For the horribly vulnerable part, let me reply using a DIRECT CITATION: It was a heady time because after the experience in Vietnam these missiles lived up to their name as MISSiles.
There were no BVR IR guided missiles used in the Vietnam conflict.
Short of operating F-4 Phantoms on the Argentine side the main alternative aircraft with BVR missiles would have been a MiG-23 which has R-23 air to air BVR missiles which come in SARH missiles of the type (of guidance) that were used and failed in Vietnam, but also in an IR model for which the design of the Harrier made it horribly vulnerable.
As far as I remember the only Harrier show down in the conflict was hit by an Ancient SA-7 which has a rather decidedly average IR seeker. In comparison the R-23T would have been very effective from distances the Sidewinder would not have been effective from.
The Lima and Mike Sidewinders were some of the first IR guided weapons that were all aspect, but an aircraft like the Sea Harrier had IR emissions along its side rather than poking out the rear and hidden by the rest of the aircraft.
The direct result was the Harrier was horribly vulnerable to IR guided missiles from any angle including the front... even IR guided weapons that were not all aspect.
They took the trouble to get on the tails of the Argentine aircraft because they were afraid that the older sidewinders would still lock head on on a Harrier because it has hot bits sticking out sideways that are visible from the front even in normal flight.
Because it is perfectly possible and understandable to made two self contradictory statements over the years.
In a same post quite less...
The short effective range of the Sidewinders made them vulnerable to any aircraft with BVR missiles as there is little they could do about that because they were the slowest fighters in service at the time.
Sarh missiles have however been completely phased out in the west.
Not true at all. The US Navy still uses the Sparrow missile as a ship launched anti aircraft missile and in the current block one model in service it uses SARH.
The next gen block two version is expected to enter service shortly but current ESSM missiles are SARH.
Scud? AGAIN, GarryB? It was 1982, not 1991.
If you read what I said I compared the BS regarding Exocets from the Falklands conflict with the further BS about Scud and Patriot A FEW YEARS LATER.
Still bullshit though. Scud was ordinary and inaccurate and Patriot was pathetic and expensive.
No, everyone (except Brits) loved them:they were french i.e. western.
Suspect the difference in impression comes from me living in a commonwealth country... but even then it shows western culture and morality when a French missile kills British Sailors it becomes "loved".
To cite Shakespeare: the best p.o.s around is still a p.o.s.
And Type 42 were huge ones.
But it is OK because as the British said... Exocet is a sea skimming missile and the Soviets don't have any sea skimming missiles....
Argentinians advanced jets and missiles could be counted on one hand's fingers and brits were familiar with all their stuff.
Both sides had Exocets and Sea Dart and Sea Cat naval SAMs in service... the Brits had no excuse to be so surprised.
Argentinians just FUCKED brits. No matter how you turn the story. You can even re-write the story it won't change.
On the islands the Brits won hands down, but on the sea and in the air it was very much touch and go...
the British bean counters made it very much harder for Britain than it should have been.... it is pretty clear their ships expected to have air control of the sea they would be operating in...
Their wonder missile, the Sea Wolf was actually rather ordinary in practise because so few ships even carried it and it was brand new and buggy.
For the Russians, the lesson of arming their ships better is meaningless because they arm their ships like they are on their own, but also that dinky little carriers with toy fighter planes might save money during peace time but when you actually have to use it in combat you will find you pay the cost then in blood.
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Chakri Naruebet.
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