The AIM-54 Phoenix missile - Technology, History and Performance

Hypersonics in WT would be dope
And not op at the same time considering the fact this is STILL a pheonix, and STILL will accelerate slowly
But i think the speed cap (like 4.6 mach?) affects weapons and projectiles too, not just vehicles.

Turns out there is no speed cap.

The speed cap doesn’t matter because it has a metric load of drag which has it lose double the velocity it gains while the motor is active. (while falling)

It’s too slow in basically every way. It’s just too much drag.
It will never hit 4.3, especially since the F-14 itself can’t hit the proper mach 2.3 speed, capping out at about 2.01 at height, after a full fuel load of climbing and accelerating.

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There is, but its not a hardcoded thing. Seems to be an engine limitation for ehich at a certain speed range, it becomes realistically impossible for a missile to go any faster in-game.

Spoiler
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How did you test this? In a custom? That’s why, live matches have different limits. Which is why fakour 90 and co can hit Mach 6 nearly.

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Yeah was a custom, I’ve never actually seen anyone post the F90’s hitting M6.0 in sensor view so im not sure if it can actually hit the speeds you claim.

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Casual hypersonic activities, i never knew anything could do it in wt tbh

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The ER could do it.

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No luck so far, maybe others could try doing a media request and we might get something

How do you do that and what was it for again?

Go on to the official Raytheon website and scroll down until you find a media request contact to email to. It’s for getting more information about the AIM-54 and it’s variants, and providing official information to compare to the ones we already have now in our possession and maybe force Gaijin to implement changes.

Found something that hasn’t been talked about in a while. Alongside the countless sources stating Mach 5 for the Phoenix, the Aim-54C model apparently had a directional warhead.
Screenshot 2025-05-20 at 1.53.57 PM
I believe @MythicPi found an earlier source about the directional blast warhead on the Aim-54C, so knowing that wasn’t a dead end is nice.

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Nice finds. Looks like this guy was right.

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Considering all air to air missiles in warthunder all use the same warhead type, this won’t really affect anything.

Now if @MythicPi has sources about “aimable” or “directional” warhead that’s different

But “controlled fragmentation” doesn’t mean “aimable” warhead

Controlled fragmentation basically means you cut grooves into the metal to create weak points and control where it will break

What all missiles do have proper aimable warheads? I know the AAM-4 and 5 have warheads which can be aimed in 4 quadrants based on their proximity fuze and a multi-detonator system, but im not sure which other ones have it.

Basically every western missile post AIM-54C

Continuous expanding rods are still fairly common, and most that are fragmentation are “controlled” like the 54C’s, not proper directional systems.

Yeah no. The pictures of the actual detonation show very clearly it is a directional detonation, and not just the preformed shrapnel pattern.