AIM-47 Falcon
Encyclopedia
The Hughes
AIM-47 Falcon, originally GAR-9, was a very long-range high-performance air-to-air missile
that shared the basic design of the earlier AIM-4 Falcon
. It was developed in 1958
along with the new Hughes AN/ASG-18
radar
fire-control system intended to arm the Mach 3 XF-108 Rapier
interceptor aircraft
. It was never used operationally, but was a direct predecessor of the famed AIM-54 Phoenix
.
had specified Mach 3 interceptor requirement, called the LRI-X. For the weapons intended for LRI-X, Hughes won in 1957 the contract, consisting of the GAR-X missile and the YX-1 radar and fire control system. The original missile design had a range of 15 to 25 miles (25 to 40 km), and could be equipped with conventional warheads or a 0.25 kiloton version of the W42
nuclear warhead. When the F-108 was announced as the winner of the LRI-X contest in April 1958, the same day the Hughes entries were renamed GAR-9 and AN/ASG-18. The F-108 was cancelled soon after in September 1959, but the Air Force decided to continue development of both missile systems.
During its development, the capabilities of the new missile grew tremendously. Growing much larger, the missile's range was extended to 100 miles (160 km), using the Aerojet-General XM59 solid-fuel rocket. Since this would be beyond the range of effective semi-active homing, a new active-radar terminal seeker was added to the missile. This seeker was a powerful system of its own, with no effective maximum range and also able to lock onto a 100 square feet (9.3 m²) target at 63 nm (116 km). Even the seeker was to have changed at one point, adding a passive infrared
seeker to improve terminal performance. However that would have required the missile to grow by 180 lb (81.6 kg), and in diameter by two inches, making it too large for the F-108's weapon bay. The W-42 nuclear version was dropped in 1958 in favor of a 100 pound high-explosive design.
Problems with the motor during development led to the brief consideration of using a storable liquid-fuel rocket design, but was replaced instead by the Lockheed XSR13-LP-1 solid rocket
. This lowered the top speed from Mach 6 to Mach 4. In this form the GAR-9 started ground firings in August 1961. For air-launch testing at supersonic speeds they had originally suggested using the Republic XF-103
, but this project had been cancelled before reaching the prototype stage. Instead, B-58 Hustler
s/n 55-665 was modified to house the AN/ASG-18 radar in a large protruding radome that gave it the nickname "Snoopy", and in-flight launches started in May 1962.
interceptor, as a lower-cost replacement for the F-108. The GAR-9/ASG-18 were moved to this project. The F-12 would have featured four flip-open internal weapons bays on the chines behind the cockpit, one of these filled with electronics. The F-12B bays were too small for the GAR-9, so the GAR-9B was developed with flip-out fins to reduce its diameter.
Test firings of the GAR-9A from the prototype F-12As resulted in six kills from seven launches, the lone miss due to a missile power failure (there were several non-guiding test launches as well). The missile was re-named AIM-47 in the fall of 1962
as part of the tri-service common naming exercise
. The last launch was from a YF-12 flying at Mach 3.2 and an altitude of 74,400 feet (22,677 m) at a QB-47 target drone 500 feet (152 m) off the ground.
In 1966, the F-12 project was cancelled just like the F-108. The project to have expressed an interest in the design was the also-cancelled XB-70 Valkyrie
, a bomber which could have carried the AIM-47 for self-defense.
In all, Hughes had built some 80 pre-production AIM-47 missiles.
(originally the AAM-N-11), intended for the General Dynamics F-111B. This project was also canceled in 1968, but the weapon system finally found a home on the F-14 Tomcat
, entering service in the early 1970s.
In 1966, the basic airframe was adapted with the seeker from the AGM-45 Shrike
and the 250 lb (113.4 kg) warhead from the Mk. 81 bomb to create the high-speed AGM-76 Falcon
anti-radar missile, although this did not see service.
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
AIM-47 Falcon, originally GAR-9, was a very long-range high-performance air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
that shared the basic design of the earlier AIM-4 Falcon
AIM-4 Falcon
The Hughes AIM-4 Falcon was the first operational guided air-to-air missile of the United States Air Force.-Development:Development of a guided air-to-air missile began in 1946. Hughes Aircraft was awarded a contract for a subsonic missile under the project designation MX-798, which soon gave way...
. It was developed in 1958
1958 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1958:- Events :* Gulfstream Aerospace is founded in Savannah, Georgia, in the United States.* The Argentine Navy acquires its first aircraft carrier by purchasing HMS Warrior from the United Kingdom....
along with the new Hughes AN/ASG-18
Hughes AN/ASG-18
The Hughes AN/ASG-18 was a prototype fire control system and radar, originally intended for the XF-108 Rapier interceptor aircraft, for the United States Air Force....
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
fire-control system intended to arm the Mach 3 XF-108 Rapier
XF-108 Rapier
The North American XF-108 Rapier was a proposed long-range, high-speed interceptor aircraft designed by North American Aviation. Initiated to defend the United States from supersonic Soviet bombers, the program, initially called NA-257, was cancelled in 1959 due to a shortage of funds and the...
interceptor aircraft
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
. It was never used operationally, but was a direct predecessor of the famed AIM-54 Phoenix
AIM-54 Phoenix
The AIM-54 Phoenix is a radar-guided, long-range air-to-air missile , carried in clusters of up to six missiles on F-14 Tomcats, its only launch platform. The Phoenix was the United States' only long-range air-to-air missile. The weapons system based on Phoenix was the world's first to allow...
.
Development for XF-108
United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
had specified Mach 3 interceptor requirement, called the LRI-X. For the weapons intended for LRI-X, Hughes won in 1957 the contract, consisting of the GAR-X missile and the YX-1 radar and fire control system. The original missile design had a range of 15 to 25 miles (25 to 40 km), and could be equipped with conventional warheads or a 0.25 kiloton version of the W42
W42
The W42 was an American nuclear warhead developed in 1957.In December 1957 the Army requested the Atomic Energy Commission to develop a nuclear warhead for the HAWK low-to-medium altitude surface to air missile. In July 1958 the military characteristics were approved for the new warhead and the...
nuclear warhead. When the F-108 was announced as the winner of the LRI-X contest in April 1958, the same day the Hughes entries were renamed GAR-9 and AN/ASG-18. The F-108 was cancelled soon after in September 1959, but the Air Force decided to continue development of both missile systems.
During its development, the capabilities of the new missile grew tremendously. Growing much larger, the missile's range was extended to 100 miles (160 km), using the Aerojet-General XM59 solid-fuel rocket. Since this would be beyond the range of effective semi-active homing, a new active-radar terminal seeker was added to the missile. This seeker was a powerful system of its own, with no effective maximum range and also able to lock onto a 100 square feet (9.3 m²) target at 63 nm (116 km). Even the seeker was to have changed at one point, adding a passive infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
seeker to improve terminal performance. However that would have required the missile to grow by 180 lb (81.6 kg), and in diameter by two inches, making it too large for the F-108's weapon bay. The W-42 nuclear version was dropped in 1958 in favor of a 100 pound high-explosive design.
Problems with the motor during development led to the brief consideration of using a storable liquid-fuel rocket design, but was replaced instead by the Lockheed XSR13-LP-1 solid rocket
Solid rocket
A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a rocket engine that uses solid propellants . The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used by the Chinese in warfare as early as the 13th century and later by the Mongols, Arabs, and Indians.All rockets used some form of...
. This lowered the top speed from Mach 6 to Mach 4. In this form the GAR-9 started ground firings in August 1961. For air-launch testing at supersonic speeds they had originally suggested using the Republic XF-103
Republic XF-103
The Republic XF-103 was an American project to develop a high speed interceptor aircraft capable of destroying Soviet bombers. Despite a prolonged development, it never progressed past the mock-up stage.-Development:...
, but this project had been cancelled before reaching the prototype stage. Instead, B-58 Hustler
B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...
s/n 55-665 was modified to house the AN/ASG-18 radar in a large protruding radome that gave it the nickname "Snoopy", and in-flight launches started in May 1962.
Development for YF-12
In 1960 Lockheed started development of the Lockheed YF-12Lockheed YF-12
The Lockheed YF-12 was an American prototype interceptor aircraft, which the United States Air Force evaluated as a development of the highly-secret Lockheed A-12 that also spawned the SR-71 Blackbird.-Design and development:...
interceptor, as a lower-cost replacement for the F-108. The GAR-9/ASG-18 were moved to this project. The F-12 would have featured four flip-open internal weapons bays on the chines behind the cockpit, one of these filled with electronics. The F-12B bays were too small for the GAR-9, so the GAR-9B was developed with flip-out fins to reduce its diameter.
Test firings of the GAR-9A from the prototype F-12As resulted in six kills from seven launches, the lone miss due to a missile power failure (there were several non-guiding test launches as well). The missile was re-named AIM-47 in the fall of 1962
1962 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1962:- Events :* Early 1962 – In Operation High Jump, the United States Navy McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II fighter sets a number of world climb-to altitude records: 34.523 seconds to 3,000 meters , 48.787 seconds to 6,000 meters , 61.629 seconds to...
as part of the tri-service common naming exercise
1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system
The 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system is a unified designation system introduced by the United States Department of Defense on 18 September 1962 for all the U.S. military aircraft. Prior to this date, each armed service used their own nomenclature system...
. The last launch was from a YF-12 flying at Mach 3.2 and an altitude of 74,400 feet (22,677 m) at a QB-47 target drone 500 feet (152 m) off the ground.
In 1966, the F-12 project was cancelled just like the F-108. The project to have expressed an interest in the design was the also-cancelled XB-70 Valkyrie
XB-70 Valkyrie
The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype version of the proposed B-70 nuclear-armed deep-penetration strategic bomber for the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command...
, a bomber which could have carried the AIM-47 for self-defense.
In all, Hughes had built some 80 pre-production AIM-47 missiles.
Legacy
The AIM-47 was used as a base for the new AIM-54 PhoenixAIM-54 Phoenix
The AIM-54 Phoenix is a radar-guided, long-range air-to-air missile , carried in clusters of up to six missiles on F-14 Tomcats, its only launch platform. The Phoenix was the United States' only long-range air-to-air missile. The weapons system based on Phoenix was the world's first to allow...
(originally the AAM-N-11), intended for the General Dynamics F-111B. This project was also canceled in 1968, but the weapon system finally found a home on the F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
, entering service in the early 1970s.
In 1966, the basic airframe was adapted with the seeker from the AGM-45 Shrike
AGM-45 Shrike
AGM-45 Shrike is an American anti-radiation missile designed to home in on hostile antiaircraft radars. The Shrike was developed by the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by mating a seeker head to the rocket body of an AIM-7 Sparrow. It was phased out by U.S...
and the 250 lb (113.4 kg) warhead from the Mk. 81 bomb to create the high-speed AGM-76 Falcon
AGM-76 Falcon
The AGM-76 Falcon is an air-to-surface missile developed by the United States of America.-Overview:The AGM-76 was developed as a ground attack version of the AIM-47 Falcon air-to-air missile, in much the same way that the AGM-87 Focus was developed from the AIM-9 Sidewinder. It was planned to use...
anti-radar missile, although this did not see service.