Editing AIM-120 AMRAAM (section)

===AIM-7 Sparrow MRM===
The [[AIM-7 Sparrow]] medium range missile (MRM) was purchased by the US Navy from original developer [[Hughes Aircraft]] in the 1950s as its first operational air-to-air missile with "[[beyond visual range]]" (BVR) capability. With an effective range of about {{convert|12|mi|km}}, it was introduced as a radar [[beam riding|beam-riding]] missile and then it was improved to a [[semi-active radar homing|semi-active radar guided]] missile which would home in on reflections from a target illuminated by the radar of the launching aircraft. It was effective at visual to beyond visual range. The early beam riding versions of the Sparrow missiles were integrated onto the [[McDonnell F3H Demon]] and [[Vought F7U Cutlass]], but the definitive AIM-7 Sparrow was the primary weapon for the all-weather [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] fighter/interceptor, which lacked an internal gun in its [[U.S. Navy]], [[U.S. Marine Corps]], and early [[U.S. Air Force]] versions. The F-4 carried up to four AIM-7s in built-in recesses under its belly.

Designed for use against non-maneuvering targets such as bombers, the missiles initially performed poorly against fighters over North Vietnam, and were progressively improved until they proved highly effective in dogfights. Together with the short-range, infrared-guided [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]], they replaced the [[AIM-4 Falcon]] IR and radar guided series for use in air combat by the USAF as well. A disadvantage to semi-active homing was that only one target could be illuminated by the launching [[fighter plane]] at a time. Also, the launching aircraft had to remain pointed in the direction of the target (within the azimuth and elevation of its own radar set) which could be difficult or dangerous in [[air-to-air combat]].

An active-radar variant called the Sparrow II was developed to address these drawbacks, but the U.S. Navy pulled out of the project in 1956. The [[Royal Canadian Air Force]], which took over development in the hopes of using the missile to arm their prospective [[Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow]] interceptor, soon followed in 1958.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-7.html|title=Raytheon AIM/RIM-7 Sparrow|work=designation-systems.net|access-date=April 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202152/http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-7.html|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The electronics of the time simply could not be miniaturized enough to make Sparrow II a viable working weapon. It would take decades, and a new generation of digital electronics, to produce an effective active-radar air-to-air missile as compact as the Sparrow.