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originally posted by: BASSPLYR
a reply to: In4ormant
Cause it is bigger.
And it ours go to eleven.
originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: tadaman
As long as the center wing box holds up, and corrosion (which is going to be a major issue for the area) is handled, there's no reason they can't fly for a long time to come.
They'd make a pretty good aggressor trainer in the future.
originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: haman10
The Phoenix missile is largely useless against fighter sized aircraft. It always was, and an upgrade of isn't going to change that. It was designed to take on flights of slow bombers that fly a predictable course and speed.
According to IRIAF officials about 90% of phoenix missiles fired , scored .
All in all, the Iranian Air Force was said to have launched possibly 70 to 90 AIM-54A missiles, and 60–70 of those scored.[vague] Of those, almost 90 percent of the AIM-54A missiles fired were used against Iraqi fighters and fighter-bombers. Only about a dozen[vague] victories by AIM-54s were claimed[by whom?] to be against fast, high-flying targets such as the MiG-25 or Tu-22 'Blinder'.
originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: haman10
You do realize that the point of the Phoenix was to hit large formations of aircraft, right? So yes, if they're flying close together it's going to do exactly that.
As pointed out, it was not 90%, and most of them were against fighter-bombers. That means they were loaded down with heavy payloads and not able to maneuver well. The Phoenix is so large that it can be detected on radar by the target. A well trained pilot will be able to generate an overshoot because it's not very maneuverable.
It can be effective in forcing attack aircraft to drop their payloads to be able to maneuver and avoid it though.
originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: crazyewok
It depends on the country. Saudi, no from what I've heard. The UAE would probably have no trouble.