Drafted — not technically validated
Record revision 1 · The active-radar "fire and forget" missile that replaced the Sparrow, carried by US fighters of every service since 1991.
Real-world weapon as described in public sources. Weights and dimensions change with the fins, fuzes and variant fitted; the data plate names the variants its figures describe, and differences are noted beside the number they affect. The record describes the weapon; it is not a guide to employing it.
AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) · AIM-120
- Origin
- United States; built by Hughes and then Raytheon [1]
- In service
- Since September 1991 [1]
- Weight
- 161.5 kg (356 lb), AIM-120C-5/6/7 [1]
- Dimensions
- Length 3.65 m (12 ft); diameter 178 mm (7 in) [1]
- Guidance
- Inertial mid-course guidance with optional data-link updates, then active radar homingHoming GlossaryNavigation: Flying to a station by keeping the bearing pointer at the top of the instrument without correcting for wind. In a crosswind it flies a curved path.Weapons: The technique whereby a mobile station directs itself, or is directed, towards a source of primary or reflected energy, or to a specified point. [1]; the guidance section holds the seeker, an inertial reference unit and a target detection device [2]
- Motor
- Dual-thrust, solid-propellant, low-smoke rocket motor [2]
- Fuzing
- FZU-49/B safe and arm fuze [2]; a proximity fuzeProximity fuze GlossaryWeapons: A fuze that detonates before impact when any substantial object is detected at a predetermined distance from it. and impact fuzing [1]
- Delivery
- Rail or ejection launched; control surfaces stay locked until a gas generator unlocks them at launch [2]
- Range
- AIM-120A/B about 75 km (40 nmi), AIM-120C about 90 km and AIM-120D 130 to 160 km [1]. These are maximums at favourable launch conditions
- Carried by
- F/A-18 HornetF/A-18 Hornet AircraftA carrier-capable fighter and attack aircraft that one pilot can switch between roles on the same sortie. [2]
- F-15 EagleF-15C Eagle AircraftA twin-engine air superiority fighter with more than 104 air-to-air victories and no losses., F-15E Strike EagleF-15E Strike Eagle AircraftThe two-seat, long-range, all-weather strike derivative of the Eagle. and F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting Falcon AircraftA single-engine multirole fighter: fly-by-wire, 9 g, and the US Air Force's main strike and SEAD aircraft. [1]
Fire and forget
The AMRAAM’s advantage over the SparrowAIM-7 Sparrow OrdnanceThe West's main radar-guided missile from the late 1950s to the 1990s, which homes on radar energy the fighter reflects off its target. is that it carries its own radar. It flies most of the way on an inertial reference unit, takes updates from the launching aircraft over a data link if they are sent, and switches on its own active radar seeker as it closes on the target. Wikipedia calls this fire-and-forget: the crew no longer has to guide the missile, so it can aim and fire several at different targets at once. [1] Firing an active radar missile is called “FoxFOX GlossaryBrevity: Simulated or actual launch of air-to-air weapons. (ONE): Semi active radar-guided missile. (TWO): IR-guided missile. (THREE): Active radar-guided missile. Three”.
The Navy’s ordnance manual lists four sections. The guidance section holds the radome, seeker, inertial reference unit and target detection device. The armament section holds the WDU-33/B fragmenting warhead and the FZU-49/B safe and arm fuzeFuze GlossaryWeapons: A device that causes the detonation of an explosive charge at the proper time after certain conditions are met. A bomb fuze is mechanical or electrical, and is classed by what sets it off (impact, mechanical time…, and the propulsion section a dual-thrust, low-smoke solid rocketRocket GlossaryWeapons: A weapon propelled by the sustained reaction of a discharging jet of gas against the container of gas. Rockets answered the need for a large weapon that could be fired from an aircraft without recoil. motor. The control section has four electromechanical actuators and the data link. [2]
In combat
The AMRAAM’s first combat kill came on 27 December 1992, when a US Air Force F-16DF-16 Fighting Falcon AircraftA single-engine multirole fighter: fly-by-wire, 9 g, and the US Air Force's main strike and SEAD aircraft. shot down an Iraqi MiG-25 over the southern no-fly zone; a second followed in January 1993. [1] It has since largely replaced the Sparrow as the main US beyond-visual-range missile, and more than 14,000 have been built for the US Air Force, the Navy and 33 other customers. [1]
Sources
- AIM-120 AMRAAM. Wikipedia (secondary source). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-120_AMRAAM (accessed 2026-10-27).
- Aviation Ordnanceman, NAVEDTRA 14313, p. 3-13. US Navy, Naval Education and Training Command; copy hosted by Integrated Publishing. https://navyaviation.tpub.com/14313/css/Advanced-Medium-Range-Air-To-Air-Missile-Amraam-87.htm (accessed 2026-10-27).
Wikipedia articles are secondary sources and can change; they are cited with the date they were read. NAVEDTRA training manuals and budget justification exhibits are official US publications, but each describes the weapons in service when it was written.