The Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow
The AIM-7 Sparrow is a radar-guided, air-to-air missile with a high-explosive warhead. The versatile Sparrow has all-weather, all-altitude operational capability and can attack high-performance aircraft and missiles from any direction.
It is a widely deployed missile used by U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces.
USMC
An air-to-air left side view of a Marine F-4 Phantom II aircraft from Marine Fighter/Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314) firing one of its AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. I`m told that the sparrow was a dud, and went straight into the Pacific Ocean!
Location: MCAS, NEW RIVER, NORTH CAROLINA (NC) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
Date Shot: 1976
Features
The missile has four major sections: guidance section, warhead, control and rocket motor. It has a cylindrical body with four wings at mid-body and four tail fins. Although external dimensions of the Sparrow remained relatively unchanged from model to model, the internal components of newer missiles represent major improvements with vastly increased capabilities.
Background
JOSHUA KARSTEN, USN
Loading AIM-7 Sparrow radar guided air-to-air missiles on an F-14B Tomcat aircraft
Onboard the US Navy (USN) Aircraft Carrier, USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67) Aviation Ordnancemen, assigned to Fighter Squadron One Zero Three (VF-103), load AIM-7 Sparrow radar guided air-to-air missiles on an F-14B Tomcat aircraft, as aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17) are prepared for missions, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
Date Shot: 8 Nov 2004
The AIM-7F joined the Air Force inventory in 1976 as the primary medium-range, air-to-air missile for the F-15 Eagle.
The AIM-7M, the only current operational version, entered service in 1982. It has improved reliability and performance over earlier models at low altitudes and in electronic countermeasures environments. It also has a significantly more lethal warhead. The latest software version of the AIM-7M is the H-Build that has been produced since 1987 and incorporates additional improvements in guidance. The F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters carry the AIM-7M Sparrow. U.S. and NATO navies operate a surface-to-air/surface version of this missile called the RIM-7F/M Sea Sparrow.
In the Persian Gulf War, the radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow proved to be a potent air-to-air weapon used by Air Force fighter pilots. Twenty-two Iraqi fixed-wing aircraft and three Iraqi helicopters were downed by radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.
AIM-7 Sparrow General Characteristics
| AIM-7 Sparrow | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States |  |
| Type | Air-to-Air guided missile | |
| Wing Span | 1 meters | 3.28 feet |
| Length | 3.66 meters | 12 feet |
| Diameter | 20.32 cm | 8 inches |
| Weight | 226.80 kilograms | 500 pounds |
| Speed | classified | |
| Range | classified | |
| Propulsion | Hercules MK-58 solid-propellant rocket motor | |
| Guidance | Raytheon semiactive on either continuous wave or pulsed Doppler radar energy | |
| Warhead | Annular blast fragmentation warhead | |
| Used by | US and NATO | |
MSGT MICHAEL AMMONS, USAF
A US Air Force (USAF) F-15 Strike Eagle fires an AIM-7 Sparrow medium range air-to-air missile
A US Air Force (USAF) F-15 Strike Eagle fires an AIM-7 Sparrow medium range air-to-air missile and it races towards a BQM-34A "Streaker" subscale aerial target drone (not shown) over the Gulf of Mexico during a Combat Archer mission.
Date Shot: 5 May 2004
