AIM-7

AIM-7 Sparrow

The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces and navies. Sparrow and its derivatives were the West's principal beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile from the late 1950s until the 1990s. It remains in service, although it is being phased out in aviation applications in favor of the more advanced AIM-120 AMRAAM.

The early Sparrow was intended primarily for use against larger targets, especially bombers and had numerous operational limitations in other uses. Against smaller targets, the need to receive a strong reflected radar signal made achieving lock-on at the missile's effective range difficult. As the launching aircraft's own radar needed to be pointed at the target throughout the engagement, this meant that in fighter-vs-fighter combat, the enemy fighter would often approach within the range of shorter-range infrared homing missiles while the launching aircraft had to continue flying towards its target. Additionally, early models were only effective against targets at roughly the same or higher altitudes, below which reflections from the ground became a problem.

A number of upgraded Sparrow designs were developed to address these issues. In the early 1970s, the RAF developed a version with an inverse monopulse seeker^{[citation needed]} and improved motor known as Skyflash, while the Italian Air Force introduced the similar Aspide. Both had the ability to be fired at targets below the launching fighter ("look-down, shoot down"), were more resistant to countermeasures, and were much more accurate in the terminal phase. This basic concept was then made part of the US Sparrows in the M model (for monopulse) and some of these were later updated as the P model, the last to be produced in the US. Aspides sold to China resulted in the locally produced PL-11. The Japan Self-Defense Forces also employ the Sparrow missile, though it is being phased out and replaced by the Mitsubishi AAM-4.

The Sparrow was also used as the basis for a surface-to-air missile, the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, used by a number of navies for air defense. Fired at low altitude and flying directly at its target, although, the range of the missile in this role is greatly reduced due to the lower atmosphere. With the retirement of the Sparrow in the air-to-air role, a new version of the Sea Sparrow was produced to address this concern, producing the larger and more capable RIM-162 ESSM.

Real World against Arma
Detail	Real	ARMA	Config Value
Weapon Type	MRAAM		weaponType = "x";
Mass	230	230	mag: mass = "n";
Warhead Mass	40Kg	250	ammo: hit = "n";
Warhead Type	HE Blast Frag WDU-33/B	HE	ammo: warheadName = "x";
Fuse Type	Prox/impact		NOTE: No Direct Arma value
Fuse Range	3-5m	30	ammo: proximityExplosionDistance = n;
Seeker	Semi Active Radar	Datalink /Active Radar	See class component type
Auto Seek Target	No	No	ammo: autoseektarget = n; (0 or 1)
Counter Measure Immunity	Med	0.80	ammo: cmimmunity = n; (Range 0 > 1)
Camera View Available	No	No	ammo: cameraViewAvailable = n; (0 or 1)
Flight Profile	N/A	N/A	ammo: flightProfiles[] = {"<TYPE>"};
BoreSight Angle	70	55	ammo: missileLockCone = n; (Degrees)
Max Speed (m/s)	1372	800	ammo: maxSpeed = n; (n= m/s)
Min Range	1000	800	ammo: minRange = n; (Dist in m)
Max Range	14000	10000	ammo: maxRange = n; (Dist in m)
Indirect Hit Value		125	ammo: indirectHit = 50;
Indirect Hit Range		13	ammo: indirectHitRange = n; (m)
Maneuverability	35G	23	ammo: maneuvrability = n; (Higher = more agile)
Danger Radius Hit		N/A	ammo: DangerRadiusHit = n; (Dist for AI aware in m)
Suppression Radius Hit		N/A	ammo: SuppresionRadiusHit = n; (Dist for AI suppresion in m)
Pylon/Rail	LAU127		N/A See Hardpoint below

ARMA Class details
Ammo	Mag	Weapon	Hardpoint
rksla3_amo_aim7	rksla3_mag_aim7_x1_direct	rksla3_wpn_aim7	RKSLA3_AIM7_DIRECT
	rksla3_mag_aim7_x1_lau127		RKSLA3_AIM7_LAU127