Video
Keep in mind that the work on the missile is not yet completed, so I will not invest too much time on this patch, but I thought it was good to see the changes.
Let’s jump straight to numbers and charts.
First series: Static Target
This series of charts see the target not moving in the air, hot geometry, 35,000 ft, co-alt.
The first two show Impact Speed versus Time and Separation versus Time. We notice immediately how the performance is slightly lower.
When we move towards Impact Speed vs Distance for both the C Mk60 and the Mk47, we see a minor loss in performance.
Second series: “Standard” Target
Let’s now move towards a more standard scenario, where the target is moving, and closing at M.8.
The Hot geometry shows us again how there is minor loss in terms of impact speed.
The separation is instead marginally improved. If the observations of the manual loft study are here applicable, the cause may be a slightly shallower loft trajectory.
The next chart shows the apex of the envelope. Again, we see a minor loss.
The peak speed instead is fundamentally unchanged.
Different Geometry
What about a different geometry? If we include an offset, things change immediately. The following scenario sees the target about 30° off, with an approximated collision course and same speed and altitude as before.
The Speed at Impact is now improved across the examined distances. Marginally, of course, but an improvement nonetheless.
The gain in terms of Separation is present here as well, but it is less than before.
The Apex is curious, now the new Phoenix actually reaches a slightly higher altitude, overturning the previous results.
Finally, the peak speed is quite stable.
Conclusions
The charts we have seen so far allow us to draw some conclusions. In particular, the difference, at the end of the day, is quite minimal. However, there is a gain when the geometry is not optimal, which is probably the vast majority of the cases. In fact, if we analyse the detail of the trajectory versus a manoeuvring target, we see some changes: in particular, the missile does not turn as aggressively as before, favouring a smoother route which leads to a marginal increase in terms of Speed at Impact.
Unfortunately, the improvement is in the order of single digit percentage, but it is always welcomed, even at the expense of perfect geometry performance.
FlyAndWire 