Difference between revisions of "AIM-7D Sparrow"
(→General info) |
(Worked towards adding more information in order to make the page more complete.) (Tag: Visual edit) |
||
| Line 38: | Line 38: | ||
=== Effective damage === | === Effective damage === | ||
| − | + | The warhead of the AIM-7D Sparrow is equivalent to 11.52 kg of TNT. With this large warhead, the AIM-7D packs enough explosive to destroy almost any aircraft caught in its blast. Even those lucky enough to not be blown to bits will certainly have taken a significant amount of critical damage. | |
=== Comparison with analogues === | === Comparison with analogues === | ||
| − | + | The Soviet missiles most comparable with the AIM-7D are the R-23R and the R-3R, which both have their own strengths and weaknesses versus the AIM-7D. | |
| + | |||
| + | The R-23R is a similar long range missile mounted on the MiG-23 Flogger. It carries a warhead almost twice as powerful. As well, the R-23R has a higher maximum overload (33% higher), making it more effective against maneuvering targets. The Sparrow however has a higher maximum speed, allowing it to hit targets faster. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The R-3R is a comparable Soviet SARH missile meant for short-to-medium range engagements, and is primarily mounted on MiG-21 Fishbed jets. Although it cannot compete with the range or power of the Sparrow, it is much more maneuverable, making it better in a head on and in dogfights. | ||
== Usage in battles == | == Usage in battles == | ||
| − | + | The AIM-7D is primarily used by the F-4C Phantom II, which sits at a battle rating of 10.0 in Air RB. | |
| + | |||
| + | Due to the somewhat short firing time of the rocket motor, long range engagements near the advertised maximum range are really only possible at high altitude, where the reduced air drag gives the missile a much better acceleration. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The AIM-7D can engage targets at low altitude, but it will not be nearly as fast as at higher altitude, and will decelerate quicker as well, meaning it cannot be used at its maximum range. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Maneuverability is not the AIM-7D's strong suit, and therefore can be defeated by maneuvering alone. | ||
| + | |||
| + | A strong lock is required in order to guarantee that the missile tracks, otherwise it will self destruct soon after launch due to failing to find its lock. | ||
=== Pros and cons === | === Pros and cons === | ||
| Line 73: | Line 85: | ||
;Related development | ;Related development | ||
| + | |||
* [[AIM-7C Sparrow]] | * [[AIM-7C Sparrow]] | ||
* [[AIM-7E Sparrow]] | * [[AIM-7E Sparrow]] | ||
| Line 80: | Line 93: | ||
== External links == | == 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;'' | * ''topic on the official game forum;'' | ||
* ''other literature.'' | * ''other literature.'' | ||
Revision as of 13:36, 16 September 2022
Contents
Description
The AIM-7D Sparrow is an American semi-active radar-homing air-to-air missile. It was introduced in Update "Raining Fire".
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
| Missile characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Mass | 197 kg |
| Guidance | SARH |
| Signal | CW |
| Lock range | 15 km |
| Launch range | 45 km |
| Maximum speed | 4.0 M |
| Maximum overload | 15 G |
| Missile guidance time | 40 secs |
| Explosive mass | 11.52 kg TNTeq |
Effective damage
The warhead of the AIM-7D Sparrow is equivalent to 11.52 kg of TNT. With this large warhead, the AIM-7D packs enough explosive to destroy almost any aircraft caught in its blast. Even those lucky enough to not be blown to bits will certainly have taken a significant amount of critical damage.
Comparison with analogues
The Soviet missiles most comparable with the AIM-7D are the R-23R and the R-3R, which both have their own strengths and weaknesses versus the AIM-7D.
The R-23R is a similar long range missile mounted on the MiG-23 Flogger. It carries a warhead almost twice as powerful. As well, the R-23R has a higher maximum overload (33% higher), making it more effective against maneuvering targets. The Sparrow however has a higher maximum speed, allowing it to hit targets faster.
The R-3R is a comparable Soviet SARH missile meant for short-to-medium range engagements, and is primarily mounted on MiG-21 Fishbed jets. Although it cannot compete with the range or power of the Sparrow, it is much more maneuverable, making it better in a head on and in dogfights.
Usage in battles
The AIM-7D is primarily used by the F-4C Phantom II, which sits at a battle rating of 10.0 in Air RB.
Due to the somewhat short firing time of the rocket motor, long range engagements near the advertised maximum range are really only possible at high altitude, where the reduced air drag gives the missile a much better acceleration.
The AIM-7D can engage targets at low altitude, but it will not be nearly as fast as at higher altitude, and will decelerate quicker as well, meaning it cannot be used at its maximum range.
Maneuverability is not the AIM-7D's strong suit, and therefore can be defeated by maneuvering alone.
A strong lock is required in order to guarantee that the missile tracks, otherwise it will self destruct soon after launch due to failing to find its lock.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Can be launched from long ranges
- Can catch opponents off-guard and can be launched in head-ons
Cons:
- Needs a radar lock, meaning it doesn't work very well on targets near the ground due to ground clutter that interferes with radar
- Not fire-and-forget, you need to follow the target to keep a radar lock until the moment the missile hits
- Takes around 1 km before it starts tracking
- Has a tendency to not track and just blow itself up a few seconds after it's fired
History
Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
