Editing Beyond-visual-range missile (section)

== Efficiency ==
[[File:Seeker Vympel-R-77-maks2009.jpg|thumb|Active radar seeker Head of Vympel [[R-77]] at 2009 [[MAKS Airshow]].]]
[[File:J-20 fighter (44040541250) (cropped).jpg|thumb|A [[Chengdu J-20]] with four [[PL-15]] long range BVR missiles inside the weapons bay. One visible [[PL-10]] is a short-range air-to air-missile.]]

The efficiency of BVR air-to-air missiles has been criticized. A 2005 paper by [[USAF]] officer Patrick Higby showed that BVR missiles fell short of expected performance, despite incurring great cost. Because such missiles required large radars, they made aircraft heavier and increased drag, increasing aircraft procurement and operating costs.<ref name=higby/> Fighters with BVR tended to be less agile than previous ones. Fighter pilots have been reluctant to use BVR missiles at BVR range because of difficulty in distinguishing friends and foes. As a result, most BVR missiles are fired at visual range. Western airforces only scored 4 BVR kills out of 528 kills made during 1965–1982; most kills during that period were made with guns or WVR missiles ([[AIM-9 Sidewinder]]).<ref name=higby/> 

The increased success rate of BVR combat during 1991 [[Gulf War]] may have significantly depended on other factors, such as assistance of [[Airborne early warning and control|AWACS]], [[Non-Cooperative Target Recognition|NCTR]] system of [[F-15C]]s, as well as enemy incompetence. None of the Iraqi pilots took any evasive measures, either because of poor training or their radar warning receivers malfunctioned.<ref name=higby/> One major issue with BVR is still unreliable IFF technology ([[Identification friend or foe]]).<ref name=higby>{{cite web|url=http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/11/09.pdf|title=Promise and Reality: Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-To-Air Combat|format=PDF|first1=Patrick|last1=Higby|publisher=[[Air War College]]|place=[[Maxwell Air Force Base|Maxwell AFB]]|date=30 March 2005|access-date=7 September 2015|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020155526/http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/11/09.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Pierre |last=Sprey |editor-first1=Winslow |editor-last1=Wheeler |title=The Pentagon Labyrinth |section=Evaluating Weapons: Sorting the Good from the Bad |url=https://archive.org/details/pentagonlabyrint0000unse/page/105 |publisher=[[Center for Defense Information]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/pentagonlabyrint0000unse/page/105 105, 106] |isbn=978-0-615-44624-0 |date=2011 |access-date=7 September 2015 }}</ref> However, new generation engines such as [[ramjet]], along with the latest sensors such as [[active radar homing|active radar]], increase the hit probability of the latest BVR missiles, such as [[Meteor (missile)|Meteor]], and also increase the range.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Number of air-to-air kills by Western air forces by method, according to a 2005 study.<ref name=higby/>
|-
! Engagement !! Total kills !! Guns !! WVR AAMs !! BVR AAMs fired WVR !! BVR AAMs fired BVR !! Notes
|-
| 1965–1982 (US-Vietnam and Arab-Israeli conflicts) || 528 || 144 || 308 || 69 || 4 || During these conflicts, a total of 61 BVR shots were taken, of which 4 killed their target, resulting in a kill rate of 6.6%.<ref name=higby/> 
|-
| 1991 [[Gulf War]] || 41 || 2 || 10 || 8 || 16 || BVR missiles had a kill rate of 34%. By contrast, WVR missiles had a kill rate of 67%, despite costing less than half of a BVR missile.<ref name=higby/>
|-
| 1994 [[Banja Luka incident]] ||  ||  || 3 || 1 || 0 || <ref name=higby/>
|-
| 1999 [[Operation Southern Watch#Last years|January 5 incident over Iraq]] ||  ||  || || 0 || 0 || 6 BVR missiles were fired ([[AIM 120]], [[AIM-54]], [[AIM-7]]), but all missed.<ref name=higby/>
|}


In 2015, United States Naval Air Forces commander Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker cited the sensor fusion of the [[fifth-generation jet fighter]] [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II]] as the way to "bring that long-range ID capability and then share that information" with other platforms.{{Vague|date=September 2015}}<!-- paragraph doesn't explain how is this relevant to the BVR --><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.usni.org/2015/06/09/navy-air-boss-f-35c-advanced-sensors-situational-awareness-a-game-changer |title=Navy Air Boss: F-35C Advanced Sensors, Situational Awareness a 'Game-Changer' |last1=Fuentes |first1=Gidget |date=9 June 2015 |website=news.usni.org |publisher=USNI |access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref>