AIM-47 Falcon

AIM-47 Falcon
An AIM-47A waiting to be loaded aboard a YF-12.
TypeAir-to-air missile
Place of originUnited States
Service history
Used byUnited States Air Force (testing)
Production history
DesignerHughes Aircraft
Designed1957-1966
Specifications (XAIM-47A)
Mass371 kg (818 lb)
Length3.82 m (12 ft 6.5 in)
Diameter343 mm (13.5 in)
Wingspan838 mm (33 in)
Warhead100 lb (45 kg)
Detonation
mechanism
Proximity fuse

EngineLockheed XSR13-LP-1
PropellantSolid fuel rocket
Operational
range
100 mi (87 nmi; 160 km)
Maximum speed Mach 4
Guidance
system
Semi-active radar homing, terminal infrared homing
Launch
platform
Lockheed YF-12, North American XF-108 Rapier

The Hughes AIM-47 Falcon, originally GAR-9, was a very long-range high-performance air-to-air missile that shared the basic design of the earlier AIM-4 Falcon. It was developed in 1958 along with the new Hughes AN/ASG-18 radar fire-control system intended to arm the Mach 3 XF-108 Rapier interceptor aircraft and, after that jet's cancellation, the YF-12A (whose production was itself cancelled after only 3 vehicles). It was never used operationally, but was a direct predecessor of the AIM-54 Phoenix used on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.