Editing AIM-54 Phoenix (section)

==Service history==

===U.S. combat experience===
[[File:AIM-54 Phoenix destroys QF-4 drone 1983.jpeg|thumb|An AIM-54 hitting a [[McDonnell F-4 Phantom II|QF-4B]] target drone, 1983.]]

* On January 5, 1999, a pair of US F-14s fired two Phoenixes at Iraqi [[MiG-25]]s southeast of [[Baghdad]]. Both AIM-54s' rocket motors failed and neither missile hit its target.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=852|title=Defense.gov Transcript: DoD News Briefing January 5, 1999|access-date=November 30, 2015|archive-date=December 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208082511/http://archive.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=852|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Parsons, Dave, George Hall and Bob Lawson. (2006). ''Grumman F-14 Tomcat: Bye-Bye Baby...!: Images & Reminiscences From 35 Years of Active Service''. Zenith Press, p. 73. {{ISBN|0-7603-3981-3}}.</ref>
* On September 9, 1999, another US F-14 launched an AIM-54 at an Iraqi [[MiG-23]] that was heading south into the no-fly zone from Al Taqaddum air base west of Baghdad. The missile missed, eventually going into the ground after the Iraqi fighter reversed course and fled north.<ref>Tony Holmes, "US Navy F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom", Osprey Publishing (2005). Chapter One – OSW, pp. 16–7.</ref>

[[File:AIM-54 Phoenix cropped.jpg|thumb|left|An AIM-54 Phoenix being attached to an F-14 wing pylon before the forward fins were installed (2003).]]

The AIM-54 Phoenix was retired from USN service on September 30, 2004. F-14 Tomcats were retired on September 22, 2006. They were replaced by shorter-range [[AIM-120 AMRAAM]]s, employed on the [[F/A-18E/F Super Hornet]].

Despite the much-vaunted capabilities, the Phoenix was rarely used in combat, with only two confirmed launches and no confirmed targets destroyed in US Navy service. The USAF [[F-15 Eagle]] had responsibility for overland [[combat air patrol]] duties in Operation [[Desert Storm]] in 1991, primarily because of the onboard F-15 [[identification friend or foe|IFF]] capabilities. The Tomcat did not have the requisite IFF capability mandated by the [[Joint Force Air Component Commander]] (JFACC) to satisfy the [[rules of engagement]] to utilize the Phoenix capability at [[beyond visual range]]. The AIM-54 was not adopted by any foreign nation besides [[Iran]], or any other US armed service, and was not used on any aircraft other than the F-14.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

===Iranian combat experience===
[[File:Irani F-14 Tomcats carrying AIM-54 Phoenixs.jpg|thumb|Iranian F-14 Tomcats armed with multiple types of air-to-air missiles, including AIM-54 Phoenixes, in 1986.]]
{{further|Grumman F-14 Tomcat#Iran |List of Iranian aerial victories during the Iran–Iraq war}}

On January 7, 1974, as part of Project ''Persian King'', the [[Air force history of Iran#Imperial era|Imperial Iranian Air Force]] placed an order for 424 AIM-54As, later increasing it by 290 missiles that June.<ref name=Cooper2004 /> Of the initial order, 274 missiles and 10 training rounds were delivered for US$150 million,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=2200&tid=700&ct=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050527203357/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=2200&tid=700&ct=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 27, 2005 |title=AIM-54 Phoenix Missile |publisher=U.S. Navy}}</ref> until the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Revolution]] ended deliveries and left the remaining 150 missiles embargoed and the additional order of 290 cancelled.

According to Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop, during the [[Iran–Iraq War]] AIM-54s fired by [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force|IRIAF]] Tomcats achieved 78 victories against Iraqi [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]]s, [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23|MiG-23]]s, [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25|MiG-25]]s, [[Tupolev Tu-22|Tu-22]]s, [[Sukhoi Su-17|Su-20/22s]], [[Dassault Mirage F1|Mirage F 1s]], [[Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard|Super Étendard]]s, and even two [[Exocet|AM-39 Exocet]]s and a [[Silkworm (missile)|C-601]]. This includes two occasions where one AIM-54 was responsible for the downing of two Iraqi aircraft, as well as an incident on January 7, 1981, where a Phoenix fired at a four-ship of MiG-23s downed three and damaged the fourth.<ref name=Cooper2004 />

The US refused to supply spare parts and maintenance after the 1979 Revolution, except for a brief period during the [[Iran–Contra affair]]. According to Cooper, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force kept its F-14 fighters and AIM-54 missiles in regular use during the entire Iran–Iraq War, though periodic lack of spares grounded large parts of the fleet at times. During late 1987, the stock of AIM-54 missiles was at its lowest, with fewer than 50 operational missiles available. The missiles needed fresh [[Molten-salt battery|thermal batteries]] that could only be purchased from the US. Iran found a clandestine buyer that supplied it with batteries, which cost up to US$10,000 each. Iran received spares and parts for both the F-14s and AIM-54s from various sources during the Iran–Iraq War, and has received more spares after the conflict. Iran started a program to build spares for the planes and missiles, and although there are claims that it no longer relies on outside sources to keep its F-14s and AIM-54s operational, there is evidence that Iran continues to procure parts clandestinely.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Theimer|first=Sharon |title=Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale |url=https://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/01/16/ap3334088.html |magazine=Forbes |access-date=17 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070119084031/http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/01/16/ap3334088.html |archive-date=19 January 2007}}</ref>

Both the F-14 Tomcat and the AIM-54 Phoenix missile continue in the service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. Iran claimed to be working on building an equivalent missile{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} and in 2013 unveiled the [[Fakour-90]], an upgraded and reverse-engineered version of the Phoenix.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theaviationist.com/2013/09/26/farouk-missile/|title=Iranian F-14 Tomcat's 'new' indigenous air-to-air missile is actually an (improved?) AIM-54 Phoenix replica |work=The Aviationist |last=Cenciotti|first=David|date=26 September 2013 |access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref>