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Subject: The AIM-120D speculations.
skrip00    3/5/2006 4:23:42 PM
Ok, the AIM-120D is the next iteration of the AMRAAM family. It is said to have a 50% range improvement and 2 way data-links.

My specualtion is this: To improve the "no escape" zone, the -120D will use an AESA radar in its nose. An AESA radar would be a far smaller package in the missile's nose, and would be a bit more powerful. But more importantly, the AESA radar will be highly resistant to ECM, and would also allow for LPI. Lastly, an AESA radar can focus its beam rather finely onto an enemy aircraft from a good distance out.

The smaller guidance system also means less weight and more room for fuel which helps increase its range and kill probability.
 
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perfectgeneral    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   3/5/2006 5:27:19 PM
The small diameter LPI AESA seems likely. I read somewhere that the french are working on this too.
 
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skrip00    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   3/5/2006 8:30:33 PM
Well, seeing as the French have yet to field a full sized aircraft AESA yet, putting one in a missile and making it operational is something they may not accomplish until well after the D enters service.
 
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leroy    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   3/5/2006 11:02:36 PM
"My specualtion is this: To improve the "no escape" zone, the -120D will use an AESA radar in its nose." An AESA radar would not increase the no-escape zone. The no-escape zone deals only with the sorts of maneuvers a missile can pull and the radar is not a consideration. "An AESA radar would be a far smaller package in the missile's nose, and would be a bit more powerful." Current AESA radars are quite a bit larger and heavier than the mechanical radars they are replacing. In addition to that they are very very power hungry. This is a problem on an air-to-air missile because it is battery powered. Cooling the radar would also be big problem. One of the 2006 Janes books(air launched weapons I believe) speculates that the AIM-120D is a ramjet of some sort and that the US navy wants an AIM-54 replacement.
 
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EW3    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   3/5/2006 11:20:03 PM
Current AESA radars are quite a bit larger and heavier than the mechanical radars they are replacing. In addition to that they are very very power hungry. Feel free to expand on this.
 
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skrip00    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   3/6/2006 10:25:02 AM
Well the AIM-120D doesnt need a full time radar, just one to get a kill.
 
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MadRat    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   3/6/2006 7:36:21 PM
One to get a kill, like how the Foxbat didn't need a radar to get a kill, just its designator. The age of dispersed datalinks and asimilar sensors all merged into a monolithic space management center have been upon us for a decade. Its been refined, rinsed, and refined yet again, only repeatedly over many times. The granularity will be substantially better each year for sure, and by 2007 it should be possible - using deployed instruments not conjecture - to use solely passive means to get an interception from an AMRAAM. The groundwork for the patchwork was begun in 1992.
 
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Professor Fickle    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   4/4/2006 7:02:11 PM
leroy >? "My specualtion is this: To improve the "no escape" zone, the -120D will use an AESA radar in its nose." An AESA radar would not increase the no-escape zone. The no-escape zone deals only with the sorts of maneuvers a missile can pull and the radar is not a consideration. ? Not entirely. The AESA radars can be steered at unbelievable, almost instantaneous speeds angels up to 160º cone in front of the missile! That can help if a target pulls maneuvers older radar seeker can?t keep up. More AIM-120D speculations: *Dual seeker IR and Radar like the one planed for the canceled Advanced Air to Air Missile *something like Have Dash II the proposed Stealth AAM link >? To ensure a low radar cross section (RCS), the HAVE DASH II design featured a radar-absorbing graphite composite fuselage with a flat-surfaced trapezoidal cross-section for the whole body except for the radome. Stability and control was provided by four tail fins. The shape allowed the missile to be carried externally flush on the carrier aircraft, thereby minimizing its attribution to total RCS. The stealthy missile would also be less detectable by the attacked aircraft's warning sensors? . *Solid fuel RAM-jet would have to be stealthy unlike the Meteor. *Thrust vector control, Almost essential for supersonic maneuvers on normal airplanes because of it efficiency. The fins don?t even need to move until the end of the engagement *Control squibs like on LOSAT, for additional maneuverability.
 
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DarthAmerica    RE:The AIM-120D speculations. - EW3   4/4/2006 7:11:28 PM
Skipper, AESA does tend to add weight. Its one of the reasons for the V(3) version of the F-15C AESA. With the V(2) the 3rd wing had to add ballast to the F-15 to compensate for the weight of the V(2) and there was a minor performance penalty. V(3) improved on this to the point of not needing the ballast and the improved technology also went into the APG-79\81.
 
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jarkeld    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.    4/4/2006 9:48:24 PM
I doubt we will see aesa in D model the main gaol of program seems to be extending range of missile. I would put aesa and duel Radar IR seeker into E model appearing in 2015-2020 period. The cost of doing both new rocket and aesa at same time would drive cost of missile well past the million $ range and make it a huge target for budget cutters.
 
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dudley    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.    4/5/2006 12:11:21 AM
this posters isp path links to chenju, china.
 
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DarthAmerica    RE:The AIM-120D speculations. - dudley   4/5/2006 1:42:18 AM
>>>this posters isp path links to chenju, china.<<< ???
 
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Professor Fickle    RE:The AIM-120D testing   4/26/2006 11:54:45 PM
Aim-120D Resonance test> F-22 CTF Tests New Missile Air Force News | Christopher Ball | April 21, 2006 Edwards AFB, CA. - The F-22 Combined Test Force here achieved another first when an F-22A Raptor flew with an AIM-120D missile in its weapons bay to test the effect of noise and vibration on the missile. What was unique about the April 14 flight was that the weapon on board, the latest version of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, is still being developed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. "This is a first for the Raptor, as the weapon hasn't been fielded yet," said Capt. Jason Armstrong, an armament engineer with the 411th Flight Test Squadron here. "In the past, we've integrated existing weapons systems such as the JDAM into the aircraft. We're doing this flight testing to help Eglin develop the weapon." Micah Besson and Adam Yingling, squadron structural engineers, explained the need for noise and vibration testing. "In previous tests with the (AIM-120C), measurements determined that vibration levels in certain frequencies were harmful to the missile's electronics," Mr. Besson said. The difference between the AIM-120D and the earlier C-model is in the navigation system, Mr. Yingling said. "The cards inside are arranged differently, and we're not sure how vibro-acoustics will transmit," he said. "We needed to test the missile to validate Raytheon's modeling and assumptions." Raytheon is the contractor responsible for designing and building the AIM-120 series missile. The test plan includes putting the aircraft through a variety of maneuvers throughout the flight regime of the aircraft, including working with the weapons bay doors open and closed, Mr. Yingling said. "We're trying to give the missile the worst ride and expose it to the worst possible environment," Mr. Yingling said. He said the tests will allow Raytheon to gather data, which will be used in future qualification tests. link
 
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skrip00    RE:The AIM-120D testing   4/27/2006 12:56:47 AM
So does this mean its range is being increased or what? What does "new navigation" mean??
 
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doggtag    RE:The AIM-120D testing   4/27/2006 8:00:45 AM
I wonder exactly what the "trade-ups" were to get X-number more miles in range. Apparently, latest-generation missile components (smaller all-digital and no analog avionics/electronics, better propellant grain, and perhaps even a smaller-in-volume warhead composed of the newer higher-energy explosive suggested for SDB and others, etc) has allowed more room for motor, allowing greater range. My question is, using the same developments in other missile systems (Raytheon does a lot of them), what kind of performance enhancements could we see in other weapons? If the -D model AMRAAM does house a smaller AESA system, how long before we could see a Sidewinder-sized RH/BVR system (think US equivalent to Israel's Derby), which would be a very formidable fire-and-forget anti-air armament for the radar-equipped Apache Longbow and other attack helos. It also could be a very favorable SAM, and would be a vast improvement over the old Chaparral system (which some still use), and could even be dual-mounted (IR like AIM-9X, or this new AEAS-equipped RF model) in the same launcher (should even surpass the capabilities of Roland, Crotale/Shanine, Barak, Sea Wolf, and SA-8). Theoretically, we'd be looking at something in capability between RAM(SeaRAM) and the surface-launched AMRAAM development projects. It would be cheaper than AIM-120s, but greater-ranged than RIM-116s (not being "tube-mounted" in a pod like the RAM, valuable internal space isn't sacrificed due to the use of flip-out fins, space which could be used for more propellant). No reason it couldn't be multi-packed in the smaller-than-Mk41 VLS cells, and such a small weapon could be an ideal peripheral VLS system for small surface combatants.
 
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B.Smitty    RE:The AIM-120D speculations.   4/27/2006 8:09:33 AM
Here is a PowerPoint brief about the future Joint Air Dominance Missile that has some discussion about AIM-120D. link
 
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