Editing Skyflash (section)

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox weapon
|is_missile=yes
|is_UK=yes
|name=Skyflash
| image= Za254.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=Prototype Panavia Tornado ADV aircraft with semi-recessed Skyflash missiles
|origin= United Kingdom
|type=Medium-range [[air-to-air missile]]
|used_by=
|manufacturer=[[BAe Dynamics]]
|designer=[[Hawker Siddeley]], [[Marconi Electronic Systems|Marconi Space & Defence Systems]]
|unit_cost= £150,000 per missile
|propellant=
|production_date=
|service=1978–2006
|engine=Rocketdyne solid propellant rocket motor
|engine_power=
|weight= 193 kg (425 lb)
|length=3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
|height=
|diameter=203 mm
|wingspan=1.02 m (3 ft 6 in)
|speed= Mach 4
|vehicle_range=45 km (28 mi)
|ceiling=
|altitude=
|filling=39.5 kg (87 lb)
|guidance=Marconi inverse monopulse semi-active radar homing
|detonation=
|launch_platform=
}}

The '''Skyflash''', or '''Sky Flash''' in marketing material, 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]] [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in UK service|McDonnell Douglas  F-4 Phantom]]s and [[Panavia Tornado ADV|Tornado F3s]], Italian [[Italian Air Force|''Aeronautica Militare'']] and [[Royal Saudi Air Force]] Tornados and Swedish [[Swedish Air Force|''Flygvapnet'']] [[Saab 37 Viggen|Saab Viggens]].

Skyflash replaced the original Raytheon [[conical scanning]] seeker with a [[Marconi Electronic Systems|Marconi]] [[inverse monopulse seeker]] that worked with the F-4's radar. Monopulse seekers are more accurate, less susceptible to jamming, and able to easily pick out targets at low altitudes. It offered significantly better performance than the original seeker, allowing [[British Aerospace]] to dispense with upgrades to the warhead that were carried out in the US to address poor accuracy.

Skyflash was tested in the US, but after trials against experimental monopulse seekers from Raytheon, the [[United States Navy]] elected to order a different monopulse-equipped version of the Sparrow, the AIM-7M. Both Skyflash and AIM-7M were later replaced by the more capable [[AMRAAM]].