Operational History
The AMRAAM was used for the first time on 27 December 1992, when an USAF F-16C shot down an Iraqi MiG-25 that violated the southern no-fly-zone.AMRAAM gained a second victory in January 1993, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down by a USAF F-16C.The third combat use of the AMRAAM was in 1994, when a Serbian J-22 Orao aircraft was shot down by a USAF F-16C that was patrolling the UN imposed no-fly-zone over Bosnia. In that engagement at least 3 other Serbian aircraft were shot down by USAF F-16C using AIM-9 missiles. At that point three launches in combat resulted in three kills, so in the second half of the 1990s AMRAAM was informally named "Slammer".In 1998 and 1999 AMRAAMs were again fired by USAF F-15s at Iraqi aircraft violating the No-Fly-Zone, but this time they failed to hit their targets, probably because they were fired at their limit effective range so that Iraqi pilots were able to outmaneuver them.During the spring of 1999, AMRAAMs saw their main combat action during Allied Force, Kosovo campaign. Six Serbian MiG-29 were shot down by NATO (4 USAF F-15C, 1 USAF F-16C, 1 Dutch F-16A MLU) all of them using AIM-120 missiles (even if the kill by the F-16C may have happened due to friendly fire by a SA-7 MANPADS fired by Serbian Infantry).In this campaign, NATO fighters fired more AIM-120 to their targets to achieve these 6 kills.
As of mid 2008, the AIM-120 AMRAAM has shot down nine enemy aircraft (six MiG-29, one MiG-25, one MiG-23, and one Soko J-21 Jastreb or J-22 Orao.
The AMRAAM was also involved in a friendly-fire incident when F-15 fighters patrolling the Southern No-Fly Zone inadvertently shot down a pair of U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters.
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