# Rocket/Torpedo propulsion limits **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-torpedo-propulsion-limits/784337 "2017-04-12T17:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-torpedo-propulsion-limits/784337/22 "2017-06-27T21:43:09Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > BUMPED. > > Interesting reading on the Syrian-USN engagement. Now a 40 year ol fighter bomber like the Su-22 really has no chance against a Super Hornet,but [according to sources](http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-americas-mighty-military-dont-always-dominate-the-21315) an AIM9X (i.e the latest Sidewinder) was fired first and the jet evaded. It was then taken out by an AMRAAM shot at close range. > > According to the above source > If the latest AAM can be decoyed by a 40-year-old flare dispenser; is that not A Very Serious Problem? Or was a testament to the Syrian pilot’s skill? Libya 81, the tomcat fired a 9L, which also missed and the tom had to go to guns for the kill, so I would imagine that an aware pilot would be able to make a violent maneuver to make the missile break lock and detonate. So the Syrian pilot at least had that going for him, and if it was any other airforce, other than Israeli, he would have been raising a few cold ones back at base. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-torpedo-propulsion-limits/784337/23 "2017-06-27T21:46:39Z")
LSL Since this is sort of a zombie thread, thought I would partially hijack it. The Navy , as part of Top gun has that iconic phrase the hard deck, artificial altitude that you don’t go lower in a mock engagement. Does or did the airforce have its own phrase for that. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-torpedo-propulsion-limits/784337/24 "2017-06-27T22:26:05Z")
[quote=“Bear\_Nenno, post:14, topic:784337”] Here’s mine. [/QUOTE] How about at the end of this documentary? > **[YouTube Firefox missiles - Yahoo Video Search Results](https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrBT6MW21JZE3wA.lVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyampwdTE1BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjM2OThfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=YouTube%2BFirefox%2Bmissiles&fr=yfp-t#id=1&vid=53a0473c29213c8921ccf6d09f63db26&action=view)** > > The search engine that helps you find exactly what you're looking for. Find the most relevant information, video, images, and answers from all across the Web. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-torpedo-propulsion-limits/784337/25 "2017-06-28T04:15:16Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > LSL > > Since this is sort of a zombie thread, thought I would partially hijack it. The Navy , as part of Top gun has that iconic phrase the hard deck, artificial altitude that you don’t go lower in a mock engagement. Does or did the airforce have its own phrase for that. Yup. Officially the “engagement floor”. Commonly called the “hard deck”. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-torpedo-propulsion-limits/784337/26 "2017-06-30T05:48:34Z")
Air-to-air missiles use up all their fuel in the first few seconds of flight, and maneuver with the existing kinetic energy from there. So “[going ballistic](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/go_ballistic),” despite the common idiomatic meaning (cf “literally” meaning “figuratively”) is a _good_ thing – in the proper sense, it means the missile’s run out of kinetic energy to chase you, and is just falling. You throw a baseball or shoot a gun, that’s a ballistic trajectory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-torpedo-propulsion-limits/784337.md?page=1)