![]() Although the D-variant's range is reportedly several times longer than the version that entered service 26 years ago, it still falls short of the most advanced beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles. In other ways, however, the AIM-120 appears almost anachronistic. Since the mid-1990s, the AIM-120 has also needed the computing intelligence to electromagnetically blast through waves of attempts to jam the missile’s radar. It always had a 23kg (50lb) fragmentation warhead that detonates in proximity to or upon contact with an aerial target. Most importantly, the AMRAAM is now equipped with two weapons. Underneath the surface, however, the AIM-120 has been transformed since the early 1990s with improved sensors, new electronics and a more powerful propulsion system. The exterior profile of the AIM-120D remains almost identical to the original AIM-120A, except that a version of the preceding AIM-120C introduced clipped fins to accommodate the cramped interior of the F-22 weapons bay. Its longevity belies the missile’s extensive evolution. Compared with the Vietnam-era AIM-7 Sparrow, the AIM-120 stretched the “no-escape zone” to dozens of miles. The original Hughes missile designers introduced a radar-guided missile with autonomous targeting, allowing fighter pilots for the first time to simultaneously fire at more than one target while continuing to manoeuvre. The AIM-120 was designed to change air combat based on painful lessons from the Vietnam War. Though introduced as a medium-range air-to-air weapon, the AIM-120D that entered service two years ago reportedly extends the AMRAAM’s reach to nearly the range of the retired, long-range AIM-54 Phoenix, whose maximum reach is officially described as in “excess of 100nm ” by the US Navy. It has existed for so long the missile has outlived its acronym. The AMRAAM was conceived in an era of aerial combat highlighted by Vought F-8s and McDonnell Douglas F-4s, came into service to support a fleet of Boeing F-15s, F/A-18s and Lockheed Martin F-16s and remains the most important offensive weapon for US pilots now climbing into Lockheed F-22s and F-35s. The milestone speaks to the AIM-120 platform’s unusual longevity, spanning three generations of fighters. Several thousand more of the radar-guided weapons will be delivered to the US Air Force until the programme of record expires in 2024, with deliveries of hundreds likely to continue to foreign operators well into the distant future. It is not quite the end of the road for the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Raytheon will deliver the 20,000 thcopy of the missile that three decades ago changed air-to-air combat in a 31 January ceremony inside the company’s factory in the desert on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Airline Business special: CEOs to watch in 2021.FlightGlobal Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2021.EDGE: A new global force in aerospace and defence.Shell Aviation: What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?.What does the future of aviation look like in 2022?.Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2022. ![]() What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?. ![]()
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