F-16 Training Muntions
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Typically, I can’t find an image to hand but I’m trying to work out what the training munition is that is sometimes seen on 1/9 or 2/8. It’s looks like an AIM9, but doesn’t have the front fins and is primarily blue with grey rear fins (no rollerons).
I’m not referring to the DATM/CATM AIM-9s, nor am I referring to the typical ACMI pod that has the four spikes/loops at the front.
Cheers!
EDIT: Here is one, but in red.
This may be a smokewinder, but I’m curious to know what the version in blue is for? I’m about to start building a couple of F-16C (#83-1144 block 25 ANG and #86-0134 block 30 Aggressor) model kits and want to kit them out in training munitions.
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AFAIK it should be a training version of the AIM-9 called AMA (Acceleration Monitoring Assembly). The colors blue and red are used during air combat training to visually identify friendlies and aggressors when they are both flying the same aircraft type with the same paint scheme.
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AFAIK it should be a training version of the AIM-9 called AMA (Acceleration Monitoring Assembly). The colors blue and red are used during air combat training to visually identify friendlies and aggressors when they are both flying the same aircraft type with the same paint scheme.
What are the yellow ones then?
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We use the orange AMA pod to either indicate new pilot in this aircraft, or as a marking as Sniper wrote to indicate as a enemy aircraft when training ACM/BFM.
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What are the yellow ones then?
I think they are used as aggressors too… AFAIK they use yellow, orange or red pods on jets playing the aggressor role and the standard CAP-9 on the friendlies. I think that could be depending from the unit role and inventory. For example, when the Italian Air Force was flying the F-16ADF each squadron had a couple of orange pods and, before WVR training sorties, they loaded them on the planes assigned to the aggressor role; so, if in the morning the pods were used by 2 jets and another 2 needed them for an afternoon flight, the ground crew had to unload the pods from the first 2 Vipers and load them on the other 2, basically a logistic nightmare…
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JanHas has created the pod. You can check either its name description to find out what it is, or fly with Ikaros theater and check there.
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Found it. As Sniper said, it is an AMA pod, but on reading up on it, it is open to speculation as to what they are/were used for. I think they were originally meant for Acceleration Monitoring Assembly, but were later used as a means to counter the weight of the ACMI pod and present a larger RCS for training.
I need to find a photo of one compared to a CATM/DATM-9M now to see if can modify an AIM-9M in an AMA, as some of the photos I’ve seen of the ANG bird I’m building has the AMA pod loaded.
EDIT: doh, just seen the replies above. Thanks!
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Bumping this. In terms of dimensions, how similar are the AIM9 (captive or otherwise) to the AMA pod? Is the AMA pod basically an AIM9 housing with the seeker/warhead removed and a more round nose fitted? Or is it an entirely different construction?
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If I recall correctly it should be, as you said, an AIM-9 housing without rollerons, engine, warhead, front fins and with the seeker replaced by the new instruments.