The AIM-7 Sparrow 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 various allied air forces and navies.

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* AIM-7 Sparrow

The weapon needed for interceptor aircraft, the Bendix AAM-N-10 Eagle, would be an air-to-air missile of unprecedented range when compared to contemporary AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.

Before the introduction of the Phoenix missile, most other US aircraft relied on the smaller, less-expensive AIM-7 Sparrow ; classified as a Medium Range Missile ( MRM ).

** Air-to-air missiles: AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder

| missiles = 8 × AIM-4 Falcon, Canadair Velvet Glove ( cancelled 1956 ), 2 AIM-7 Sparrow II 2D active guidance missiles ( cancelled )

AIM-7 Sparrow medium range air-to-air missile from an F-15 Eagle

This included the first live firing of radar-guided air-to air AIM-7 Sparrow by the RSAF.

* AIM-7 Sparrow — medium range semi-active radar

* AIM-120 AMRAAM — medium range, active radar ; replaces AIM-7 Sparrow

In the 1980s, NATO countries signed a Memorandum of Agreement that the United States would develop a medium-range air-to-air missile to replace the AIM-7 Sparrow, while Britain and Germany would develop a short-range air-to-air missile to replace the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

In the 1980s, NATO countries signed a Memorandum of Agreement that the United States would develop a medium-range air-to-air missile to replace the AIM-7 Sparrow, while Britain and Germany would develop a short-range air-to-air missile to replace the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

* PL-11 — medium-range air-to-air missile ( MRAAM ), based on the HQ-61C & Italian Aspide ( AIM-7 ) technology.

The AIM-7 missile was also not very reliable, making heavy use of delicate components such as vacuum tubes, which could not endure tropical climates, carrier takeoffs, and high-G maneuvers.

* February 7 – U. S. Air Force F-15C Eagles use AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles to shoot down three Iraqi Air Force Sukhoi Su-22s ( NATO reporting name " Fitter ") flying to Iran, as well as an Iraqi Mil Mi-24 ( NATO reporting name " Hind ") helicopter in northern Iraq ; a U. S. Navy F-14A Tomcat of Fighter Squadron 1 uses an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile to down an Iraqi Mil Mi-8 ( NATO reporting name " Hip ") helicopter ; and a U. S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II of the 926th Tactical Fighter Group uses 30-mm cannon fire to shoot down an Iraqi Bo 105 helicopter.

The system was developed in the early 1960s from the AIM-7 Sparrow < sup > TM </ sup > air-to-air missile as a lightweight " point defense " weapon that could be retrofitted to existing ships as quickly as possible, often in place of existing gun-based anti-aircraft weapons.

The British Aerospace Skyflash was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian Aeronautica Militare and Royal Saudi Air Force Tornados and Swedish Flygvapnet Viggens.

The military uses continuous-wave radar to guide semi-active radar homing ( SARH ) air-to-air missiles, such as the U. S. AIM-7 Sparrow and standard missile.

The LY-60 / FD-60 / PL-11 / HQ-6 / 6D / 64 is a family of PRC missiles developed by the Shanghai Academy of Science and Technology, largely based on the Italian Alenia Aspide missile-itself inspired by the American AIM-7 Sparrow missile.

* AIM-7 Sparrow, an air-to-air missile

71st Fighter Squadron firing and AIM-7 Sparrow missile

At 11: 59 the Radar Intercept Officer ( RIO ) of the lead Tomcat ordered the arming of the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow missiles it was carrying.

V, was proposed, using semi-active radar homing for capability similar to the AIM-7 Sparrow, but this was cancelled in 1958.

Although the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom was equipped with modern infra red-guided AIM-9 Sidewinder and radar-controlled AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles, it often proved no match for the manoeuvrable MiG-19 Farmer and MiG-21 Fishbed fighters in Vietnam.

Based on a Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow, it was meant to offer an air-to-air capability against proposed Soviet AWACS types and also some other types with extremely powerful radar sets such as the MiG-25.

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 is very similar to the American AIM-7 Sparrow, but, at the moment of its introduction, the Aspide was provided with monopulse guide instead of the conic scan, which made it more resistant to ECM and more precise.

Due to this resemblance, and the fact that Selenia was provided with technology know-how about AIM-7 ( of which it had produced c. 1, 000 on license ), has generally led non-Italian press to address Aspide as a Sparrow version: however, Aspide had original electronics, warhead and a new and more powerful engine.