AIM-7F Sparrow

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This page is about the American air-to-air missile AIM-7F Sparrow. For the other versions, see AIM-7 Sparrow (Family).

Description

The AIM-7F Sparrow is an American semi-active radar-homing air-to-air missile. It was introduced in Update "Winged Lions"

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

The AIM-7F is a long-range air-to-air missile equipped with a sustainer motor. It is capable of engaging targets at over 30 km away and can reliably hit manoeuvring targets at ranges of 15 km.

Missile characteristics
Mass 231 kg
Guidance SARH
Signal CW
Lock range 40 km
Launch range 100 km
Maximum speed 4 M
Maximum overload 25 G
Missile guidance time 75 secs
Explosive mass 15.09 kg TNTeq

Effective damage

The AIM-7F is equipped with a 15 kg TNT warhead, capable of destroying aircraft it hits or detonates next to.

Comparison with analogues

The AIM-7F compares favourably against the AIM-7E and is on slightly better footing than the Skyflash and AIM-7E-2 once range exceeds 6 km. With a 25G pull that can be sustained for nearly the entire flight thanks to the sustainer motor, the manoeuvrability of the AIM-7F is unparalleled. The AIM-7F is approximately 40 kg heavier than the E-2, however, so acceleration is slightly lower, along with turning capability.

Usage in battles

The AIM-7F is best suited to high-altitude, long-range engagements and can be launched from over 15 km. Thanks to the sustainer motor, overall travel time is short and the missile is capable of a higher top speed in all but the most extreme situations. Additionally, the missile is able to retain its speed for far longer, meaning it keeps its 25G manoeuvring capability, often until the target gets hit. However, the AIM-7F can generally be used in any situation where the E-2 can be used, save for extremely close range shots.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Extremely long range (over 35 km in good conditions)
  • Sustaining motor, so it keeps its speed and manoeuvrability at long ranges
  • Very manoeuvrable, second only to the AIM-7E-2 and Skyflash in their first few seconds of flight
  • Very long tracking time (75 seconds)
  • Large warhead (>15 kg of TNT)
  • Manoeuvres straight off the rails, so no leading is required like the AIM-7E

Cons:

  • Slightly lower acceleration than contemporaries
  • Heavier than previous missiles, 4 AIM-7Fs will weigh almost 160 kg more than 4 AIM-7-E2s
  • Very long burn time, so the red diamond will be visible for a very long time, giving enemies ample time to notice it
  • Glides less than the AIM-7-E2
  • Not fire-and-forget, you need to follow the target to keep a radar lock until the moment the missile hits

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

Images

See also

Related development

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


Missiles
USA 
AAM  AIM-54A Phoenix · AIM-54C Phoenix · ATAS (AIM-92) · AIM-120A · AIM-120B
Sparrow  AIM-7C · AIM-7D · AIM-7E · AIM-7E-2 · AIM-7F · AIM-7M
Sidewinder  AIM-9B · AIM-9C · AIM-9D · AIM-9E · AIM-9G · AIM-9H · AIM-9J · AIM-9L · AIM-9M · AIM-9P
AGM  AGM-22 · APKWS II (M151) · APKWS II (M282) · BGM-71D TOW-2
Bullpup  AGM-12B Bullpup · AGM-12C Bullpup
Hellfire  AGM-114B Hellfire · AGM-114K Hellfire II
Maverick  AGM-65A · AGM-65B · AGM-65D · AGM-65G · AGM-65L
ATGM  LOSAT/MGM-166A
TOW  BGM-71 · BGM-71A · BGM-71B · BGM-71C
SAM  FIM-92 Stinger · MIM-72 · MIM146
Naval SAM  RIM-24A
Germany 
AAM  AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder · Flz Lwf 63 · Flz Lwf 63/80
AGM  9M14M Malyutka · Flz Lwf LB 82 · HOT-1 · HOT-2 TOW · HOT-3 · PARS 3 LR
AShM  AS.34 Kormoran
ATGM  HOT-K3S
SAM  Roland
Naval SAM  Strela-2M
USSR 
AAM  9M39 Igla · R-3R · R-3S · R-13M1 · R-23R · R-23T · R-24R · R-24T · R-27ER(1) · R-27ET(1) · R-27R(1) · R-27T(1) · R-60 · R-60M · R-60MK · R-73(E) · R-77
AGM  9K127 Vikhr · 9M17M Falanga · 9M120 Ataka · 9M120-1 Ataka
  Kh-23M · Kh-25 · Kh-25ML · Kh-29L · Kh-29T · Kh-29TE · Kh-29TD · Kh-66 · S-25L · S-25LD
ATGM  3M7 · 9M14 · 9M113 Konkurs · 9M114 Shturm · 9M123 Khrizantema · 9M133 · 9M133FM3 · 9M133M-2
SAM  95Ya6 · 9M311 · 9M311-1M · 9M331 · 9M37M
Naval SAM  Volna-M
Britain 
AAM  Fireflash · Firestreak · Red Top · Skyflash · Skyflash SuperTEMP · SRAAM · R-Darter
AGM  AGM-65E · AS.12 · ZT-6 Mokopa
AShM  AJ.168
ATGM  BAe Swingfire · MILAN · MILAN 2 · ZT3
SAM  Starstreak
Japan 
AAM  AAM-3 · AAM-4
AGM  Ki-148 I-Go Model 1B
ATGM  Type 64 MAT · Type 79 Jyu-MAT
SAM  Type 81 SAM-1C · Type 91
China 
AAM  PL-2 · PL-5B · PL-5C · PL-5EII · PL-7 · PL-8 · PL-12 · SD-10(A) · TY-90
AGM  AKD-9 · AKD-10 · HJ-8A · HJ-8C · HJ-8E · HJ-8H
ATGM  302 · HJ-73 · HJ-73E · HJ-9 · QN201DD · QN502CDD
SAM  HN-6
Italy 
AAM  Aspide-1A
AGM  AGM-65H · CIRIT · L-UMTAS · Spike ER
ATGM  Spike-LR2MR
Naval AShM  Nettuno
SAM  Mistral SATCP
France 
AAM  AA-20 Nord · Matra R511 · Matra R530 · Matra R530E · Matra Super 530D · Matra Super 530F · Matra R550 Magic 1 · Matra R550 Magic 2 · Mistral · MICA-EM
AGM  9M14-2 Malyutka-2 · AS-20 Nord · AS-30 Nord · AS-30L Nord · HOT-1 · HOT-2 TOW · HOT-3 · Spike ER
ATGM  HOT · SS.11
SAM  Roland · VT1
Sweden 
AAM  RB24 · RB24J · RB71 · RB 74 · RB 74(M) · RB 99
AGM  Rb05A · RB 53 Bantam · RB 55B Heli TOW · RB 55C Heli TOW · RB 75
ATGM  Rbs 55 · Rbs 56
SAM  Rbs 70
Israel 
AAM  Shafrir · Shafrir 2 · Python 3 · Derby
ATGM  Spike-LR2 · Spike-MR
  AAM = Air-to-Air Missile   AGM = Air-to-Ground Missile   AShM = Anti-Ship Missile   ATGM = Anti-Tank Guided Missile (Ground mounts)   SAM = Surface-to-Air Missile