Air Force Question Thread

[F86 Saber]

I have a question,

Does the Maximum Range of a Missile (Say BVR AIM-120 having 110 KM as maximum range) mean that the Missile only has energy to fly till +/- 120 KM and after that it will drop to the ground? Does this mean that if the fired upon aircraft can turn away and go beyond 110 KM of the point where the missile was fired it can evade the threat?

 

[epinephrine]

i m not a missile expert but if something is out of a missile's max range how it can get hit by that missile???

 

[F86 Saber]

Actually my question is whether the Max range of a Missile determined by the effective range of radar or the juice the missile carries?

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

I have a question,

Does the Maximum Range of a Missile (Say BVR AIM-120 having 110 KM as maximum range) mean that the Missile only has energy to fly till +/- 120 KM and after that it will drop to the ground? Does this mean that if the fired upon aircraft can turn away and go beyond 110 KM of the point where the missile was fired it can evade the threat?

Actually my question is whether the Max range of a Missile determined by the effective range of radar or the juice the missile carries?

Yes it would eventually drop off the sky, but this is usually a managed affair i.e. the autodestruct kicks in.

That range is quoted at a certain altitude, a certain aircraft speed etc and is usually the max of all those possible. You can be almost sure your aam won't fly its max range most of the time.

Radar is a limiting factor in aam use but usually the radar liiks far beyond the aam's range, which is dependent on the the kinetic energy of and the drag on the missile, and the ke is imparted mostly by the rocket motor on it, which btw burns only seconds not all the way to max range.

 

[epinephrine]

during the last stages in the flight of an active radar guided missile such as the amraam the missile depends upon its own radar rather then the radar of the air craft that's y they r called as "fire n forget"missiles.so the max range depends upon the power carried by the missile in itself.
f-16c blk 52 has a radar range of abt 300 km n the max range of the amraam is 105 km so i think its the missile energy that gets depleted in the last stages of its flight

 

[nightcrawler]

Actually my question is whether the Max range of a Missile determined by the effective range of radar or the juice the missile carries?

As far as I know it depends on following factors

Primary Factors

1] Propellant in missile
2] Direction of incoming target
3] Speed of incoming target
4] Direction of launch vehicle
5] Speed of launch vehicle (Russian R-77 (RVV-AE) Missile launched from JF-17 has relatively reduced range than if launched from F-16/ Mig-29 with afterburner)
6] Altitude (less dense air in upper atmosphere causes less drag & greater range is achieved)

others factors are...speed/direction of wind

Radar has nothing to do with range...its a guiding hand. Missile with terminal active onboard seekers like the Russian missile I mentioned will function even if it transgresses the limits of say aeroplane radar range

having understood above mentioned factors observe this sentence:

Fired against high-altitude non-maneuvering targets approaching head-on, the R-77RVV-AE has a range of 100 km (62 mi),

 

[F86 Saber]

So from nightcrawler's post i gather that the max range of a missile is the max energy it carries and if it goes into self lock mode at the time it is running out of energy and still is far enough away from it's target it will reach a maximum distance and then self destruct. Right? So lets say a jet is locked at 90 NM by an AIM 120, if it can turn and go a further 20-30 miles in the other direction before the missile gets close enough it will be safe.

 

[gOtHmOG]

Can low flying planes be locked on to at BV ranges?

 

[Luftwaffe]

Does anyone out there has any information on PAF Handley Page Halifax if there is any airframe that survived and stored.

I haven't been able to find good information on it and why has it not become a part of PAF Museum.

 

[razgriz19]

So from nightcrawler's post i gather that the max range of a missile is the max energy it carries and if it goes into self lock mode at the time it is running out of energy and still is far enough away from it's target it will reach a maximum distance and then self destruct. Right? So lets say a jet is locked at 90 NM by an AIM 120, if it can turn and go a further 20-30 miles in the other direction before the missile gets close enough it will be safe.

ok lets make things a bit more clear.
pilots fire missiles when the target is atleast 1/3 of its range! so for 100km missile, a pilot would fire it when the target is about 30km away.
most BVR missiles has a range around 100km (head on). the range will change depending on the target's velocity, direction (if its moving away from the launching aircraft or heading right towards it). if its coming head on then the pilot could fire the missile at target 50km away (because the distance missile has to travel is decreasing as the target is coming towards it). if the target is moving away then the missile would be fired at about 25km-30km or much less, because it would deplete its fuel as it chases the target! however if the target gets out of missile's max range then yes, it will be safe.

 

[razgriz19]

i have a question, does anyone know how old are those IL-78MP refuellers that we bought from Ukraine?
they are not new, im pretty sure about that so how old are they?

 

[VelocuR]

i have a question, does anyone know how old are those IL-78MP refuellers that we bought from Ukraine?
they are not new, im pretty sure about that so how old are they?

dear my son, why you so much care about old vs new ?? Is that matters for you, what you sure ?!? Are you suggest brand new expensive KC-130F tanker ??

 

[Luftwaffe]

dear my son, why you so much care about old vs new ?? Is that matters for you, what you sure ?!? Are you suggest brand new expensive KC-130F tanker ??

Actually US ordered more KC-130J for tankers and with their inductions older F models more of them retired. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United States Marine Corps, with 38 delivered out of 47 ordered. It replaced older KC-130F and KC-130R variants.

I don't know if PAF has any plans to gets specialized KC-130 variant as tankers.

 

[fatman17]

Actually US ordered more KC-130J for tankers and with their inductions older F models more of them retired. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United States Marine Corps, with 38 delivered out of 47 ordered. It replaced older KC-130F and KC-130R variants.

I don't know if PAF has any plans to gets specialized KC-130 variant as tankers.

EDA request has been made but with 'relations' as they are, dont expect anything soon....

 

[fatman17]

i have a question, does anyone know how old are those IL-78MP refuellers that we bought from Ukraine?
they are not new, im pretty sure about that so how old are they?

they were upgraded and overhauled - engines are new. i dont know how old the airframe is!