AIM-4 Falcon - Operational History

Operational History

The Air Force deployed AIM-4 in May 1967 during the Vietnam War on the new F-4D Phantom II, which carried it on the inner wing pylons and was ostensibly not wired to carry the Navy-designed AIM-9 Sidewinder. The missile's combat performance was very poor. The Falcon, already operational on Air Defense Command aircraft, was designed to be used against bombers and its slow seeker cooling times requiring as much as 6 to 7 seconds to obtain a lock on a target rendered it largely ineffective against maneuvering fighters. Moreover it could only be cooled once. Limited coolant supply meant that once cooled, the missile would expend its supply of liquid nitrogen in two minutes, rendering it useless on the rail. The missile also had a small warhead, and lacked proximity fusing. As a result, only five kills were scored, all with the AIM-4D version. (The Falcon was also experimentally fired by the F-102 Delta Dagger against ground targets at night using its infrared seeker.)

The weapon was unpopular with pilots from the onset and was formally withdrawn in 1969, to be replaced in the F-4D by the Sidewinder after retrofitting the proper wiring. Col. Robin Olds, commanding the F-4 Phantom II-equipped 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, was an outspoken critic of the missile and said of it:

By the beginning of June, we all hated the new AIM-4 Falcon missiles. I loathed the damned useless things. I wanted my Sidewinders back. In two missions I had fired seven or eight of the bloody things and not one guided. They were worse than I had anticipated. Sometimes they refused to launch; sometimes they just cruised off into the blue without guiding. In the thick of an engagement with my head twisting and turning, trying to keep track of friend and foe, I'd forget which of the four I had (already) selected and couldn't tell which of the remaining was perking and which head was already expiring on its launch rail. Twice upon returning to base I had the tech rep go over the switchology and firing sequences. We never discovered I was doing anything wrong.

Col. Olds became exasperated with the Falcon's poor combat performance. He ordered his entire fighter wing rewire the F-4D's to carry more reliable Sidewinders . Although it was an unauthorized field modification, the entire air force eventually followed his example. An effort to address the limitations of AIM-4D led to the development in 1970 of the XAIM-4H, which had a laser proximity fuze, new warhead, and better maneuverability. It was cancelled the following year without entering service.

The AIM-4F/AIM-4G Super Falcon remained in USAF and ANG service, primarily with F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart interceptors, until the final retirement of the F-106 in 1988.

The AIM-4C was also produced as the HM-58 for the Swiss Air Force for use on Dassault Mirage IIIS, and license-manufactured in Sweden for the Swedish Air Force (as the Rb 28) to equip the Saab 35 Draken and the Saab 37 Viggen. The seeker of the missile was also re-designed.