Why a jet fighter can never out run a missile?

Question

can a jet engine ever goes faster than an air-to-air missile?

is it because the pilot can not handle the G's?

Answer 1

Most of all, it's the pilot who'll have the hard time handling the gees.

Answer 2

Actually, a missile can be defeated fairly easily if the pilot knows where it is coming from. It comes down to angles. While a fighter can't pull as hard as a missile in a curve, a missile typically is travelling much faster, making a wider turn.

If a pilot can fly at the correct angles to a missile, he can cause it to overshoot. Also, various missiles have different guidance systems with different weaknesses. Exploiting these weaknesses can help as well. For instance, a small heat seaking missile may be very agile but, at extreme angles, the sensor head in the missile's nose may not be able to continue to track. Many radar guided missiles have guidance systems that can be exploited as well. Also, under some circumstances, it is actually possible to outrun a missile. If you are flying very fast, turning away from a missile coming in from long range may allow you to buy enough time for the missile to run out if speed and drop away. Missiles use their rocket motors for a short time and then coast the rest of the way to the target. If you move away quickly enough, the missile will run out of momentum before it closes the gap. If you're fast, climbing can help for the same reason. This might not be a good idea, though. It's pretty risky and other techniques like the ones I've mentioned above may give you a better chance to evade and stay engaged.

Answer 3

if u watch the film 'behind enemy lines', it starts with 2 heat-seeking missiles tracking an F-18 Hornet. the jet cant outrun the missile because of extorinate Gs that the pilot would pull and perhaps the weight-to-power ratio for the missile is far superior.

Answer 4

the forces on the airplane are much greater than on the little missile so it's harder to turn quickly especially when you're blacked out or red out

Answer 5

It could be done. If the missile was started from the furthest position possible and the aircraft was to have dived and be going full speed and the missile was low range in favour of agility (pointless in thes senario) then the missle would simply run out of gas.  

But anyway this question is answered by 3 words....upper atmosphere scramjet.

nuff said. but hang on though..... what if its like an ICBM or something? are they faster than like mach 9?

Answer 6

A missile uses solid propellant, versus all jets still using a liquid gas/air mixture. The solid propellant has WAY more kick to it! Solid is what the space shuttle uses in its booster engines. Also, I imagine that the missile has a far higher power-to-weight ratio than a jet. Don't quote me, just a hunch.