Type Air-to-air missile Length 15 feet (4.6 m) | Place of origin United States Weight 1,300 pounds (590 kg) Diameter 13.5 inches (340 mm) | |
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The AIM-97 Seekbat or XAIM-97A Seek Bat was a missile developed by the United States of America. Intended to counter the perceived capabilities of the MiG-25 Foxbat and proposed to arm both the F-15 Eagle & F-4 Phantom, the missile ultimately never entered service.
Overview
In the early to mid-1970s the United States was highly concerned by the perceived capabilities of the MiG-25 Foxbat, an aircraft which was known to be capable of speeds in excess of Mach 3 and which carried long range air-to-air missiles. It was widely claimed that the Foxbat was a new generation "super-fighter", capable of comfortably outclassing any US or allied aircraft. The US initiated the F-15 Eagle program largely in response to this threat. To equip the F-15 the Air Force initiated development of the AIM-82 short range missile and the AIM-97 Seekbat. The former was a dogfighting missile intended as a replacement for the AIM-9 Sidewinder, the latter was to be a new high-altitude long-range missile designed specifically to shoot down the MiG-25 - hence the name Seekbat, the bat referring to the MiG-25's "Foxbat" NATO reporting name.
The Seekbat was based on the AGM-78 Standard ARM. It had a larger propulsion unit and used semi-active radar homing with an infrared seeker for terminal guidance of the missile. The operational ceiling was 80,000 ft (24,000 m).
Test firings began in late 1972, but the Seekbat program did not make a great deal of progress and was cancelled in 1976. By this time new knowledge of the MiG-25s capabilities and role led to the cancellation of the program because the missile's cost did not justify its procurement.