Editing AIM-54 Phoenix (section)

===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}}