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471:
427:
347:(ECM) environments and could engage targets under a wide variety of conditions. It could be launched from as low as 100 m to attack a high-altitude target or launched at high level to engage a target flying as low as 75 m. In testing, it repeatedly intercepted target drones at 1,000 ft altitude, the minimum altitude that the tracking cameras could be set to.
415:. AMRAAM incorporates an active seeker with a strapdown inertial reference unit and computer system, giving it fire-and-forget capability. The first Tornado ADV F.3 with limited AMRAAM capability entered service in 1998. In 2002, a further upgrade enabled full AMRAAM capability. The first mention of AMRAAM as a replacement for Skyflash dates back to 1986.
33:
366:
From 1988 a further modification (6000 series) nicknamed "SuperTEMP" included the Hoopoe rocket motor to change the missile's flight profile from boost-and-glide (with a 3-second burn) to boost-sustain-glide (3 second boost - 4 second sustain), increasing its range from 17nm to 18.4nm at a height of
362:
hydraulic trapezes projected the missile out into the slipstream prior to motor ignition. This widened the missile's firing envelope by ensuring that the launch was not affected by turbulence from the fuselage. Skyflash was therefore converted to the 5000 TEMP series to incorporate the Frazer-Nash
363:
recesses in the body of the missile, Launch
Attitude Control electronics in the autopilot section and improved wing surfaces. The Tornado-Skyflash combination became operational in 1987 with the formation of the first Tornado F.3 squadron.
268:
that worked with the F-4's radar. Monopulse seekers are more accurate, less susceptible to jamming, and able to easily pick out targets at low altitudes. It offered significantly better performance than the original seeker, allowing
1038:
385:-developed radar seeker and inertial mid-course update capability, Skyflash Mk 2 (called Active Skyflash), was proposed for both the RAF and Sweden. British interest ended with the
1048:
1033:
312:(RAE) at the end of the 1960s. Having shown this was feasible, Air Staff Requirement 1219 was issued in January 1972, with the project code XJ.521. The contractors were
367:
30,000ft and at a height 5,000ft the range increase was more substantial, raising from 14nm to 16nm. The maximum flight time was also raised from 40 to 50-60 seconds.
228:
324:. Major changes from the Sparrow were the addition of a Marconi semi-active inverse monopulse radar seeker, improved electronics, adapted control surfaces and a
358:. Both the Phantom and the Tornado carried the Skyflash in semi-recessed wells on the aircraft's underbelly to reduce drag. In the Tornado, however,
280:
elected to order a different monopulse-equipped version of the
Sparrow, the AIM-7M. Both Skyflash and AIM-7M were later replaced by the more capable
411:
the RAF announced the launch of the
Capability Sustainment Programme which called for, among other things, the replacement of the Skyflash with the
354:
in 1978 as what was later called the 3000 Pre TEMP series (Tornado
Embodied Modification Package). In 1985, these aircraft were replaced with the
351:
712:
676:
1043:
880:
930:
309:
940:
317:
262:
87:
370:
In RAF service the missiles were usually carried in conjunction with four short-range air-to-air missiles, either
705:
396:
Further advanced Sky Flash derivatives were studied under the code name S225X, and a ramjet-powered version, the
344:
978:
386:
305:
301:
265:
214:
748:
1001:
856:
788:
276:
Skyflash was tested in the US, but after trials against experimental monopulse seekers from
Raytheon, the
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991:
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242:
996:
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to dispense with upgrades to the warhead that were carried out in the US to address poor accuracy.
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Tests of the resulting missile showed it could function successfully in hostile
920:
393:(BAe) kept the proposal around until the early '90s but there were no buyers.
337:
948:
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325:
37:
Prototype
Panavia Tornado ADV aircraft with semi-recessed Skyflash missiles
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826:
763:
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321:
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Swedish Air Force JA37 Viggen with a pair of underwing
Skyflash missiles
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841:
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796:
773:
432:
291:
968:
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32:
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340:
Mk 38 mod 4 rocket motor; the latest is the
Aerojet Hoopoe.
182:
669:
British Secret
Projects: Hypersonics, Ramjets and Missiles
977:
939:
855:
787:
729:
191:
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1039:Cold War air-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
300:Skyflash came out of a British plan to develop an
199:Marconi inverse monopulse semi-active radar homing
706:
320:(the renamed GEC guided weapons division) at
8:
1049:Military equipment introduced in the 1970s
713:
699:
691:
213:in marketing material, was a medium-range
20:
1034:Air-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
257:Skyflash replaced the original Raytheon
165:Rocketdyne solid propellant rocket motor
523:
671:. Midland Publishing. pp. 47–53.
595:
593:
591:
667:Gibson, Chris; Buttler, Tony (2007).
585:Tornado F.3 Tactics Manual (Oct 1987)
7:
350:The missile entered service on the
318:Marconi Space & Defence Systems
88:Marconi Space & Defence Systems
332:. The rocket motors used were the
14:
549:Richardson, Doug (9 April 1977).
492:
469:
447:
425:
31:
486:Made under license as the Rb 71
229:McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms
18:Medium-range air-to-air missile
1:
310:Royal Aircraft Establishment
304:for the Sparrow AIM-7E-2 by
1065:
345:electronic countermeasures
1010:
877:(Sea Ceptor, Land Ceptor)
400:became the basis for the
381:A version with an active
156:
54:Place of origin
30:
1044:General Electric Company
306:General Electric Company
302:inverse monopulse seeker
266:inverse monopulse seeker
215:semi-active radar homing
224:missile and carried by
1016: Anglo-Australian
297:
724:of the United Kingdom
551:"Sky Flash Countdown"
462:Royal Saudi Air Force
295:
245:Tornados and Swedish
243:Royal Saudi Air Force
555:Flight International
336:Mk 52 mod 2 and the
238:Aeronautica Militare
220:derived from the US
107:£150,000 per missile
557:. pp. 894–896.
387:1981 Defence Review
356:Panavia Tornado ADV
128:3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
1014:
1012: Anglo-French
941:Surface-to-surface
599:Gibson 2007, p. 47
539:Gibson 2007, p. 46
530:Gibson 2007, p. 45
298:
278:United States Navy
218:air-to-air missile
144:1.02 m (3 ft 6 in)
75:Production history
48:air-to-air missile
1021:
1020:
678:978-1-85780-258-0
484:Swedish Air Force
440:Italian Air Force
391:British Aerospace
372:AIM-9 Sidewinders
271:British Aerospace
203:
202:
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1015:
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650:8 February 1986"
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419:Former operators
259:conical scanning
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722:Guided missiles
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573:1 October 1988"
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507:Royal Air Force
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334:Bristol Aerojet
314:Hawker Siddeley
290:
226:Royal Air Force
196:
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174:
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152:39.5 kg (87 lb)
120:193 kg (425 lb)
84:Hawker Siddeley
67:In service
62:Service history
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24:
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857:Surface-to-air
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789:Air-to-surface
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632:30 March 1993"
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614:1 August 1981"
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500:United Kingdom
488:
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443:
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420:
417:
413:AIM-120 AMRAAM
308:(GEC) and the
289:
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261:seeker with a
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183:Maximum speed
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112:Specifications
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104:Unit cost
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57:United Kingdom
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774:SRAAM/Taildog
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348:
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328:active radar
327:
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222:AIM-7 Sparrow
219:
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177:45 km (28 mi)
176:
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52:
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46:Medium-range
45:
41:
34:
29:
22:
16:
1002:Green Cheese
832:Storm Shadow
778:
668:
661:Bibliography
647:
640:
629:
622:
611:
604:
581:
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554:
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455:Saudi Arabia
406:
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380:
369:
365:
349:
342:
299:
275:
256:
252:Saab Viggens
247:
237:
210:
206:
204:
98:BAe Dynamics
94:Manufacturer
15:
992:Blue Streak
931:Thunderbird
402:MBDA Meteor
383:Thomson CSF
360:Frazer-Nash
352:F-4 Phantom
233:Tornado F3s
171:Operational
1028:Categories
997:Blue Water
987:Blue Steel
921:Starstreak
865:Bloodhound
749:Firestreak
731:Air-to-air
513:References
338:Rocketdyne
248:Flygvapnet
235:, Italian
949:Swingfire
916:Starburst
906:Sea Viper
837:Sea Venom
822:Sea Eagle
807:Brimstone
802:Blue Boar
744:Fireflash
326:Thorn EMI
211:Sky Flash
70:1978–2006
25:Skyflash
964:Vigilant
926:Tigercat
911:Sea Wolf
896:Sea Dart
870:Blowpipe
827:Sea Skua
779:Skyflash
764:Red Hebe
759:Red Dean
687:See also
322:Stanmore
207:Skyflash
193:Guidance
141:Wingspan
133:Diameter
80:Designer
979:Nuclear
959:UB.109T
954:Malkara
901:Seaslug
881:Javelin
842:SPEAR 3
817:Martlet
769:Red Top
376:ASRAAMs
288:History
263:Marconi
149:Warhead
891:Seacat
886:Rapier
847:Tychon
812:Martel
754:Meteor
739:ASRAAM
675:
648:Flight
630:Flight
612:Flight
571:Flight
497:
477:Sweden
474:
452:
430:
398:S225XR
282:AMRAAM
195:system
187:Mach 4
162:Engine
136:203 mm
125:Length
797:ALARM
518:Notes
433:Italy
209:, or
173:range
969:NLAW
875:CAMM
673:ISBN
409:1996
330:fuze
316:and
241:and
231:and
205:The
117:Mass
43:Type
407:In
374:or
1030::
590:^
553:.
404:.
389:;
378:.
284:.
254:.
86:,
714:e
707:t
700:v
681:.
652:.
646:"
634:.
628:"
616:.
610:"
575:.
569:"
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