AIM-7 Sparrow, RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, RIM-162 ESSM, Aspide, and Skyflash

[Overkiller]

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[dy031101]

I know that Aspide started off as an Italian improvement of AIM-7E and initially shared the aerodynamics with the Sparrow.

It was often said, however, that eventually the Aspide is to feature not only the new seekerhead (the original improvement) but also a new rocket motor and the clipped wings and fins.

Is the air-to-air version of the Aspide ever equipped with the clipped wings and fins?  Does anyone have pictures of aircraft carrying "Aspides with the clipped wings and fins"?

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Here is something you may have never seen before.  This is an AIM-7 Sparrow that has been modified with IR seeker from an AIM-9 Sidewinder.  It is on display next to a standard AIM-7 Sparrow so you can appreciate how much difference there is in the overall length of the weapon.

(image source: Brian Lockett/Goleta Air and Space Museum, NAS Point Mugu, CA)

[GTX]

Well I never...wait idea forming...whatif the USAF/West had a similar policy to the USSR when it came to arming their interceptors - i.e. carry both IR and SARH guided versions of the same missile?  I can imagine a F-15 or F-4 armed with a pair of ARH AIM-7s and a pair of IR AIM-7s now

Regards,

Greg

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Modifying the AIM-7 as pictured in the above image for what you are suggesting would be interesting.  At least in modeling the shape it would be a simple enough task to reduce the overall length ever so slightly which in this case appears to at the join of the radome with the missile airframe.  The second modification to incorporate a clear dome for the seeker may be a bit of a problem depending on what scale you intend to craft this weapon in.  1/72nd and smaller would be a simple chop job but 1/48th scale and larger will require some additional details to show to good effect the seeker head contained inside the clear dome unless you plan on going with a later Sidewinder seeker such as that used on the AIM-9J or AIM-9L which could lead you to a truncated cone shape on the nose of your weapon and no need for a clear dome.  That could certainly create some interesting looking Sparrow shapes for a WHIF interceptor aircraft where you could arm the thing with your proposed combinations of IR and RADAR missiles just as the Russians did on many of their interceptors. 

So an F-4, F-14, or F-15 would be armed with the usual RADAR Sparrow battery under the fuselage and the IR Sparrow weapons would be attached on the wing pylons.  There might be a need to cobble together a dual rail launcher for the IR Sparrows too since the Sidewinder launch rails are quite a bit smaller.  Some scale-o-rama may be necessary to achieve your goal here.  The IR Sparrow could also be used on the EE Lightning and a couple of other UK aircraft designs as a compliment to or replacement for the Fireflash and Firestreak.  Sounds like a winner! 

[MihoshiK]

Here is something you may have never seen before.  This is an AIM-7 Sparrow that has been modified with IR seeker from an AIM-9 Sidewinder.  It is on display next to a standard AIM-7 Sparrow so you can appreciate how much difference there is in the overall length of the weapon.

(image source: Brian Lockett/Goleta Air and Space Museum, NAS Point Mugu, CA)

Doesn't actually looks to be any difference in weapons length, if we take the aerospike into account. The weapons are staggered next to each other, you can see that by looking at the fins.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Here is something you may have never seen before.  This is an AIM-7 Sparrow that has been modified with IR seeker from an AIM-9 Sidewinder.  It is on display next to a standard AIM-7 Sparrow so you can appreciate how much difference there is in the overall length of the weapon.
(image source: Brian Lockett/Goleta Air and Space Museum, NAS Point Mugu, CA)

Doesn't actually looks to be any difference in weapons length, if we take the aerospike into account. The weapons are staggered next to each other, you can see that by looking at the fins.

Good luck trying to replicate that contraption on the forward end of the missile in a smaller scale.  I like the idea of converting a couple of Sparrow shapes to a heavy-weight IR guided missile without that pesky pointy thing on the front.  These would definitely look good on an F-4 Phantom or other aircraft from that era. 

[Sauragnmon]

I thought of them as a longer-ranged heater concept, and part of that came to mind for my Naval Super Viper - I've got a pair of them with the rounded off nose for the IR Seeker and then I went a notch further and gave it 120C style parallel-line clipped tip wings to go a little further.

[DarrenP]

I wonder if UK had gone with the almost NATO standard Sea Sparrow would the missiles have been Sea Skyflash smae with some of the GBAD systems?

[anthonyp]

I did up some AIM-162's based on the RIM-162 last year for my swing wing F-15N

RIM-7 vs. RIM-162 plan view (from Janes.com)


Finished AIM-162's


Fully loaded F-15N (4x AIM-97C's, 4x AIM-162D's, 4x AIM-9M's)

[Captain Canada]

Just a gorgeous shot of testing at Cold Lake. Wow.

[DarrenP]

on a warship would there be any difficulty operating Standard  and Rim 162 side by side as part of a layered airdefence system?

[pyro-manic]

They are already. See the US Burke-class, the German Sachsen-class and the Dutch De Zeven Provincien-class, possibly others too...

[rickshaw]

As early as 1950 Douglas examined equipping the Sparrow with an active radar seeker, initially known as XAAM-N-2a Sparrow II, the original retroactively becoming Sparrow I. In 1952 it was given the new code AAM-N-3. The active radar made the Sparrow II a "fire and forget" weapon, allowing several to be fired at separate targets at the same time.

By 1955 Douglas proposed going ahead with development, intending it to be the primary weapon for the F5D Skylancer interceptor. It was later selected, with some controversy, to be the primary weapon for the Canadian Avro Arrow supersonic interceptor, along with the new Astra fire-control system. For Canadian use and as a second source for US missiles, Canadair was selected to build the missiles in Quebec.

The small size of the missile forebody and the K-band AN/APQ-64-radar limited performance, and it was never able to work in testing. After considerable development and test firings in the U.S. and Canada, Douglas abandoned development in 1956. Canadair continued development until the Arrow was cancelled in 1959.

Sparrow II had a very different profile to the other, later versions of the missile, with a much slimmer, more pointed nosecone.

Does anybody know of any kits with some of these missiles or any aftermarket resin ones?

[Captain Canada]

Use a -120 with Sparrow fins ?