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It was very difficult to avoid a Phoenix, because the guidance system was programmed to take the missile up high, out of range of the target's radar, and then send it down at nearly Mach 4.  The F-14 typically carried four Phoenixes and two [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]] missiles.  

It was very difficult to avoid a Phoenix, because the guidance system was programmed to take the missile up high, out of range of the target's radar, and then send it down at nearly Mach 4.  The F-14 typically carried four Phoenixes and two [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]] missiles.  

    

    

Besides the US Navy, [[Iran]] is the only other operator of the Phoenix.  In 1976, the [[Grumman|Grumman Corporation]] sold Iran 80 Tomcats and 633 Phoenix missiles.  The missile performed with great renown in the Iranian Air Force.  The first combat use of the Phoenix was on September 13, 1980, when an F-14 pilot used one to shoot down to down an [[Iraq]]i [[MiG-23]] interceptor.  It shot down many aircraft in the [[Iran-Iraq War]], including eleven [[MiG-25]]s and five [[Tupolev Tu-22|Tu-22]] bombers.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml Iranian Air-to-Air Victories, 1976-81]</ref><ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml Iranian Air-to-Air Victories, 1982-Today]</ref>  In one engagement on January 9, 1981, a Phoenix was fired at a flight of MiG-23BNs on a bombing mission.  The missile hit the lead plane, and the explosion downed two other MiGs and damaged the fourth, resulting in three kills for one missile.  On January 29, 1981, an Iraqi [[Sukhoi Su-22|Su-20]] fighter-bomber was shot down by a Phoenix even though the warhead failed to explode.  The missile guided right to the plane’s fuselage, and the kinetic energy of the impact was enough to cut the aircraft in two and send it crashing to the sea.<ref>''Iranian F-14 Units in Combat'', by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop, Osprey Publishing, 2004</ref>  The exceptionally long range of the AIM-54 gave the Iranian Tomcats a huge combat advantage, in spite of their relatively small numbers.  Approximately half of the victories credited to F-14s in the war fell to Phoenixes.  The Iranian Air Force still operates the AIM-54.   

Besides the US Navy, [[Iran]] is the only other operator of the Phoenix.  In 1976, the [[Grumman|Grumman Corporation]] sold Iran 80 Tomcats and 633 Phoenix missiles.  The missile performed with great renown in the Iranian Air Force.  The first combat use of the Phoenix was on September 13, 1980, when an F-14 pilot used one to shoot down to down an [[Iraq]]i [[MiG-23]] interceptor.  It shot down many aircraft in the [[Iran-Iraq War]], including eleven [[MiG-25]]s and five [[Tupolev Tu-22|Tu-22]] bombers.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml Iranian Air-to-Air Victories, 1976-81]</ref><ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml Iranian Air-to-Air Victories, 1982-Today]</ref>  In one engagement on January 9, 1981, a Phoenix was fired at a flight of MiG-23BNs on a bombing mission.  The missile hit the lead plane, and the explosion downed two other MiGs and damaged the fourth, resulting in three kills for one missile.  On January 29, 1981, an Iraqi [[Sukhoi Su-22|Su-20]] fighter-bomber was shot down by a Phoenix even though the warhead failed to explode.  The missile guided right to the plane's fuselage, and the kinetic energy of the impact was enough to cut the aircraft in two and send it crashing to the sea.<ref>''Iranian F-14 Units in Combat'', by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop, Osprey Publishing, 2004</ref>  The exceptionally long range of the AIM-54 gave the Iranian Tomcats a huge combat advantage, in spite of their relatively small numbers.  Approximately half of the victories credited to F-14s in the war fell to Phoenixes.  The Iranian Air Force still operates the AIM-54.