Editing Beyond-visual-range missile

{{redirect|BVR}}
{{Short description|Range classification of air-to-air missiles}}
{{More footnotes|date=September 2015}}

[[File:AAM-4.jpg|thumb|300 px|[[AAM-4|Mitsubishi AAM-4]] was the first BVR missile to utilize an [[Active electronically scanned array|AESA]] based [[active radar homing]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/news/a19172/revealed-japans-new-fighter-prototype-x2-stealth/|title=Revealed: Japan's New Fighter Prototype|last=Mizokami|first=Kyle|date=2016-01-28|website=Popular Mechanics|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref>]]

A '''beyond-visual-range missile''' ('''BVR missile''') or ''' beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile''' ('''BVRAAM''') is an [[air-to-air missile]] that is capable of engaging at ranges around  {{convert|40|km|nmi|abbr=on}} or beyond. This range has been achieved using [[dual pulse rocket motor]]s or [[booster rocket]] motor and [[ramjet]] sustainer motor. Medium-range, long-range, and very-long-range air-to-air missiles fall under the category of beyond-visual-range missiles. Older BVR missiles generally used the [[semi-active radar homing]], and modern BVR missiles use the [[active radar homing]] [[missile guidance|guidance]].

In addition to the range capability, the missile must also be capable of tracking its target at this range or of acquiring the target in flight. Systems in which a mid-course correction is transmitted to the missile have been used.

==History==
{{Globalize|section|date=September 2015}}
[[File:Saab 37 Viggen 37301 001.jpg|thumb|Swedish Air Force [[Saab 37 Viggen|JA37 Viggen]] with a pair of semi-active radar homing underwing [[Skyflash]] missiles.]]
[[File:AIM-120 first kill.jpg|thumb|right|First successful test of [[AIM-120 AMRAAM]] at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico 1982.]]Early air-to-air missiles used [[semi-active radar homing]] guidance, that is the missile used the radiation produced by the launching aircraft to guide it to the target. The latest generation of BVR missiles use a combination of semi-active and active radar.

The first such missiles were relatively simple [[beam riding]] designs.  The Sparrow 1 mounted on the US Navy's [[Skyknight]] became the first operational BVR missile in 1954.<ref>{{cite journal  |title= Guided Missiles ride Navy Jet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA116|page=116 |journal=[[Popular Mechanics]] |publisher=[[Popular Mechanics Company]] |date=November 1954}}</ref> These primitive BVR missiles were soon replaced by missiles using [[semi-active radar homing]] (SARH).<ref> http://ig.space/a-brief-history-of-air-to-air-missiles</ref>{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}} This is where the launching aircraft's radar is [[missile lock-on|"locked"]] onto the target in a single target track (STT) mode, directing radar energy at the target that the missile seeker can "see" as it reflects off the target. The radar antenna must "illuminate" the target until impact. Missiles like the [[Raytheon]] [[AIM-7 Sparrow]] and [[Vympel R-27]] ''([[NATO]] designation AA-10 'Alamo')'' home in on the reflected radiation, much as a [[laser-guided bomb]] homes in on the reflected laser radiation. Some of the longest-range missiles in use today still use this technology.

An AIM-7 variant called Sparrow II was the first attempt at producing a semi-active radar homing missile, however the first air-to-air missile to introduce a terminal active seeker operationally was the AIM-54 Phoenix<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gao|first=Charlie|date=2021-06-01|title=How Active Radar Homing Missiles Changed Warfare Forever|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/how-active-radar-homing-missiles-changed-warfare-forever-186464|access-date=2021-08-16|website=The National Interest|language=en}}</ref> carried by the [[F-14]] Tomcat, which entered service in 1972. This relieved the launch platform of the need to illuminate the target until impact, putting it at risk. The Phoenix and its associated Tomcat radar, the [[AWG-9]] was capable of multiple track and launch capability, which was unique to the Tomcat/Phoenix until the advent of AMRAAM in 1991.

Newer [[fire-and-forget]] type missiles like the [[Raytheon]] [[AIM-120 AMRAAM]] and the Russian [[R-77]] ([[NATO reporting name]] AA-12 "Adder") instead use an [[inertial navigation system]] (INS) combined with initial target information from the launching aircraft and updates from a one or two-way data link in order to launch beyond visual range, and then switch to a terminal homing mode, typically [[Active radar homing|active radar guidance]]. These types of missiles have the advantage of not requiring the launching aircraft to illuminate the target with radar energy for the entire flight of the missile, and in fact do not require a radar lock to launch at all, only target tracking information. This gives the target less warning that a missile has been launched and also allows the launching aircraft to turn away once the missile is in its terminal homing phase or engage other aircraft. The very longest-range missiles like the [[Hughes Aircraft|Hughes]] (now Raytheon) [[AIM-54]] Phoenix missile and [[Vympel_NPO|Vympel]] manufactured [[Vympel R-33|R-33]] (NATO designation AA-9 "Amos") use this technique also.

Some variants of the Vympel R-27 use SARH for the initial guidance and then passive [[infra-red]] guidance for the final stage. This type of missile requires active guidance for a longer part of the flight than [[fire-and-forget]] missiles but will still guide to the target even if radar lock is broken in the crucial final seconds of the engagement and may be harder to spoof with [[chaff (radar countermeasure)|chaff]] due to the dual-type guidance.

== 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>

==List of BVR missiles==
* [[AAM-4]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Japan}}
* [[AIM-7 Sparrow]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|US}}
* [[AIM-54 Phoenix]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|US}}
* [[AIM-120 AMRAAM]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|US}}
* [[AIM-260 JATM]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|US}}
* [[AIM-174B Gunslinger]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|US}} 
* [[Astra (missile)|Astra]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|India}}
* [[Faaz]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Pakistan}}
* [[GÖKTUĞ|Gökdoğan (missile)]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Turkey}}
* [[Python (missile)#Derby|Derby]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Israel}}
* [[K-100 (missile)|K-100]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Russia}}
* [[Meteor (missile)|Meteor]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|EU}}
* [[MICA (missile)|MICA]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|France}}
* [[PL-12|PL-12 (SD-10)]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|China}}
* [[PL-15]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|China}}
* [[PL-17]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|China}}
* [[PL-21]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|China}}
* [[R-27 (air-to-air missile)|R-27]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Russia}}
* [[R-33 (missile)]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Soviet Union}}
* [[R-37 (missile)]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Russia}}
* [[R-40 (missile)]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Soviet Union}}
* [[R-77]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Russia}}
* [[R-Darter]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|South Africa}}
* [[Sky Spear (missile)|Sky Spear]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Israel}}
* [[Sky Sword II]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|Taiwan}}
* [[Skyflash]] {{Endash}} {{Flag|UK}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Aim 120 amraam missile 20040710 145603 1.4.jpg|[[AIM-120 AMRAAM|AMRAAM]] is the most widely used BVR missile.
File:Meteor (Luft-Luft-Rakete).jpg|[[Meteor (missile)|Meteor]] uses [[ramjet]] sustainer motor.
File:Mig 29 firing AA-10.JPG|A [[MiG-29]] Fulcrum fires an [[AA-10]] "Alamo".
File:AstraMk1Missile.jpg|[[Astra (missile)|Astra Mk.1]] on static display. 
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beyond Visual Range Missile}}
[[Category:Air-to-air missiles]]
[[Category:Missile types]]