Question: The SAM missiles continuously chases the fighter jet for a few minutes. In reality, don't SAM missiles only contain enough fuel to fly for about 5 to 10 seconds?
Bishop73
24th Oct 2018
24th Oct 2018
Question: The SAM missiles continuously chases the fighter jet for a few minutes. In reality, don't SAM missiles only contain enough fuel to fly for about 5 to 10 seconds?
Answer: Surface-to-air missiles come in 3 ranges (long range, medium, and short). Long range missile have a range of 100-150 km (there are some very long ranged missiles that can go up to 400 km). Short range missiles go about 3 km. SAM's are faster than Air-to-Air missiles and can travel around Mach 3 and up to Mach 8, with some that can go faster (so about 1 - 2.7 km/s) I don't know what kind of SAM was used, but long range SAM's are fired from a fixed or semi-movable position and medium ranged SAM's can be fired from vehicle mounted systems.
Bishop73
A behind enemy lines goof from IMDb, says that no missile is capable of chasing the F/A-18 as it is portrayed in the movie. A missiles rocket motor only holds enough fuel for one pass at a target. I don't know if you agree with it or not.
I would disagree with the statement that it wouldn't have enough fuel. However, even after a missile runs out of fuel it can still glide to its target at supersonic speeds for a time. I do think the portrayal of the chase scene is overly dramatic in Hollywood fashion though, particularly for the first SAM fired.
Bishop73
The 9m333 missile has a target closing speed max of 415 m/sec (928 MPH) and a receding speed max of 310 m/sec (693 MPH). The movie accurately portrays at least the closing as they were just off a recon, as the camera needs a certain speed to be clear, as well as flat flying. I would say they were around 450 to 600 mph, so it jives. The issue is in the time of missile flight, gas tanks, and maneuvers.
According to the trivia of the film the missile used was a 9m37m missile.
In that case the scene is completely Hollywood and unrealistic. The 9m37m is a short range missile, even though it's vehicle mounted, and has a max range of 5 km and doesn't even reach Mach 2. When the 2nd missile is fired we hear one of the pilots say "3 miles and closing", meaning the SAM shouldn't have been able to catch up to them or chase them down. The film makers probably wanted something cool looking without considering (or caring) what they had or may not have access to a midrange SAM system and pretended it was one.
Bishop73
1.5 is the fastest it can go, but the FA-18 also isn't flying that fast either, given the maneuvers they perform. The main issue with the second missile is literally after firing they are both neck and neck. None of that makes sense. Now the FA-18 has a maximum speed of Mach 1.8, so in theory, it could outrun it, but they kept their fuel tanks and there's no way they were running even Mach 1 to do all the aerobatics they did. The range countdown makes sense if their speed was X against the 1.5 of the missile.
But don't long range missiles lack the ability to turn fast enough to follow and chase a jet due to the weight of the amount of fuel they carry?
No, long range missiles can run at long range, very high speeds and outmaneuver fighters. The 9M330 Gauntlet fired from a Tor system can exceed 30g in maneuvering. It all depends on their guidance fins, the size, versus speed if I can whip a hard turn. Remember, pilots also have to endure the Gs on evasion. All depends on angles, speeds, etc.
The missile system used in the movie was a Strela-10 system. It's most likely the 9A35M2/M4 version, which has the passive/static radar between launcher boxes. The missile fired can vary, but based on the Balkans conflict time frame, the best it could have had was a 9M333, with a 5 km range and running at Mach 1.5.
Also need to add the 9M333 missile used has a maximum flight time of 29 seconds +/- 5 seconds with an auto-detonation after.
Funny thing with the movies is, the missile shown in flight is not the 9M333 or any short-range AA missile. Closest I can find similar is the Tochka, which this isn't. It has tiny front fins, so would not be able to maneuver well.