GolddenWaffels Posted October 31, 2022 Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) Hello Everyone!!! Noob here!, does anyone know which AIM-54C phoenix is the best at the moment? And could anyone tell me if the Mk47 is better than the Mk60 when firing to a target 90 miles away both of us flying at 50,000ft? I thought the phoenix was a Mach 5+ capable missile, but after the past couple of updates it struggles to pass 2300kts at 95,000ft which is just under Mach 3.9 according to Nasa's Mach Calculator (kts to mph). Thanks!!! Edited October 31, 2022 by GolddenWaffels
DD_Fenrir Posted October 31, 2022 Posted October 31, 2022 The Mach 5+ number attributed too the AIM-54 is a red-herring; the missile did acheive this under very specific test cases whilst very lightly loaded (no warhead and other mods) which came about as NASA were starting to investigate hypersonic flight regimes. The figures derived from these tests therefore DO NOT APPLY TO THE EVERYDAY FLEET MISSILES. Mach 3.9 sounds about right. Getting shots to connect @ ~100nm is really only acheivable with the launch aircraft at high altitudes (40K ft and upwards) and running at high speed (~1.5M) against fat dumb and happy targets, i.e. multi-engine bombers and transports; fighters are just too manoueverable and will defeat your Phoenix kinematically with ease at that range - unless they forgot to turn on their RWR! 1
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