AIM-7E Sparrow

Phantom FGR.2 carrying AIM-7E Sparrows

Description

The AIM-7E Sparrow missile (scale is approximate)

The AIM-7E Sparrow is a medium-range, semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile. It was introduced in Update "Raining Fire".

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• F-104S
• F-4E Phantom II
• F-4EJ Phantom II
• Phantom FG.1
• Phantom FGR.2

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the missile.

Effective damage

Describe the type of damage produced by this type of missile (high explosive, splash damage, etc)

Comparison with analogues

The AIM7E sparrow is by far one of the best SARH missiles in the game currently, with the best range. It overpass it's soviet counter part the R-3R in every aspect.

Usage in battles

The ideal time to use this weapon will depend on the targets speed altitude and if the target has a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) or not. Targets without RWR can often be attacked with the missile from considerable range since they will usually not be aware of the impending attack. In general, targets that are lower, faster and more aware require you to be closer to the target. If you get too close (anywhere less than 4 km usually), the missile begins to lose effectiveness as at these closer ranges it does not have time to accelerate to its top speed. The stated range on the stat card is an ideal range against a high altitude target that is unaware and heading towards you, more realistic engagement ranges tend to be closer to 8-12 km. Hits beyond 20 km are practical but only under ideal circumstances. A squadron of Phantoms with 4 AIM-7E Sparrows each can dominate the high altitude realm very well.

When engaging other Sparrow-equipped aircraft, a good knowledge of manuvers such as the F-Pole will serve you well.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The ability to launch the missile through clouds (all weather)
• Can engage targets at long distances
• Can attack a target facing any direction
• Has a good amount of G-overload
• Can achieve very high speeds- Mach 4

Cons:

• Reliant on the radar - cannot be used if there is no radar lock
• Cannot be used at low altitudes due to radar clutter
• Can sometimes fail to track
• Tracking only after 1.5s after the launch, wich make it difficult to aim for new user.

History

At the beginning sparrows were very unreliable, many improvements came after the first version, in 1963 production switched to the AIM-7E version. A new propulsion system was installed. The new rocket engine significantly increased the range and the performance of the missile.

The effective range depended greatly on firing parameters like:

·      launch speed

·      relative velocity of the target

·      altitude of engagement  

In head-on attacks, the range could be as high as 45 km.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

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.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
• other literature.