Unsung Hero: AIM-7 Sparrow

DCS AIM-7 – Part I

[https://flyandwire.com]

The AIM-7 Sparrow is often overshadowed by the AIM-54 Phoenix and the AIM-120 AMRAAM,
to the extent that many in DCS prefer to skip it entirely.
The Sparrow is, in DCS, a surprisingly capable missile, if used correctly. This study aims to
improve the understanding of the performance, peculiarities, and properties of this missile, to
achieve better results with it.

Despite the growing popularity of Cold War servers, the vast majority of players see the AIM-120
AMRAAM as the iconic western missile of DCS.
The AMRAAM, a still upgraded and updated product of the 80s, benefitted either directly or
indirectly by the advancements of its two illustrious predecessors: the familiar AIM-54 Phoenix,
and the AIM-7 Sparrow. In a sense, the AIM-120 joins parts of the capabilities of the AIM-54, in the
AIM-7’s size.
If the AIM-54 Phoenix is nothing new on these pages, the AIM-7 has never had a chance to shine.
In DCS, and in a funny and twisted parallel, in real life, its development has seen highs and lows,
but it is finally in a shape stable enough to make it worth studying.

From a Problematic Genesis…

The AIM-54 Phoenix is an old missile, developed in the ’60s. But if the “54” is old, the “7” is
prehistory. The Sparrow, in fact, comes into the world to satisfy the requisites of development
programs of the 40s, entering service in the mid-50s.

The Navy and the Air Force entered the 1960s in very similar positions. Both services
had a new fighter aircraft – the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. Both services
tactically emphasized long-range intercept using the AIM-7 Sparrow III missile, and
both believed that the greatest threat came not from enemy fighters, but rather from
long-range Soviet bombers.
The late 1950s emphasis on intercept and the emerging tactical nuclear strike mission
not only drove fighter aircraft design but also fighter pilot training, which saw less and
less need for retaining aerial-combat or dogfighting skills.

Brad Eldward – TOPGUN The Legacy. Page 85.

The first Sparrow was a beam-rider (think about the 9K121 Vikhr operated by the Ka-50), and was
initially conceived as an anti-bomber missile to fend off the Soviet hordes of the Cold War.
Comes the Vietnam War, and the Sparrow’s wings were shattered. The performance of the AIM-7E
was disappointing at best, achieving a hit rate of 15.8%, and a kill rate of 9.2%.
All sorts of justifications were attributed to the debacle: climate, mediocre maintenance, lack of
training, poor tactics, no IFF. Whatever the actual reason was, or the combination of reasons were,
the results were unsatisfactory.
Fast-forward a decade and the Iranian managed to achieve slightly superior successes, doubling the
positive outcome of the Americans in Vietnam.

While the AIM-9 Sidewinder is usually described as the best short-range air-to-air
missile of the war, Iranian experience with the AIM-7 matched that of US pilots in
Vietnam, who found that the weapon sometimes functioned well, but on other occasions
was totally useless. But unlike American pilots, the Iranians never used the AIM-7 in
dogfights. It was employed exclusively in medium-range engagements, being fired from
a forward aspect at a range of 12 km (seven miles). While most pilots remained
unimpressed with the AIM-7, careful handling and precise pre-flight checks assured a
kill probability of more than 20 per cent – twice that achieved in Vietnam.

Tom Cooper, Farzad Bishop – Iranian F-14 in Combat. Page 80.

…to a Brilliant Future (Past)

As the dust scattered by the Iranian-Iraqi war of the 80s was slowly settling, Saddam Hussein
decided to stir the waters of the Gulf once again. This time by invading the adjacent State of
Kuwait. The year is 1990.
The following conflict sees the complete air and ground domination by the coalition forces, led by
the Americans, with the secondary contribution of British, French, Italian, Egyptian, Saudi, and
many other forces.
The first stages of the war are dominated by a massive air campaign (watch with video by The
Operations Room, it really deserves it). At the end of the War, just a few months later, the Sparrow
has redeemed itself, scoring an impressive 68.2% hit rate, and a kill rate of 59.1%.
The AIM-7 Sparrow is a medium range, all-aspect, all-weather, semi-active radar
guided missile. In addition to its air intercept role, Sparrow variants have been utilized
as air-to-surface and surface-to-air weapons since the missile’s inception in 1946.
Unlike many of its predecessors, the current Sparrow (AIM-7M) is a reliable and highly
lethal weapon.

For comparison, the AIM-120 was employed for the first time in December 1992, and so far, has
achieved a kill ratio between 40% and 50% (depending on the sources).
Physical Characteristics

AIM-7 Sparrow. Source: P-825.

Length 12 ft Diameter 8″
510
Wingspan 40″ Weight
lbs
Motor Burn Time 3.5″ / 12.5″ Warhead 85 lbs
Kill Radius 40 ft Turning 25 G’s
2.5
Minimum Range 1,000 ft Velocity
Mach
Max. Target Altitude 89,000 ft Launch time 1.5″
Fuse Contact and Proximity.
Semi-Active Radar Homing. The AIM-7 guides on the reflected
energy of the target using a forward-looking planar-array antenna.
Guidance
It receives guidance information via a rear-facing antenna on the
end of the missile.
The forward wings are controlled by an open-loop hydraulic
system that is pressurized upon trigger squeeze. Once the
Control
hydraulic fluid is used, it is vented out of the missile. When the
fluid has been exhausted, the missile can no longer manoeuvrer.
85 lbs annular blast fragmentation, exploding in a thousand of steel
Warhead fragments. The hot gases propelling these fragments also serve to
ignite all combustible material.
Mk-56 solid propellant rocket motor. The initial boost lasts 3.5”,
propelling the missile to its cruising speed of 2.5 Mach over the
Rocket Motor
launch aircraft’s speed, then sustains the thrust for an attritional
12.5”.
AIM-7 Sparrow in DCS
The AIM-7 is considered a poor missile, as players are used to the performance of the AIM-54 and
the AIM-120 (or non-NATO equivalents) in non-realistic or non-restricted servers. In the
appropriate time-frame, instead, it is still a valid missile, although sometimes inferior to similar
non-NATO solutions.
The Sparrow implemented for the F-14 has been, for a prolonged period, different from the version
used in other modules made by Eagle Dynamics. Recently, some technical blockers have been
solved, and the F-14 is using the same implementations used by the Hornet and the F-15.
Since the F-14 has been operative for over 30 years, its AIM-7s have seen several upgrades. The
versions available in DCS are:
• AIM-7E-4: supported by the F-14, but not available in-game yet (02/10/2022).
• AIM-7F: entered service in 1976, it had a dual-stage rocket motor, solid-state electronics
and larger warhead. It has a much better effective range than the AIM-7E, and it is the first
AIM-7 to support Pulse Doppler guidance;
• AIM-7M: entered service in 1982 with a new monopulse seeker, better EMC resistance and
other features. Its combat record during the Gulf War drastically changed how the AIM-7
was perceived by the general public and military enthusiasts;
• AIM-7MH: similar to the AIM-7, it features numerous improvements, such as Home-On-
Jam (HOJ) and lofting capability;
• AIM-7P: produced since the 1987, the AIM-7P is a late variant, featuring a new radar fuse
and improved guidance, on top of a new uplink for mid-course guidance.
Note: it is unclear if any of such features are implemented in DCS.

AIM-7 Guidance
The AIM-7 Sparrow can be boresighted or launched in STT mode, both PSTT and PDSTT.
The default launch method uses a Continuous Wave antenna to guide the missile (for both boresight
and STT). Since the introduction of the AIM-7F, the Sparrow can be guided using the Pulse Doppler
illumination, hence increasing its potential range and reliability against Chaffs (in theory, in DCS it
is another matter), whilst introducing two weak points in the form of notching (MLC) and absence
of Doppler shift (ZDF).
To select PD guidance, the RIO actions the MSL OPTIONS switch, selecting “SP PD”.
Missile Options Switch and Missile Speed Gate knob.
When the AIM-7 Sparrow is employed in boresight, the CW antenna is used and the missile homes
on the strongest target return in the flood area.
The Missile Speed Gate (MSL SPD GATE) knob offers some options for the employment of the
AIM-7 in real life. However, the knob is not modelled as it is beyond the fidelity of the air-to-air
missiles in DCS, at the moment.
In real-life, these are the effects of the selector switch:
• WIDE: only used with the AIM-7 and there is no radar lock with the target. The PD
frequency sweeps the entire missile radar frequency range;
• NAR: used with the AIM-7, but only the Sparrow’s frequency range are swept;
• NOSE, NOSE QTR, TAIL QTR and TAIL are used to inform the WCS that the target is
locked on a position matching the switch.

DCS Limitations
Unfortunately, the MSL OPTIONS switch, presently, is not fully implemented. The reason is the
missile guidance logic in DCS, which relies of the launching platform to determine whether lock is
achieved and maintained or not. Thus, as long as the F-14 tracks the target, then the missile is
guiding. Therefore, there is no point in using the SP PD option of the MSL OPTIONS switch right
now, as it has no effect on the guidance.
However, since the tracking depends on having a radar lock, the player is left with the option of
choosing between PSTT and PDSTT. Since Pulse can be effortlessly used even in look-down
situations and PDSTT suffers from ZDF, Pulse mode seems like the most efficient radar mode at the
moment.
On the other hand, switching from TWS / RWS to PDSTT is much simpler, as the return can be
captured directly from the DDD. A good RIO can also somewhat offset the ZDF, and switching
MLC to off, prevents notching.

Loft Control and Employment

Recent versions of the AIM-7 feature an automatic loft trajectory when the distance is greater than a
certain amount. The effect is similar to the well-know AIM-54: post launch, the missile climbs,
trading speed for altitude as the rocket motor burns. Later, it uses the altitude accumulated to
maintain energy and manoeuvrability as it dives onto the target.
The following list is a quick recap of how lock, trajectory, and guidance can be maintained or
manipulated:
• Normal mode (PSTT, PDSTT): the loft trajectory depends on the missile itself and the
range, and the radar guides the missile to the target.
7MH, 7P loft automatically. 7M, 7F and older versions fly straight towards the target.
The radar mode used to obtain the lock does not matter (e.g. VSL, PD/P STT from the
backseat, etc);
• “Assisted” Loft: by changing the pitch of the F-14, the loft trajectory can be exaggerated if
present, or forcibly enabled in the 7F and older;
• ACM Mode (front seat): the flip cover disables any sort of loft, no matter the range or the
type of Sparrow used. It also prevents the Radar Intercept Officer from launching the
missile;
• Boresight Mode (front seat): the AIM-7 can be launched in flood mode if the pilot selects
the appropriate function. The AIM-7 flies towards the strongest return in its scan area;
• TCS guided: the radar can be slaved to the TCS, thus maintaining the target illuminated and
the missile guidance even when the STT lock is broken.
The effects of the three forms of loft control and their effects along different ranges, altitude, speed
and other factors are much more complex than expected, and will be discussed in the next parts of
this study.