six rounds is about 38 seconds.
The 13-foot long, 835-pound missile is powered by a Rocketdyne Mk 47 or Aerojet Mk 60 solid-propellant rocket motor which produces the initial acceleration and then maintains cruise speed at about Mach 5. Target illumination is provided by the AWG-9 transmitter, reflected radiation being picked up by the missile’s on-board AN/DSQ-26 radar set. Semiactive homing is used throughout the cruise phase, but continuous illumination is not required; this allows missiles to be guided to the vicinity of widely separated targets by switching illumination from one to another.
When the Phoenix is within about ten nautical miles of its objective, the guidance switches to fully active homing for the attack. The 130-pound, high- explosive warhead is detonated by impact or infra-red proximity fuses.
Phoenix has demonstrated its ability to hit all types of targets assigned to it. Some examples illustrate the missile’s capabilities. In mock combat between an F-14 and a supersonic Firebee drone, representing a Russian "Backfire” bomber, a Phoenix has been launched at 110 nautical miles from its target, climbed from 45,000 feet to 103,500 feet, and dived onto the oncoming "Backfire” to destroy it at a range of 72.5 nautical miles. In another test, a QF-86 drone was commanded to pull a six-G, 174° turn four seconds after a Phoenix was launched against it, in an attempt to break the missile’s radar lock. The round responded with a 16-G maneuver and scored a lethal hit.
Bomarc targets flying at speeds up to Mach 3 and altitudes greater than 80,000 feet to represent MiG-25 "Foxbats” have been consistently intercepted at normal mission ranges of some 50 nautical miles. Low-level intruders, such as sea- skimming cruise missiles, present a new set of problems—a typical trial involved firing from an F-14 at Mach 0.72 and 10,000 feet, and hitting a Mach 0.75 drone only 50 feet above the waves at a range of 22 nautical miles.
Hughes Aircraft has also proposed that the U. S. Navy’s carriers should be armed with Sea Phoenix in place of Sea Sparrow. Surface trials have taken place, and both the missile and the AWG-9 fire-control system could be used in this role with only minor modifications.