AAAM (Advanced Air-to-Air Missile)
Intended to replace the AIM-54 Phoenix in the mid-1990s. The USN awarded contracts to two teams in 1987 for technology demonstration and validation of the AAAM concept.
The AAAM will be designed primarily to counter the Soviet Backfire and Blackjack strike aircraft armed with long-range, stand-off missiles. The AAAM is also intended to counter anti-ship cruise missiles. Missile speed will be faster than the Phoenix on the order of Mach 3+ with a range of 100+nm.
Tentative planning calls for the F-14D to carry up to eight AAAMs, with the F/A-18C to carry at least four.
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The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
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