Red Top - Revision history

U9253294: maximum overload (16 -> 12) launch range (12 -> 20) maximum speed (3.5 -> 3.4) missile guidance time (40 ->30) explosive mass (23.17kg -> 23.22) to match current ingame statcard

2024-06-27T01:27:55Z

maximum overload (16 -> 12) launch range (12 -> 20) maximum speed (3.5 -> 3.4) missile guidance time (40 ->30) explosive mass (23.17kg -> 23.22) to match current ingame statcard

U38088265: Updated

2022-09-17T10:40:41Z

Updated

U44629479: Undo revision 132454 by U45415213 (talk)

2022-06-26T06:59:37Z

Undo revision 132454 by U45415213 (talk)

U45415213: /* Media */

2022-06-25T18:17:39Z

‎Media

U38088265: Updated

2022-06-24T08:23:20Z

Updated

U30821137: /* General info */ add table

2022-06-04T12:19:11Z

‎General info: add table

U44629479: Edits

2022-05-19T10:53:12Z

Edits

U26516297: Adjusted explosive mass, also revised some text as it no longer has the biggest warhead mass to other missiles in game.

2022-05-19T09:40:23Z

Adjusted explosive mass, also revised some text as it no longer has the biggest warhead mass to other missiles in game.

U53576248: minor spelling corrections/capitalisation on Red Top

2021-12-05T15:40:26Z

minor spelling corrections/capitalisation on Red Top

U44629479: Edits

2021-11-06T20:35:59Z

Edits

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 | '''Lock range (rear-aspect)''' || 6 km
 |-
-| '''Launch range''' || 12 km
+| '''Launch range''' || 20 km
 |-
-| '''Maximum speed''' || 3.5 M
+| '''Maximum speed''' || 3.4 M
 |-
-| '''Maximum overload''' || 16 G
+| '''Maximum overload''' || 12 G
 |-
-| '''Missile guidance time''' || 40 secs
+| '''Missile guidance time''' || 30 secs
 |-
-| '''Explosive mass''' || 23.17 kg TNTeq
+| '''Explosive mass''' || 23.22 kg TNTeq
 |-
 |}

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[File:WeaponImage Red Top.png|thumb|left|420px|The Red Top missile (scale is approximate)]]
 {{Break}}
-The '''Red Top''' is a British [[Air-to-air_missiles#Infrared_homing_.28heat-seeking.29_missiles|Infrared homing air-to-air missile]], it was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]], along with the [[Lightning F.6]] (the first aircraft to carry it). The Red Top is a large and heavy air-to-air missile, like the [[Matra R530E]] and it also has an explosive mass of 18.1 kg.
+The '''Red Top''' is a British [[Air-to-air_missiles#Infrared_homing_.28heat-seeking.29_missiles|Infrared homing air-to-air missile]], it was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]], along with the [[Lightning F.6]] (the first aircraft to carry it). The Red Top is a large and heavy air-to-air missile, like the [[Matra R530E]] and it also has an explosive mass of 23.17 kg.
 === Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 | '''Missile guidance time''' || 40 secs
 |-
-| '''Explosive mass''' || 18.1 kg TNTeq
+| '''Explosive mass''' || 23.17 kg TNTeq
 |-
 |}
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 === Effective damage ===
 <!-- ''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of missile (high explosive, splash damage, etc)'' -->
-The Red Top's warhead has a large explosive mass, weighing at 18.1 kg of TNT. This makes the missile very potent and, coupled with a wide proximity fuse, gives it a formidable blast radius. On account of the large warhead, Red Top detonations tend to be often fatal to aircraft within the blast radius. However there are times (usually when the enemy aircraft is only just within the proximity fuse range and moving away from the missile) where enemy vehicles can survive, albeit usually with (often critical) damage.
+The Red Top's warhead has a large explosive mass, equivalent to 23.17 kg of TNT. This makes the missile very potent and, coupled with a wide proximity fuse, gives it a formidable blast radius. On account of the large warhead, Red Top detonations tend to be often fatal to aircraft within the blast radius. However there are times (usually when the enemy aircraft is only just within the proximity fuse range and moving away from the missile) where enemy vehicles can survive, albeit usually with (often critical) damage.
 === Comparison with analogues ===

@@ Line 107: / Line 107: @@
 * [[wt:en/news/6615-development-lightning-f-6-saddled-to-a-skyrocket-en|[Devblog] Lightning F.6: Saddled to a Skyrocket!]]
 * [[wikipedia:Red_Top_(missile)|[Wikipedia] Red Top (missile)]]
 {{Missiles}}
 [[Category:Suspended armaments]]

@@ Line 107: / Line 107: @@
 * [[wt:en/news/6615-development-lightning-f-6-saddled-to-a-skyrocket-en|[Devblog] Lightning F.6: Saddled to a Skyrocket!]]
 * [[wikipedia:Red_Top_(missile)|[Wikipedia] Red Top (missile)]]
 {{Missiles}}
 [[Category:Suspended armaments]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 * {{Specs-Link|lightning_f6}}
 * {{Specs-Link|dh_110_sea_vixen}}
@@ Line 21: / Line 22: @@
 | '''Guidance''' || IR
 |-
-| '''Aspect''' || Rear-Aspect
+| '''Aspect''' || Rear-aspect
 |-
-| '''Lock range in rear-aspect''' || 6 km
+| '''Lock range (rear-aspect)''' || 6 km
 |-
 | '''Launch range''' || 12 km
 |-
-| '''Maximum speed''' || 2.5 M
+| '''Maximum speed''' || 3.5 M
 |-
 | '''Maximum overload''' || 16 G
 |-
 | '''Missile guidance time''' || 40 secs
@@ Line 95: / Line 94: @@
 == See also ==
-<!--''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
+<!-- ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
 * ''reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;''
-* ''references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.''-->
+* ''references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.'' -->
 * [[Firestreak]]
 == External links ==
-<!--''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
+<!-- ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
 * ''topic on the official game forum;''
-* ''other literature.''-->
+* ''other literature.'' -->
 * [[wt:en/news/6615-development-lightning-f-6-saddled-to-a-skyrocket-en|[Devblog] Lightning F.6: Saddled to a Skyrocket!]]

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 == General info ==
 <!-- ''Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the missile.'' -->
 The Red Top is a development of the earlier [[Firestreak]] missile. Designed to intercept Soviet bombers it has a very large warhead and was optimised for use a high altitude, however it can still be a very potent weapon in a low altitude dogfight if used correctly. The Red Top has poor range at low altitude, but this can be mitigated by firing the missile from the side of the target.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[File:WeaponImage Red Top.png|thumb|left|420px|The Red Top missile (scale is approximate)]]
 {{Break}}
-The '''Red Top''' is a British [[Air-to-air_missiles#Infrared_homing_.28heat-seeking.29_missiles|Infrared homing air-to-air missile]], it was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]], along with the [[Lightning F.6]] (the first aircraft to carry it). The Red Top is one of the largest air-to-air missiles in the game, it is longer than any other air-to-air missile, while being second only to the [[Matra R530E]] in terms of weight it is also one of the largest air-to-air missiles available, with an explosive mass of 18.1 kg.
+The '''Red Top''' is a British [[Air-to-air_missiles#Infrared_homing_.28heat-seeking.29_missiles|Infrared homing air-to-air missile]], it was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]], along with the [[Lightning F.6]] (the first aircraft to carry it). The Red Top is a large and heavy air-to-air missile, like the [[Matra R530E]] and it also has an explosive mass of 18.1 kg.
 === Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 === Effective damage ===
 <!-- ''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of missile (high explosive, splash damage, etc)'' -->
-The Red Top's warhead has one of the largest amounts of explosive mass of any Air-To-Air missile in the game, weighing at 18.1 kg of TNT. This makes the missile very potent and, coupled with a wide proximity fuse, gives it a formidable blast radius. On account of the large warhead, Red Top detonations tend to be often fatal to aircraft within the blast radius. However there are times (usually when the enemy aircraft is only just within the proximity fuse range and moving away from the missile) where enemy vehicles can survive, albeit usually with (often critical) damage.
+The Red Top's warhead has a large explosive mass, weighing at 18.1 kg of TNT. This makes the missile very potent and, coupled with a wide proximity fuse, gives it a formidable blast radius. On account of the large warhead, Red Top detonations tend to be often fatal to aircraft within the blast radius. However there are times (usually when the enemy aircraft is only just within the proximity fuse range and moving away from the missile) where enemy vehicles can survive, albeit usually with (often critical) damage.
 === Comparison with analogues ===
 <!-- ''Give a comparative description of missiles that have firepower equal to this weapon.'' -->
-The missile most comparable to the Red Top is it's direct predecessor, the [[Firestreak]]. Both are British missiles were designed to be used in the interception of Soviet bombers, and feature large warheads with reasonable overloads and uncaged seekers which support radar slaving. The Firestreak has better initial acceleration than the Red Top, and possibly better range in some circumstances, however the Red Top has a much better seeker, being able to follow targets better, and perform attacks from the side of targets much better. Compared to most other missiles the Red Top has fairly poor range, particularly when fired from directly behind targets, however this can be compensated for by shooting at targets from the side. The 16 G overload is the same as that of the [[AIM-9D]], and is better than most early missiles, however it is inferior to later missiles such as the [[AIM-9J]], [[R-60]] and [[Matra R550]].
+The missile most comparable to the Red Top is its direct predecessor, the [[Firestreak]]. Both are British missiles were designed to be used in the interception of Soviet bombers, and feature large warheads with reasonable overloads and uncaged seekers which support radar slaving. The Firestreak has better initial acceleration than the Red Top, and possibly better range in some circumstances, however the Red Top has a much better seeker, being able to follow targets better, and perform attacks from the side of targets much better. Compared to most other missiles the Red Top has fairly poor range, particularly when fired from directly behind targets, however this can be compensated for by shooting at targets from the side. The 16 G overload is the same as that of the [[AIM-9D]], and is better than most early missiles, however it is inferior to later missiles such as the [[AIM-9J]], [[R-60]] and [[Matra R550]].
 == Usage in battles ==
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 * Can lock on to targets from the side aspect very well
 * Can be extremely hard to dodge when fired from side aspect
-* Huge warhead with large blast radius
+* Large warhead with wide blast radius
 * Supports radar slaving
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 By this time the transistor had matured as a militarily useful item, which allowed the seeker electronics to be made much smaller and lighter, and removed the need for in-flight cooling and heating required by Firestreak's valves. This opened up considerable internal room, which was used to greatly increase the size of the motor and warhead, and reposition the proximity fuses for a better view of the target. It also eliminated the need for the complex plumbing and bottles of air and ammonia formerly stored in the Firestreak's mounting pylon.
-While best known on the Lightning, the missile also equipped the [[Sea Vixen F.A.W. Mk.2|Sea Vixen]]; when launched from the subsonic Vixen, the larger motor allowed it to reach much higher speeds than the Firestreak and greatly improved its range and effectiveness. The new seeker also offered much wider engagement angles, up to 30 degrees on either side of the aircraft centerline, allowing it to be fired under a wider variety of approaches. Against its intended target, the Blinder flying at Mach 1.5, it could be used in a head-on approach at up to 22 km range. Against a subsonic target, which required a shot from the rear at up to 90 degrees to the side, it could be fired at around 5 to 7 km.
+While best known on the Lightning, the missile also equipped the [[Sea Vixen F.A.W. Mk.2|Sea Vixen]]; when launched from the subsonic Vixen, the larger motor allowed it to reach much higher speeds than the Firestreak and greatly improved its range and effectiveness. The new seeker also offered much wider engagement angles, up to 30 degrees on either side of the aircraft centreline, allowing it to be fired under a wider variety of approaches. Against its intended target, the Blinder flying at Mach 1.5, it could be used in a head-on approach at up to 22 km range. Against a subsonic target, which required a shot from the rear at up to 90 degrees to the side, it could be fired at around 5 to 7 km.
 Red Top entered service in 1964 on both the Sea Vixen and Lightning. There was some discussion of using Red Top on the UK's [[Phantom FG.1|Phantom]] fleet as a secondary weapon beside the [[AIM-7C Sparrow|Sparrow]], but it offered little advantage while costing much more, and was ultimately rejected. It was not used on any other platform, although it was considered for interceptor versions of the Harrier and Buccaneer. It armed the Sea Vixen until its retirement in 1972, and the Lightning until its retirement in 1988. On the Lightning, Red Top's larger fins made the aircraft unstable at high speed, and a larger rudder was required on the aircraft. This meant the Firestreak remained in service beside Red Top on earlier aircraft.

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 == Usage in battles ==
 <!-- ''Describe situations when you would utilise this missile in-game (vehicle, pillbox, base, etc)'' -->
-[[File:Red_Top_Kill_1.mp4|thumb|400px|right|Launcing a Red Top at a target from the side.]]
+[[File:Red_Top_Kill_1.mp4|thumb|400px|right|Launching a Red Top at a target from the side.]]
-[[File:Red_Top_Kill_2.mp4|thumb|400px|right|Launcing a Red Top at a target from the side.]]
+[[File:Red_Top_Kill_2.mp4|thumb|400px|right|Launching a Red Top at a target from the side.]]
-Like most early missiles, Red Top is not highly agile and most aircraft can avoid them by turning sharply. However, this can be mitigated to a degree by firing from the side of the target rather than the rear, when a lock-on can be achieved. To get the most out of the Red Top you should approach perpendicular to the target, once you get a lock you should then make use of the uncaged seeker to lead the missile as much as possible and fire from around 2.5 km. Radar slaving the Red Top can help you get and maintain a lock on the target, as well as displaying useful information (range & closing speed). The exact firing conditions will depend on the situation, but generally if approaching from the side a closing speed of 200 - 300 m/s and a range of 2 - 3 km at the moment of firing will lead to the best results. If you need to attack a target from behind then you should try to get as close as possible with a s higher closing speed as possible, with but not any closer than 1.0 - 1.3 km or so as the missile may not have time to begin guiding; again the best firing range will depend on the exact conditions (speed and altitude etc.). Examples of killing targets from the side with Red Tops can be seen in the videos to the right.
+Like most early missiles, Red Top is not highly agile and most aircraft can avoid them by turning sharply. However, this can be mitigated to a degree by firing from the side of the target rather than the rear, when a lock-on can be achieved. To get the most out of the Red Top you should approach perpendicular to the target, once you get a lock you should then make use of the uncaged seeker to lead the missile as much as possible and fire from around 2.5 km. Radar slaving the Red Top can help you get and maintain a lock on the target, as well as displaying useful information (range & closing speed). The exact firing conditions will depend on the situation, but generally if approaching from the side a closing speed of 200 to 300 m/s and a range of 2 to 3 km at the moment of firing will lead to the best results. If you need to attack a target from behind then you should try to get as close as possible with a s higher closing speed as possible, with but not any closer than 1.0 to 1.3 km or so as the missile may not have time to begin guiding; again the best firing range will depend on the exact conditions (speed and altitude etc.). Examples of killing targets from the side with Red Tops can be seen in the videos to the right.
 The Red Top is extremely effective against bombers, both due to the huge warhead as well as the ability to be fired from the side and thus keep the fighter out of line of any defensive guns. As the missile seeks infrared radiation (IR), be aware of locking onto other sources of heat which can throw the missile off course such as other teammates, flares and of course, the sun.