Originally posted by tripwire:
indeed i agreed...
furthermore.. wont the potato masher fins increases drags by a substantial amount... thus reducing both the missile's range and speed?
while different fuel type is a possibility, but surely if that exotic fuel type is so much better then the one currently in use in AMRAAM, wont the americans be dumb not to use it as well?
The potato masher fins are for controllability at high mach numbers. No point going so fast if your control surfaces can't work. An M16 bullet goes at around the same speed as that missile...
Secondly, even if the russians were to make the exact formula of the compound public knowledge, you still have to have the industrial complex to make it, which takes some time to develop. For example, even if we have the blueprints to the F404 engine, we still don't have the capability to make it, especially the hi-temp turbine blades.