Aim-120

The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations, using active transmit-receive radar guidance. It has been produced for the US Air Force, US Navy, and 33 international customers, with over 14,000 units manufactured as of 2008. The AMRAAM has achieved 16 air-to-air kills in conflicts, and its development was influenced by the earlier AIM-7 Sparrow medium range missile (MRM) and AIM-54 Phoenix long-range missile (LRM). The Sparrow was the first operational air-to-air missile with BVR capability, but it had limitations, including being unable to engage multiple targets and requiring the launching aircraft to remain pointed in the direction of the target. The AIM-54 Phoenix was a fire-and-forget, multiple-launch, radar-guided missile that saw service with the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, but it was a large and heavy missile. The development of the AMRAAM addressed the limitations of its predecessors, and it has become a widely used and effective air-to-air missile.learn more on wikipedia