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To use it the pilot first selects one of three corridors (centre, left, or right) then presses Automatic Acquisition button. Obviously as there were no checks involved in this (it simply locked onto the first radar return it found) the original Automatic Acquisition mode was susceptible to locking on to ground clutter.Ĭomputer Automatic Acquisition improved upon the original Automatic Acquisition mode significantly. The Automatic Acquisition mode worked by starting at 900 ft range and working outwards until it found some sort of radar return at which point it would lock onto it. The pilot can then either manually identify and select the target (as before) or choose to use Automatic Acquisition. The other way was in boresight / caged mode where the radar is locked in a conical scan directly ahead. Prior to CAA the pilot had a few ways to lock-on to a target the first was to manually identify the target on the radar screen (when the radar was in search mode) and lock-on to it by manually placing the lock-on symbol over the target and pressing a button. To quote fully understand this we have to look at what the original Automatic Acquisition mode did. From my understanding, it won't be easier to maintain radar lock, however, and this mode of tracking likely won't be reliable enough to guide any AIM-7s. CAA, or Computer Automatic Acquisition, would help to filter out ground clutter and make aircraft below the Phantom easier to detect. The radar set of these era F-4s were the AN/APQ-120(V)-10/-11, which added a CAA mode. It could carry 1225 US gallons of internal fuel in self sealing fuel tanks, like the implemented one, and had a dry mass of 30,328lb (12,757kg). The Midas 4 upgrade, shown by the longer gun muzzle. Block 54 introduced high performance antenna and coaxial cables, and in Block 56 the new AN/ALR-46 RHAWS replaced the old AN/APR-36. These values are unchanged from the current F-4E. “Midas 4” upgrades for the gun were used as well, to help vent exhaust gases. Introduced with Block 53 was the ability to use the AGM-65 and J79-GE-17C/-17E engines with low smoke combustors.
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This is a Block 58 Phantom, and features all upgrades of previous blocks. The New Jersey ANG F-4E is in the Euro-1 camo and has an AIM-9L on its missile pylon. The Missouri ANG's F-4E is in the Euro-1 camoflauge.į-4Es of the New Jersey (left) and Californian (right) ANGs. The last F-4E would leave ANG service in 1991.į-4Es of the Missouri (left) and Indiana (right) ANGs. The F-4E was used by the 110th TFS of the Missouri ANG, the 113th TFS of the Indiana ANG, the 141st TFS of the New Jersey ANG, the 163rd TFS of the Indiana ANG, and the 196th TFS of the Californian ANG. Both squadrons would have them replaced by F-16Cs in 1991.į-4Es of the 457th TFS (left) and the 704th TFS (right)į-4Es would start to be received by Air National Guard squadrons in 1985, but these had a relatively brief service life. The 457th TFS received F-4Es in 1987, and the 704th TFS received F-4Es in 1989. For the USAF reserves, only two squadrons would operate the F-4E. Most Phantoms taken from front line USAF squadrons were given to the USAF reserves or the Air National Guard. The last active duty USAF squadron to replace their F-4Es, the 4th TFW, completed conversion to the F-15E in 1991.
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Two Pacific squadrons didn’t receive new equipment, and kept their Phantoms, until 1989. In Europe, the 52nd TFW would be given F-16s in 1978. Several squadrons would retain their Phantoms while waiting for newer equipment. This left the F-4E without much of a place in the USAF, but nevertheless it would continue to be in service with the USAF.
![march of the phantom brigade 4e march of the phantom brigade 4e](https://dungeonsmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/encounters-3-map-1a-1024x768.jpg)
Following the war, and the study of “what went wrong” in air combat during the war, new air superiority fighters would begin to be made for the USAF, the F-15A and F-16A. The F-4E first reached the Southeast Asian theater in 1968, and would be credited with 21 MiG kills during the Vietnam War. Even after more dedicated and improved fighter aircraft entered service, the F-4E soldiered on until it was replaced. Operated until 1991 by the USAF, the F-4E was a very important milestone aircraft for the USAF. This is a submission for an F-4E late in its service life with either the USAF or the ANG.