Brazo

A joint development project between Hughes Aircraft and the United States Navy,) project was initiated in 1972, as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the utility of an air-to-air, anti-radar missile. In 1973, the United 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. The first air-to-air anti-radiation missile developed by the United States, the Brazo utilised the airframe of the existing AIM-7E Sparrow air-to-air missile, fitted with a new, Hughes-built passive radar seeker head developed by the Naval Electronics Center. The seeker was intended to detect and home on enemy radar emissions, such as those on interceptor and AWACS aircraft. ==Operational history==

The first test firing of the Brazo missile was conducted in April 1974, with the missile, launched from a USAF F-4D Phantom II, successfully shooting down a BQM-34 Firebee drone; four follow-up tests over the following year continued the missile's successful record, with none of the test shots failing and no air-to-air antiradiation missiles would enter service in the West. ==See also==