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76-483: The name "Century Series" stems from the fighter (F-) designation number being in the 100–109 range. The term became popular to refer to a group of generally similar designs of the 1950s and early 1960s. As it evolved, the attribution of the Century Series moniker reflects models designated between F-100 and F-106 which went into full production: The term "Century Series" does not include less successful models between

152-499: A canopy, but low drag requirements for high speed suggested that it be removed. The idea of using a periscope arrangement for forward viewing on high speed aircraft was then in vogue, the Avro 730 selecting a very similar system. The Air Force demanded that it be used on the F-103. Kartveli was opposed to this layout, and continued to press for the use of a "real" canopy. Design documents throughout

228-671: A combination of any of those three warhead types) is typically used in the attempt to disable or destroy the target aircraft. Warheads are typically detonated by a proximity fuze or by an impact fuze if it scores a direct hit. Less commonly, nuclear warheads have been mounted on a small number of air-to-air missile types (such as the AIM-26 Falcon ) although these are not known to have ever been used in combat. Guided missiles operate by detecting their target (usually by either radar or infrared methods, although rarely others such as laser guidance or optical tracking ), and then "homing" in on

304-451: A cone shape as the distance from the attacking aircraft increases. This will result in less accuracy for the missile because the beam may actually be larger than the target aircraft when the missile arrives. The missile could be securely within the beam but still not be close enough to destroy the target. Infrared guided (IR) missiles home on the heat produced by an aircraft. Early infra-red detectors had poor sensitivity, so could only track

380-399: A likely arrangement of three or four each GAR-1s and GAR-3s, fired in pairs (one each radar and infrared guided) to improve the odds of a hit. The XF-103 also was to feature 36 2.75-inch "Mighty Mouse" FFARs . General characteristics Performance Armament Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile ( AAM )

456-605: A more powerful motor that allows the missile to maneuver against crossing targets and launch at greater ranges, gives the launching aircraft improved tactical freedom. Other members of the 4th generation use focal plane arrays to offer greatly improved scanning and countermeasures resistance (especially against flares). These missiles are also much more agile, some by employing thrust vectoring (typically gimballed thrust ). The latest generation of short-range missiles again defined by advances in seeker technologies, this time electro-optical imaging infrared (IIR) seekers that allow

532-576: A narrow (30-degree) field of view and required the attacker to position himself behind the target ( rear aspect engagement ). This meant that the target aircraft only had to perform a slight turn to move outside the missile seeker's field of view and cause the missile to lose track of the target ("break lock"). The second-generation of short-range missiles utilized more effective seekers that were better cooled than its predecessors while being typically "uncaged"; resulting in improved sensitivity to heat signatures, an increase in field of view as well as allowing

608-399: A pressurized pod. Basic flight instruments inside the capsule allowed the aircraft to be flown back to base, and a window in the front of the shield allowed the periscope system to be used. In an emergency, the entire capsule would be ejected downward, along with a small portion of the aircraft fuselage that provided a stable aerodynamic shape. To enter and exit the aircraft, the ejection module

684-411: A rocket of some type and the control actuation system or CAS. Dual-thrust solid-fuel rockets are common, but some longer-range missiles use liquid-fuel motors that can "throttle" to extend their range and preserve fuel for energy-intensive final maneuvering. Some solid-fuelled missiles mimic this technique with a second rocket motor which burns during the terminal homing phase. There are missiles, such as

760-407: A specified range. Towed decoys which closely mimic engine heat and infra-red jammers can also be used. Some large aircraft and many combat helicopters make use of so-called "hot brick" infra-red jammers, typically mounted near the engines. Current research is developing laser devices which can spoof or destroy the guidance systems of infra-red guided missiles. See Infrared countermeasure . Start of

836-558: A target from various angles, not just from behind, where the heat signature from the engines is strongest. Other types rely on radar guidance (either on-board or "painted" by the launching aircraft). In 1999 R-73 missile were adapted by Serb forces for surface to air missiles. The Houthi movement Missile Research and Development Centre and the Missile Force have tried to fire R-27/R-60/R-73/R-77 against Saudi aircraft. Using stockpiles of missiles from Yemeni Air Force stocks. The issue for

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912-1001: Is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles ). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors , usually solid fueled but sometimes liquid fueled . Ramjet engines, as used on the Meteor , are emerging as propulsion that will enable future medium- to long-range missiles to maintain higher average speed across their engagement envelope. Air-to-air missiles are broadly put in two groups. Those designed to engage opposing aircraft at ranges of around 30 km to 40 km maximum are known as short-range or "within visual range" missiles (SRAAMs or WVRAAMs) and are sometimes called " dogfight " missiles because they are designed to optimize their agility rather than range. Most use infrared guidance and are called heat-seeking missiles. In contrast, medium- or long-range missiles (MRAAMs or LRAAMs), which both fall under

988-456: Is called "off- boresight " launch. For example, the Russian Su-27 is equipped with an infra-red search and track (IRST) system with laser rangefinder for its HMS-aimed missiles. A recent advancement in missile guidance is electro-optical imaging. The Israeli Python-5 has an electro-optical seeker that scans designated area for targets via optical imaging. Once a target is acquired,

1064-577: Is possible for the system to take missiles straight from an aircraft. After a live-fire test occurred in September 2020 off the coasts of Florida, during which it successfully engaged a simulated cruise missile, in 2022 NASAMS was deployed to Ukraine, where for the first time this missile system was used in real combat conditions, and, according to Ukrainian government, was able to shot down more than 100 aerial targets. A conventional explosive blast warhead, fragmentation warhead, or continuous rod warhead (or

1140-589: Is still a limitation to some degree) and could be distracted by the sun, a reflection of the sun off of a cloud or ground object, or any other "hot" object within its view. More modern infra-red guided missiles can detect the heat of an aircraft's skin, warmed by the friction of airflow, in addition to the fainter heat signature of the engine when the aircraft is seen from the side or head-on. This, combined with greater maneuverability, gives them an " all-aspect " capability, and an attacking aircraft no longer had to be behind its target to fire. Although launching from behind

1216-489: Is subject to a minimum range, before which it cannot maneuver effectively. In order to maneuver sufficiently from a poor launch angle at short ranges to hit its target, some missiles use thrust vectoring , which allow the missile to start turning "off the rail", before its motor has accelerated it up to high enough speeds for its small aerodynamic surfaces to be useful. Short-range air-to-air missiles (SRAAMs), typically used in " dogfighting " or close range air combat compare to

1292-414: Is that it enables a " fire-and-forget " mode of attack, where the attacking aircraft is free to pursue other targets or escape the area after launching the missile. Semi-active radar homing (SARH) guided missiles are simpler and more common. They function by detecting radar energy reflected from the target. The radar energy is emitted from the launching aircraft's own radar system. However, this means that

1368-512: Is the "home on jam" mode which, when installed, allows a radar-guided missile to home in on the jammer of the target aircraft if the primary seeker is jammed by the electronic countermeasures of the target aircraft. Air-to-air missiles are typically long, thin cylinders in order to reduce their cross section and thus minimize drag at the high speeds at which they travel. Missiles are divided into five primary systems (moving forward to aft): seeker, guidance, warhead, motor, and control actuation. At

1444-399: Is the temperature of the materials in the engines, in particular, the turbine blades just behind the combustion chambers. Using materials available at the time, speeds much beyond Mach 2.5 were difficult to achieve. The solution to this problem is the removal of the turbine. The ramjet engine consists mostly of a large tube, and is relatively easy to air-cool by forcing extra air around

1520-528: The R-60M or the Python-3 . The R-73 (missile) ( AA-11 Archer ) entered service in 1985 and marked a new generation of dogfight missile. It had a wider field of view and could be cued onto a target using a helmet mounted sight . This allowed it to be launched at targets that would otherwise not be seen by older generation missiles that generally stared forward while waiting to be launched. This capability, combined with

1596-520: The 1954 interceptor , it called for a supersonic aircraft with all-weather capability, powerful aircraft interception radar , and air-to-air missile armament. Republic was one of six companies to submit proposals. On 2 July 1951, three of the designs were selected for further development, Convair's scaled-up XF-92 that evolved into the F-102 , a Lockheed design that led to the F-104 , and Republic's AP-57. AP-57

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1672-665: The ASRAAM and Sea Ceptor . The air-to-air missile grew out of the unguided air-to-air rockets used during the First World War . Le Prieur rockets were sometimes attached to the struts of biplanes and fired electrically, usually against observation balloons , by such early pilots as Albert Ball and A. M. Walters. Facing the Allied air superiority, Germany in World War II invested limited effort into missile research, initially adapting

1748-446: The beyond-visual-range missiles . Most of the short-range air-to-air missiles are infrared guided . Those missiles usually classified into five "generations" according to the historical technological advances. Most of these advances were in infrared seeker technology (later combined with digital signal processing ). Early short-range missiles such as the early Sidewinders and K-13 (missile) ( AA-2 Atoll ) had infrared seekers with

1824-492: The 21st century missiles such as the ASRAAM use an " imaging infrared " seeker which "sees" the target (much like a digital video camera), and can distinguish between an aircraft and a point heat source such as a flare. They also feature a very wide detection angle, so the attacking aircraft does not have to be pointing straight at the target for the missile to lock on. The pilot can use a helmet mounted sight (HMS) and target another aircraft by looking at it, and then firing. This

1900-495: The Century Series aircraft was advanced performance and avionics when they were introduced. The F-100 was the first aircraft in the USAF capable of exceeding the speed of sound in level flight. The F-101 was the first aircraft in the USAF capable of exceeding 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h). The F-102 was the first aircraft in the world to utilize area rule in its design. The F-104 was the first combat aircraft capable of Mach 2 flight, and

1976-756: The F-100 and F-109 that did not go past design or prototype stage: the Republic XF-103 and North American XF-108 Rapier interceptor concepts, the North American F-107 tactical fighter prototype (cancelled in favor of the F-105), and designation "F-109" which was originally assigned to the F-101B Voodoo and later requested but not granted for the Bell XF-109 VTOL concept. The F- series number sequence used in USAF

2052-488: The MBDA Meteor, that "breathe" air (using a ramjet , similar to a jet engine) in order to extend their range. Modern missiles use "low-smoke" motors – early missiles produced thick smoke trails, which were easily seen by the crew of the target aircraft alerting them to the attack and helping them determine how to evade it. The CAS is typically an electro-mechanical, servo control actuation system, which takes input from

2128-530: The R-27 and R-77 is the lack of a radar to support their guidance to the target. However the R-73 and R-60 are infra-red heat seeking missiles. They only require, power, liquid nitrogen "to cool the seeker head" and a pylon to launch the missile. These missiles have been paired with a "US made FLIR Systems ULTRA 8500 turrets". Only one near miss has been verified and that was a R-27T fired at Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA. However

2204-625: The US that early F-4 variants were armed only with missiles in the 1960s. High casualty rates during the Vietnam War caused the US to reintroduce autocannon and traditional dogfighting tactics but the missile remains the primary weapon in air combat. In the Falklands War British Harriers , using AIM-9L missiles were able to defeat faster Argentinian opponents. Since the late 20th century all-aspect heat-seeking designs can lock-on to

2280-528: The USAF arsenal at the time to be under sole control of their pilots (during a mission). Similar advancements were made in this period by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps with the Douglas F4D Skyray (later F-6), Vought F8U Crusader and F4H Phantom II carrier-based aircraft, but US Naval Aviation lacked a similar naming group. Republic XF-103 The Republic XF-103

2356-527: The USN's AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder . Post-war research led the Royal Air Force to introduce Fairey Fireflash into service in 1957 but their results were unsuccessful. The Soviet Air Force introduced its K-5 into service in 1957. As missile systems have continued to advance, modern air warfare consists almost entirely of missile firing. The use of beyond-visual-range combat became so pervasive in

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2432-498: The aircraft would be powered by the J67, with the RJ55 acting as a traditional afterburner, producing a total of about 40,000 lbf (180 kN) thrust. At high speeds, starting above Mach 2.2, the jet engine would be shut down and the airflow from the intake would be routed around the jet engine and directly into the RJ55. Although the net thrust was reduced by shutting down the jet, operating on

2508-683: The anti-radiation missile (ARM) design, pioneered during Vietnam and used to home in against emitting surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites, to an air intercept weapon. Current air-to-air passive anti-radiation missile development is thought to be a countermeasure to airborne early warning and control (AEW&C – also known as AEW or AWACS) aircraft which typically mount powerful search radars. Due to their dependence on target aircraft radar emissions, when used against fighter aircraft passive anti-radiation missiles are primarily limited to forward-aspect intercept geometry. For examples, see Vympel R-27 and Brazo . Another aspect of passive anti-radiation homing

2584-657: The attack radar to illuminate the target during part or all of the missile interception itself. Radar guidance is normally used for medium- or long-range missiles, where the infra-red signature of the target would be too faint for an infra-red detector to track. There are three major types of radar-guided missile – active, semi-active, and passive. Radar-guided missiles can be countered by rapid maneuvering (which may result in them "breaking lock", or may cause them to overshoot), deploying chaff or using electronic counter-measures . Active radar (AR)-guided missiles carry their own radar system to detect and track their target. However,

2660-424: The category of beyond-visual-range missiles (BVRAAMs), tend to rely upon radar guidance, of which there are many forms. Some modern ones use inertial guidance and/or "mid-course updates" to get the missile close enough to use an active homing sensor. The concepts of air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air missiles are closely related, and in some cases versions of the same weapon may be used for both roles, such as

2736-408: The discovery of the area rule , and does not display any of the wasp waisting common to aircraft primarily developed after 1952. The fuselage contours were mainly cylindrical, but blended into the intake starting around the wing root, giving it a rounded, rectangular profile through the middle, before reverting to a pure cylinder shape again at the engine nozzle. The cockpit design originally featured

2812-545: The drawback is that these missiles are intended to be fired from one jet fighter against another. So the motors and fuel load are smaller than a purpose built surface to air missile. On the Western side, the Norwegian-American made NASAMS air defense system has been developed for using AIM-9 Sidewinder , IRIS-T and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to intercept targets. None of these missiles require modifications and hence it

2888-497: The engine. Experimental ramjet aircraft of the era, like the Lockheed X-7 , were reaching speeds as high as Mach 4. There are numerous problems with the ramjet engine, however. Fuel economy, or thrust specific fuel consumption in aircraft terms, is extremely poor. This makes general operations like flying from one airbase to another expensive propositions. More problematic is the fact that ramjets rely on forward speed to compress

2964-414: The front is the seeker, either a radar system, radar homer, or infra-red detector. Behind that lies the avionics which control the missile. Typically after that, in the centre of the missile, is the warhead, usually several kilograms of high explosive surrounded by metal that fragments on detonation (or in some cases, pre-fragmented metal). The rear part of the missile contains the propulsion system, usually

3040-422: The front or side aspects, as opposed to just the hotter engine nozzle(s) from rear-aspect, allowing for a true all-aspect capability. This significantly expanded potential attacking envelopes, allowing the attacker to fire at a target which was side-on or front-on to itself as opposed to just the rear. While the field-of-view was still restricted to a fairly narrow cone, the attack at least did not have to be behind

3116-432: The fuselage in the extreme rear, as if it were the exhaust of a conventional engine installation. There was a significant empty space above the J67 for ducting. All of the control surfaces were pure delta wings . The main wing was swept at 55 degrees, and could be rotated around the spar to provide variable incidence. For takeoff and landing, the wing was tilted upwards to increase the angle of incidence while keeping

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3192-424: The fuselage nearly horizontal. The length of the fuselage made it difficult to achieve the same end by tilting the entire aircraft upwards, which would have required a very long extension on the landing gear . The system also allowed the fuselage to fly flat to the airflow at various speeds, setting the angle of incidence independent of the aircraft as a whole. This decreased trim drag, thus improving range. The wing

3268-488: The guidance system and manipulates the airfoils or fins at the rear of the missile that guide or steers the weapon to target. Nowadays, countries start developing hypersonic air-to-air missile using scramjet engines (such as R-37 , or AIM-260 JATM ), which not only increases efficiency for BVR battles, but it also makes survival chances of target aircraft drop to nearly zero. A number of terms frequently crop up in discussions of air-to-air missile performance. A missile

3344-399: The horizontal surfaces, opening out and up at about a 45° angle into the gap between the horizontal and vertical surfaces. A provision for a braking parachute is not evident on the mock-up or the various artwork, although this was common for aircraft of the era. The fuselage was completely smooth, with a high fineness ratio for low drag at supersonic speeds. The design was developed prior to

3420-426: The hot exhaust pipes of an aircraft. This meant an attacking aircraft had to maneuver to a position behind its target before it could fire an infra-red guided missile. This also limited the range of the missile as the infra-red signature soon become too small to detect with increasing distance and after launch the missile was playing "catch-up" with its target. Early infrared seekers were unusable in clouds or rain (which

3496-456: The incoming air, and only become efficient above Mach 1. Alexander Kartveli , Republic's Chief Designer, devised a solution to these problems. He proposed using a Wright J67 turbojet (a license-built derivative of the Bristol Olympus ) supplemented by an RJ55-W-1 ramjet behind it. Connecting the two were a series of movable ducts that could route air between the engines. At low speeds

3572-417: The launch aircraft has to maintain a "lock" on the target (keep illuminating the target aircraft with its own radar) until the missile makes the interception. This limits the attacking aircraft's ability to maneuver, which may be necessary should threats to the attacking aircraft appear. An advantage of SARH-guided missiles is that they are homing on the reflected radar signal, so accuracy actually increases as

3648-482: The missile close to the target. At a predetermined point (frequently based on time since launch or arrival near the predicted target location) the missile's radar system is activated (the missile is said to "go active"), and the missile then homes in on the target. If the range from the attacking aircraft to the target is within the range of the missile's radar system, the missile can "go active" immediately upon launch. The great advantage of an active radar homing system

3724-500: The missile gets closer because the reflection comes from a "point source": the target. Against this, if there are multiple targets, each will be reflecting the same radar signal and the missile may become confused as to which target is its intended victim. The missile may well be unable to pick a specific target and fly through a formation without passing within lethal range of any specific aircraft. Newer missiles have logic circuits in their guidance systems to help prevent this problem. At

3800-408: The missile that allows it to home in on the jamming signal. An early form of radar guidance was " beam-riding " (BR). In this method, the attacking aircraft directs a narrow beam of radar energy at the target. The air-to-air missile was launched into the beam, where sensors on the aft of the missile controlled the missile, keeping it within the beam. So long as the beam was kept on the target aircraft,

3876-403: The missile will lock-on to it for the kill. Electro-optical seekers can be programmed to target vital area of an aircraft, such as the cockpit. Since it does not depend on the target aircraft's heat signature, it can be used against low-heat targets such as UAVs and cruise missiles . However, clouds can get in the way of electro-optical sensors. Evolving missile guidance designs are converting

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3952-405: The missile would ride the beam until making the interception. While conceptually simple, the move is hard because of the challenge of simultaneously keeping the beam solidly on the target (which could not be relied upon to cooperate by flying straight and level), continuing to fly one's own aircraft, and monitoring enemy countermeasures. An added complication was that the beam will spread out into

4028-405: The mixture. The resulting expansion of gases produces thrust. The compressors generally can ingest air only at subsonic speeds. To operate supersonically, aircraft use advanced intakes to slow the supersonic air to a usable speed. The energy lost in this process heats the air, which means the engine has to operate at ever-higher temperatures to provide net thrust. The limiting factor in this process

4104-644: The naming convention with the Constant Peg program as an operations security measure. The last known aircraft with an F-1xx designation is the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft, which is unrelated to other F-1xx aircraft but received the designation as an additional layer of obscuration for this highly secretive program. The Century Series aircraft represented a mix of fighter-bombers (F-100, F-101A, F-105) and pure interceptors (F-101B, F-102, F-104, F-106). The unifying characteristic of

4180-422: The only aircraft in history to simultaneously hold the world speed, rate-of climb and altitude records. Three of the Century Series aircraft—F-101, F-102, and F-106—were armed with nuclear air-to-air missiles. These weapons, designed to destroy incoming nuclear-armed Soviet bombers even when not scoring a clear hit (due to the nuclear explosion radius, shock wave, and radiation burst), were the only nuclear weapons in

4256-476: The possibility of leading a missile within its FOV for an increased probability of kill against a maneuvering target. In some cases, the improved sensitivity to heat signatures allows for a very limited side and even all-aspect tracking, as is the case with the Red Top missile . In conjunction with improved control surfaces and propulsion motors over the first generation of dogfight missiles, the technological advances of

4332-403: The program continued to include this as an optional feature, along with performance estimates that suggested the difference would be minimal. The system shown on mockups used two large oval windows on the cockpit sides, and a periscope system projecting an image onto a Fresnel lens arrangement directly in front of the pilot. In 1955, the periscope concept was tested on a modified F-84G , which

4408-503: The projectile of the unguided 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 infantry barrage rocket system into the air-launched BR 21 anti-aircraft rocket in 1943; leading to the deployment of the R4M unguided rocket and the development of various guided missile prototypes such as the Ruhrstahl X-4 . The US Navy and US Air Force began equipping guided missiles in 1956, deploying the USAF's AIM-4 Falcon and

4484-504: The proposed Wright J67 engine. The contract was later reduced to a single prototype. In the end, the J67 never entered production and the aircraft it had been chosen for were forced to turn to other engine designs, or were cancelled outright. Republic suggested replacing the J67 with the Wright J65 , a much less powerful engine. The project was eventually cancelled on 21 August 1957 with no flying prototypes ever being completed. The design

4560-475: The ramjet alone allowed the aircraft to reach much higher speeds. Both engines were located behind a single very large ventral Ferri-type intake, which used a prominent, swept-forward lip, a configuration also used for the wing-root inlets on the F-105 Thunderchief . The J67 was installed just behind the intake, angled with its intake below the centerline of the aircraft. The RJ55 was installed inline with

4636-494: The range requirements of LRI-X. Some work was carried out adapting the mockup to house the 40 inch antenna, which required the nose section to be scaled up considerably. Nothing ever came of the proposal, and testing of the ASG-18/GAR-9 was carried out on a modified Convair B-58 Hustler instead. Mach 3 performance in the 1950s was difficult to achieve. Jet engines compress incoming air, then mix it with fuel and ignite

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4712-468: The same MX-1179 package being developed for all of the WS-201 designs. Hughes had won this contract with their Hughes MA-1 fire control system, which was under development. Weapons were carried in bays located on the sides of the fuselage behind the cockpit, which opened by flipping upward, thereby rotating the missiles out of their bays. It was to be armed with six GAR-1/GAR-3 Falcon (then known as MX-904), with

4788-402: The same time, jamming the missile lock-on is easier because the launching aircraft is further from the target than the missile, so the radar signal has to travel further and is greatly attenuated over the distance. This means that the missile may be jammed or "spoofed" by countermeasures whose signals grow stronger as the missile gets closer. One counter to this is a "home on jam" capability in

4864-467: The second-generation short-range missiles allowed them to be used not just on non-maneuvering bombers, but also actively maneuvering fighters. Examples include advanced derivatives of the K-13 (missile) and AIM-9 such as K-13M ( R-13M , Object 380) or AIM-9D / G / H . This generation introduced much more sensitive seekers that are capable of locking onto the warm heat irradiated by the skins of aircraft from

4940-409: The size of the radar antenna is limited by the small diameter of missiles, limiting its range which typically means such missiles are launched at a predicted future location of the target, often relying on separate guidance systems such as Global Positioning System , inertial guidance , or a mid-course update from either the launching aircraft or other system that can communicate with the missile to get

5016-410: The target increases the probability of a hit, the launching aircraft usually has to be closer to the target in such a tail-chase engagement . An aircraft can defend against infra-red missiles by dropping flares that are hotter than the aircraft, so the missile homes in on the brighter, hotter target. In turn, IR missiles may employ filters to enable it to ignore targets whose temperature is not within

5092-440: The target on a collision course. Although the missile may use radar or infra-red guidance to home on the target, the launching aircraft may detect and track the target before launch by other means. Infra-red guided missiles can be "slaved" to an attack radar in order to find the target and radar-guided missiles can be launched at targets detected visually or via an infra-red search and track (IRST) system, although they may require

5168-446: The target. Also typical of the third generation of short-range missiles are further improved agility over the previous generation as well as their ability to radar-slave; which is acquiring tracking data from the launching aircraft's radar or IRST systems, allowing attackers to launch missiles without ever pointing the nose of the aircraft at an enemy prior to leading the missile. Examples of this generation of dogfight missiles include

5244-460: The tiperons. Hard points for drop tanks were available at about 1 ⁄ 3 of the way out from the wing root. The horizontal stabilizers were seemingly undersized, and mounted below the line of the wing. The larger vertical fin was supplemented by a ventral fin for high-speed stability. This fin folded to the right, as seen from behind, during takeoff and landing to avoid hitting the ground. Two petal-style air brakes were mounted directly behind

5320-552: Was a continuation of the pre-USAF pursuit aircraft (P- series) numbering , stretching back as far as to the 1920s. The numbering would continue sequentially up to the General Dynamics F-111 , and after this number, the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system restarted the numbering back from 1. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber was briefly known as the F-110 Spectre. The USAF continued

5396-542: Was an American project to develop a powerful missile -armed interceptor aircraft capable of destroying Soviet bombers while flying at speeds as high as Mach 3. Despite a prolonged development, it never progressed past the mockup stage. In 1949, the USAF issued a request for an advanced supersonic interceptor to equip the Air Defense Command . Known formally as Weapon System WS-201A, but better known informally as

5472-545: Was an advanced concept to be built almost entirely of titanium and capable of Mach  3 at altitudes of at least 60,000 feet (18 km). A full-scale mock-up of the AP-57 was built and inspected in March 1953. A contract for three prototypes followed in June 1954. Work on the prototypes was delayed by continued problems with the titanium construction, and more by continuing problems with

5548-454: Was flown on a long, cross-country flight with the pilot's forward vision blocked. A unique supersonic escape capsule was designed for the XF-103. The pilot's seat was located in a shell with a large movable shield in front that was normally slid down into the area in front of the pilot's legs. In the case of depressurization, the shield would slide up in front of the pilot, sealing the seat into

5624-658: Was given a brief reprieve as part of the Long-Range Interceptor – Experimental (LRI-X) project that ultimately led to the North American XF-108 Rapier . Part of this project was the development of the advanced Hughes AN/ASG-18 pulse-doppler radar and the GAR-9 missile. Republic proposed adapting the F-103 as a testbed for these systems with additional fuel tanks taking up much of the original weapon bay spaces, although it wouldn't be able to come close to meeting

5700-478: Was lowered on rails out of the bottom of the aircraft, allowing the pilot to simply walk into the seat, sit down, and raise the module into the aircraft. The capsule was fully pressurized, allowing the pilot to continue operating the aircraft without a pressure suit when the capsule was locked up. The entire nose of the aircraft was taken up by the large Hughes radar set, which (at the time) offered long detection ranges. Guidance and fire control were to be provided by

5776-413: Was split at about two-thirds of the span. The portion outside of this line able to rotate independently of the rest of the wing. These movable portions acted as large ailerons , or as Republic called them, tiperons . To keep the surface area in front and behind the pivot point somewhat similar, the split line was closer to the fuselage in front of the pivot. Large conventional flaps ran from the fuselage to

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