Skyflash SuperTEMP

F

Flame2512

ACCESS: Confidential
Joined
24 December 2021
Messages
71
Reaction score
257
I've built up quite a collection of primary and secondary sources relating to the original Skyflash missile. But I've struggled to find anything covering the SuperTEMP version in more than superficial detail (basically just stating that it had the Hoopoe boost-sustain rocket motor, thinner wings, and some aerodynamic improvements to the missile body).

Does anyone have any information relating to the performance of the Skyflash SuperTEMP, or the characteristics of the Hoopoe rocket motor? I'm curious if the SuperTEMP managed to broadly equal the range of the AIM-7F (the boost sustain version of the Sparrow), or if it was inferior. Also does anyone know if there were there any improvements to the seeker on SuperTEMP missiles, or was the original seeker retained, with improvements only being made to aerodynamic range?

Finally is there a reliable way to visually tell a SuperTEMP missile apart from a standard Skyflash? I'm aware that the SuperTEMP wings are supposedly thinner, but that seems like the sort of thing that would be hard to notice unless you were stood right next to one. I've also heard the mounting point of the rear wings shaped differently on the SuperTEMP version, is this correct?
 
Service history
Production history
Specifications
TypeMedium-range air-to-air missile
Place of originUnited Kingdom
In service1978-2006
ManufacturerBritish Aerospace Dynamics
Unit cost£150,000 per round
Mass193 kg (425 lb)
Length3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Warhead39.5 kg (87 lb)
EngineRocketdyne solid propellant rocket motor
Wingspan1.02 m (3 ft 6 in)
Operational
range		45 km (28 mi)
Maximum speedMach 4
Guidance
system		Marconi inverse monopulse semi-active radar homing

From 1988 a further modification (6000 series) nicknamed "SuperTEMP" included the Hoopoe rocket motor to change the missile's flight profile from boost-and-glide (with a 4-second burn) to boost-sustain-glide (7-second burn), increasing its range and maneuverability.

So basically you should consider this as SkyFlash improvement model, which has an additional burner stage. No information was given about the seekerhead, early skyflash's main improvement was the inverse monopulse seekerhead which meant it was much better at rejecting ground clutter, much more resistent to ECM and didn't suffer from "glint" meaning it would often directly hit its target instead of flyby anywhere within a 20m radius as with the AIM-7 until the M variant came along and introduced its own inverse monopulse seeker. No evidence supports a seeker upgrade tho, it was to believe that the SuperTemp uses inferior motor compared to the 7F, but i have no precise information on that anyways.
 
Last edited:
IIRC that active version of Skyflash (Before it was cancelled) was called "Skyflash 90".
 
Through a friend on the War Thunder forums I've managed to obtain a copy of the now declassified Central Tactics and Trials Organisation (CTTO) Tactics Manual for the Tornado F.3. It's the first time I've ever seen any primary source information on the SuperTEMP.

I've attached a table containing the characteristics of the Skyflash SuperTEMP, as well as a couple of the firing envelopes. Key takeaways:
  • The Hoopoe motor has a 3 second boost stage and a 4 second sustain stage
  • As a rule of thumb the maximum range of the Skyflash SuperTEMP is 75% of the AIM-7F's range under identical conditions.
SuperTEMP AIM-7F.JPG
 

Attachments

  • SuperTEMP Characteristics.JPG
    SuperTEMP Characteristics.JPG
    139 KB · Views: 101
  • SuperTEMP Range Sea Level.JPG
    SuperTEMP Range Sea Level.JPG
    74.9 KB · Views: 93
  • SuperTEMP Range Snap Up.JPG
    SuperTEMP Range Snap Up.JPG
    65.4 KB · Views: 71
Flame2512 said:
Through a friend on the War Thunder forums I've managed to obtain a copy of the now declassified Central Tactics and Trials Organisation (CTTO) Tactics Manual for the Tornado F.3. It's the first time I've ever seen any primary source information on the SuperTEMP.

I've attached a table containing the characteristics of the Skyflash SuperTEMP, as well as a couple of the firing envelopes. Key takeaways:
  • The Hoopoe motor has a 3 second boost stage and a 4 second sustain stage
  • As a rule of thumb the maximum range of the Skyflash SuperTEMP is 75% of the AIM-7F's range under identical conditions.
View attachment 695734
Click to expand...

"The Skyflash essentially an AIM-7E-2 with an indigenous monopulse seeker and a new fuze, giving it performance similar to the AIM-7M's seeker against low-flying targets, but with the lower aerodynamic performance of the older missile. "​

This is what brits get in warthunder,the skyflash series are suppsed to have a better seeker than the aim7E-2s, but because of some unkown bias the skyflash series tends to flyby the target, instead of hitting it.
Frankly saying they used to be nice, then Gaijin nerfed it to BRUH levels, same is for the Redtops, they are supposed to have head-on engagement abilities against jet bombers, and this ability got nerfed too.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom