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Originally Posted by Krauter
Even still wouldn't their IR targetting systems be ineffective because
a) IR missiles have a lot shorter range then radar guided ones
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You thinking like an American! The Russians made long range IR guided missiles. The R-40TD (AA-6 'Acrid') for one, the R-27 (AA-10 'Alamo') also had IR variants.
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b) The IR trackers were shorter ranged then a regular radar? More for up close and personnal fights (so to speak).
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Against a fighter yes, the SR-71 was huge and left a large heat wake behind it. GCI Radars could give the location but onboard Radars have to deal with jamming and the aircraft's stealthyness (smaller aircraft radars are easier to spoof). IR systems basically gives the pilot an additional sensor that can't be jammed. Also remember how high the SR-71 flew, heat transmitted near the edge of space goes a lot farther than at ground level.