Tag: AIM-7 Sparrow
The Iraqi said that their Mirage F.1EQ-5 was hit by a 'Strela' MANPAD, fired by the IRGC: actually, there was no MANPAD: it was an AIM-7E fired by an F-14A, scrambled from Bushehr. The photo in this post shows a Mirage F.1EQ-5 of the Iraqi Air Force (IrAF), serial number 4569. It was...
The most worrisome MiG-25 reconnaissance flight occurred on Oct. 10, 1971 when a pair of Foxbats flew parallel to the Israeli and Sinai Mediterranean coastline, 17 miles offshore, at Mach 2.5 and extreme altitude. Attempts to intercept the intruders were fruitless The reason the Israeli Air Force (IAF) worked so hard to obtain the F-4 in the late 1960s, and relied...
"I am the spirit of the Phantom. My spirit will live long in the minds and hearts of those in whom I have captured something. They are the ones who will know that I am not just a collection of wings and wheels; intakes and flaps," spirit of the F-4 Phantom Spirit of the Phantom poem written by Stay Hopton,...
Following the interception of radio traffic between the F-15s and the AWACS, Iran later claimed — logically — that the pilots aboard the two Eagles were not Saudis, but Americans The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) purchased 46 F-15Cs (minus some of the aircraft Tactical Electronic Warfare System elements and various sensitive radar modes) and 16 F-15Ds in 1983 under the...
The process to upgrade the F-14 fighter jet began in February 2017. The Tomcat has now joined Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force F-14's fleet Iran says it has succeeded in upgrading a Grumman F-14 Tomcat and return it to service. According Mehr News Agency the process to upgrade the F-14 fighter jet began in February 2017. The Tomcat undertook flight...
F-14 and F-15 fighters were able to achieve simulated SR-71 kills, but only under certain conditions During its 24 years of service, the SR-71 Blackbird gathered intelligence in some of the world’s most hostile environments. The Blackbird evaded all 4,000 missiles fired at it and, to this day, remains the only U.S. Air Force (USAF) aircraft to never lose a...
Even if Chinese claimed the destruction of the F-4 immediately after the engagement it was not considered politically prudent to counterclaim a MiG-17 and Murphy and Fegan's kill remained unconfirmed for many years The first official American aerial victory of the Vietnam War was scored on Apr. 9, 1965 by Lt. (j.g.) Terrence M. Murphy and his Radar Intercept Officer...
Even if until today a real F-14 Tomcat Vs F-15 Eagle engagement with live weapons fired has never taken place, since the prototypes made their first flights comparisons have been made between these two iconic aircraft The F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle are two of the best (and two of the most beautiful) fighters ever built. Even if until today...
"As a veteran of many missile shots, both AIM-9 and AIM-7, this was the most challenging due to the speeds involved and the parameters of the test" In Jan. 1974 I was serving as a missile project officer at the Naval Missile Center (NMC), Point Mugu, California. I was a veteran of two combat cruises to South East Asia aboard the...
While it never achieved the fame of the North American F-86 Sabre, the F3D Skyknight did down several Soviet-built MiG-15s as a night fighter Taken on Mar. 23, 1948, the interesting photo in this post shows the Douglas XF3D Skyknight performing its first flight, with Douglas test pilot Russell Thaw at the controls. The F3D, a large twin-engine night fighter developed...
