Iirc the inital ASRAAM they developped with the german was like 60kgs and quite shite. When the german left, they redesigned it completly making the ASRAAM we know todays.
So the asumption that the actual ASRAAM is less maneuvrable than the R-73 is not neceserally true.
If the missile can start turning very soon of the rail with 50g maneuvrability and can use its body lift and relaxed stability it can indeed turn very sharp. Maybe not as sharp as a MICA/IRIS-T/9X but still very sharp.
I think that @Flame2512 is more or less rigth and that impulse wise, the ASRAAM and the MICA are really similar. The MICA can achieve better range with the use of lofting and the strakes that can act like small wings when the missile is going down.
Something you din’t take into account when measuring the volume of the motor is the thickness of the tube itself. Iirc thanks to the strakes holding the body together, the thickness of the tube for the motor section is very small for the MICA. I don’t know for the ASRAAM.
The main advantage and disadvantage for ASRAAM is the speed at which it flies off the rails. A slower missile that pulls less Gs can in theory turn in a smaller radius than a faster missile at a higher G. So ASRAAM would have a larger off-the-rails radius. The flip side of that though, is that the ASRAAM is gunna be deadly in a joust
Just want to point out that there are better threads for this conversation of two missiles. There are also not many actual sources being shared RN so not much to discuss.
R-73 is supposed to be 60G and using thrust vectoring while ASRAAM is 50G and does not use thrust vectoring. From what Flame has hinted at, it sounds like ASRAAM has a very higher acceleration which is a detriment to the turn circle.
This is messy to compare especially when you take into the account that ASRAAM is likely using a less efficient fuel type that is completely smokeless while MICA is using a fuel type that is more efficient but generates more smoke.
Also, heavier missiles achieve more range due to higher inertia.
If there’s no proof that it does loft, then we must assume it doesn’t loft. Gaijin will have to take the MICA EM, find a scenario where it does 80km while lofting, and then insert the MICA IR with no loft, and adjust drag so it does 60km in that same scenario with no loft. This will bring it close to MICA EM.
Because if MICA EM does 80km with loft, but 65-70km with no loft, then MICA IR will be very close to it at 60km with no loft.
This is why ASRAAM will have a difficult time right out of the gate in dealing with MICA IR. Because you’ll have an IR missile with the kinetic energy of potentially an AIM-120A or R-77.
Though… At its core, the MICA is a BVR missile. Its like comparing Aim-9M to R-27ET in terms of range. I feel like that at those kinds of ranges (50+km) , you’d not fire an ASRAAM, youd fire an AMRAAM/Meteor.
If we are talking about say 30km. Then the ASRAAM and MICA would be about the same in terms of no escape zone. But ASRAAM would be the faster missle I think. (not sure how the speed would compare after the “transit” but ASRAAM is definetly the faster off the rails)
Then fair enough, it also would depend on ASRAAM’s burn time. A shorter burn time = higher acceleration. This could mean that ASRAAM would lock on first with its seeker due to higher acceleration in a 20-30km scenario.
Unless ASRAAM has a burntime lower than the current 6.75 seconds of MICA, then I don’t see how it would be faster off the rail.
To increase its speed and its operating range, the missile has a low-drag design; only tail fins are provided for control purposes; and a new, low-signature, dual-burn, high-impulse solid rocket motor provides the power. Compared to other similar missiles, this new motor improves both the missile’s instantaneous acceleration and its maximum cruise velocity.
I seem to remember there was something special about thr ASRAAM’s motor case as well, something like it having thinner walls or something leading to more propellant than average
Honestly tho, information on these things is so sparse were mostly just guesstimating imo. Theres certain thinga we can have a relative idea of compared to other missiles, but nothing concrete.
Yep, Missile and aircraft. A lot of Guess-timates in our future. As I said above. Which is best will be entirely based upon the situation. No one missile is gunna just be “better” than the others. (except probably for the russian version cause it will be overtuned to hell :P )
As it currently stands, ASRAAM is the clear winner in WT. It’ll outrange all but the MICA, and 50G is plenty, its still over the shoulder capable, and doesnt have to deal with gaijins horrid modelling of TVC’s.
IRIS-T will likely be the worst. Its the one that likely has the most extreme TVC effect(and therefore the most effected by its mismoddeling), it will be missing its H-infinity controller, which will instead be replaced by the vastly inferior PID controller, and will have the worst range. Theres also a better than good chance that gaijin does not allow it to be used for self missile defense via the Preatorian DASS system.
MICA will be in-between, better range than ASRAAM, likely better maneuvrability, but will need to deal with TVC issues.
Early ones won’t be able to, but the later blocks certainly could have it implemented via software update. Because they have lock on after launch capability and is able to be fired at aircraft behind the wing line.
To be fair, the R-77 came with a bunch of other MRAAMs that are confirmed to have loft. R-77 is more of an exception than the rule. Whereas it’s generally true that there’s no sources showing even modern IIR missiles loft.
