F-4 Phantom armed with an AIM-54 Phoenix

f-4-phoenix-1_zps9725b0f4

Hush Kit's avatar

Looking at culture, news and gossip through an aeroplane window. Featuring contributions by the finest writers and artists. Follow me on Twitter @hush_kit
5 comments
  1. Gray Stanback's avatar

    A Phoenix-armed Phantom would have been a truly fearsome beast. I can’t believe this was never picked up for production.

  2. Mark's avatar

    Isn’t the Phantom’s radar acquisition range much shorter than the range of the AIM-54? If this was simply to test the launch / separation of the missile, it makes sense. For actual deployment, I can’t see how.

  3. Fred's avatar

    There was a test to see if the F18 could handle it. Failed

  4. AndrewZ's avatar

    This blog post suggests that it was “a test program to demonstrate the missile ejection system” to be used for the Phoenix on the F-14:
    http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=6201

  5. […] ‘Bear’s or performing low-level attacks. During the Cold War Chris Bolton flew the mighty F-4 for both the RAF and the Royal Navy. Hush-Kit met him to find out […]

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