| Brazo | |
|---|---|
 Brazo/PAVE ARM missile | |
| Type | Anti-radiation missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United States Air Force;United States Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1972-1973 |
| Manufacturer | Hughes Aircraft |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 12.0 feet (3.66 m) |
| Diameter | 8 inches (200 mm) |
| Wingspan | 3.3 feet (1.02 m) |
| Warhead | Continuous rod |
| Warhead weight | 65 pounds (29 kg) |
| Engine | Rocketdyne Mk 38 |
| Propellant | Solid fuel |
Operational range | 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 4 |
Guidance system | Passive radar homing |
Launch platform | F-4D Phantom II |
TheBrazo (/ˈbrɑːsoʊ/) missile was an American project of the 1970s, intended to produce ananti-radiation missile for air-to-air use. Developed byHughes Aircraft and based on theAIM-7 Sparrowair-to-air missile, the Brazo underwent a series of successful test firings; however, the program was terminated at the end of its test program.
A joint development project between Hughes Aircraft and theUnited States Navy,[1] the Brazo missile (named as a pun by one of the project's Navy developers, aHispanic; "Brazo" is Spanish for "Arm", the acronym for an Anti-Radiation Missile[2]) project was initiated in 1972, as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the utility of an air-to-air, anti-radar missile.[1] In 1973, theUnited States Air Force's Pave Arm project, a program with similar goals, was merged into the Brazo program, with the Air Force assuming responsibility for testing the missile.[3]
The first air-to-air anti-radiation missile developed by the United States,[4] the Brazo utilised the airframe of the existingAIM-7E Sparrow air-to-air missile, fitted with a new, Hughes-builtpassive radar seeker head developed by theNaval Electronics Center.[5] The seeker was intended to detect and home on enemy radar emissions, such as those on interceptor andAWACS aircraft.[6]
The first test firing of the Brazo missile was conducted in April 1974, with the missile, launched from a USAFF-4D Phantom II,[7] successfully shooting down aBQM-34 Firebee drone; four follow-up tests over the following year continued the missile's successful record, with none of the test shots failing[1] despite difficult test conditions.[3] However, despite the Brazo's success, the follow-on ERASE (Electro-magnetic RAdiation Source Elimination) project was cancelled,[8] and no air-to-air antiradiation missiles would enter service in the West.[9]