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Hughes Electronics
AIM-120 AMRAAM 

Type
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service September 1991–present
Used by See Operators
Wars
Production history
Manufacturer
Unit cost US$386,000 (AIM-120D FY 2019)
Variants AIM-120A, AIM-120B, AIM-120C, AIM-120D, AMRAAM-ER
.
History Hughes Electronics AIM-120 AMRAAM is a
medium-range air-to-air missile In service 1991–present



The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) (/æmræm/ AM-ram) is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It uses active transmit-receive radar guidance instead of semi-active receive-only radar guidance. When an AMRAAM missile is launched, NATO pilots use the brevity code "Fox Three". The AMRAAM largely replaced the AIM-7 Sparrow as the principal beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile in U.S. inventory. As of 2008 more than 14,000 had been produced for the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, and 33 international customers.The AMRAAM has been used in several engagements, achieving 16 air-to-air kills in conflicts over Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, India, and Syria. In the long term, it is expected to eventually be replaced by the long range AIM-260 JATM in U.S. service and the MBDA Meteor in some European countries

Development

AIM-9X (USAF/USN)

First successful test at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico 1982

AMRAAM was developed as the result of an agreement (the Family of Weapons MOA, no longer in effect by 1990), among the United States and several other NATO nations to develop air-to-air missiles and to share production technology. Under this agreement, the U.S. was to develop the next generation medium range missile (AMRAAM) and Europe would develop the next generation short range missile (ASRAAM). Although Europe initially adopted the AMRAAM, an effort to develop the MDBA Meteor, a competitor to AMRAAM, was begun in UK. Eventually, the ASRAAM was developed solely by the British, but using another source for its infrared seeker. After protracted development, the deployment of AMRAAM (AIM-120A) began in September 1991 in US Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter squadrons. The US Navy soon followed (in 1993) in its McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet squadrons.

The Russian Air Force counterpart of AMRAAM is the somewhat similar R-77 (NATO codename AA-12 Adder), sometimes referred to in the West as the "AMRAAMski". Likewise, France began its own air-to-air missile development with the MICA concept that used a common airframe for separate radar-guided and infrared-guided versions.
 
20
Kg

Warhead Weight

161
Km

Max Range

4+
Mach

Performance

1991
Introduction

Introduction

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Hughes Electronics AIM-120 AMRAAM is a
medium-range air-to-air missile In service 1991–present

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Hughes Electronics AIM-120 AMRAAM is a medium-range air-to-air missile In service 1956–present

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        • Hughes Electronics AIM-120 AMRAAM


          Specifications (AIM-120C-5/6/7)
          Mass 356 lb (161.5 kg)
          Length 12 ft (3.65 m)
          Diameter 7 in (178 mm)
          Wingspan 1 ft 7 in (484 mm)
          Warhead High explosive blast-fragmentation
          Warhead weight 44 lb (20 kg)
          Detonationmechanism FZU-49 Proximity fuze, impact fuse system
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    • Operationalrange AIM-120A/B 40 nmi (75 km);

      AIM-120C 49 nmi (90 km);

      AIM-120D 70–86 nmi (130–160 km)
      Maximum speed Mach 4 (4,501 ft/s; 1,372 m/s)
      Guidancesystem Inertial guidance, terminal active radar homing, optional mid-course update datalink
      Steeringsystem AIM-120C-5/6/7 40G maximum overload via forward and rear canards
      References Janes C-5 performance assessment ->
Special Links Hughes Electronics AIM-120 AMRAAM is a medium-range air-to-air missile In service 1991–present

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On 3 May 2025, the head of the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), lieutenant general Kyrylo Budanov claimed that three MAGURA V7 naval drones armed with AIM-9 Sidewinders modified for surface-to-air operation shot down two Russian Su-30 fighter jets in the Black Sea.[72][73] The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment, but Russian sources report that the pilots of one fighter were rescued by a cargo ship, whose crew received an award

Hughes Electronics
AIM-120 AMRAAM 

On 2 November 2023, Israeli Air Force claimed one of its F-35I have shot down an unidentified cruise missile,

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Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake experimented with Sidewinders in the air-to-ground mode including use as an anti-tank weapon

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