AIM-9 Sidewinder
Photo from USAF Museum Homepage
In the late 1940's the US was experimenting with air to air missiles. The designs concentrated on radar guided missiles which eventually developed into the AIM-7 Sparrow missile. It was a man named Dr. William McLean working on his own time from his garage at China Lake, California who developed the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. The Sidewinder is heat seeking and does not require the launching aircraft to do anything but pull the trigger. This capability is known as fire and forget. On the other side of the coin the AIM-7 requires the launching aircraft to "paint" the target with radar. Thus it is cannot jink and evade enemy fire until the missile has detonated. The very radar which launched the early Sparrows was do bulky that only large, unmanueverable fighters could carry it. On the contrary the 200 pound sidewinder could be fixed to almost anything. In fact, in 1958 the Sidewinders equipping Republic of China F-86's were responsible for downing a few Peoples Republic MiG-17's. The Sidewinder was so good that it was copied exactly by the Soviet and named the AA-2 "Atoll". Since Vietnam Sidewinders have steadily improved. Now the AIM-9X is under development. It will carry the AIM-9 into its sixth decade of service with air forces around the world.
Specifications
(General Characteristics)
Origin: Dr. William B. McLean, US Naval Weapons Center, China Lake
Type: Short Range AAM
Guidance: Infrared Homing System
Powerplant: Hercules and Bermite Mk 36 Mod 71, 8 solid propellant rocket motor
Dimensions
Finspan: 0.63 m (2' 3/4")
Diameter: 0.13 m (5")
Length: 2.87 m (9' 5")
Weight: 85.5 kg (190 lbs)
Performance
Speed: I would wager faster than your car (I don't know but supersonic)
Range: B: 4.75 km (2.6 nm) D: 20.11 km J: 16.46 km
Warhead
Annular Blast Fragmentation
First Launch: September, 1953
Introduction: B:1956 J:1977 L:1976 P:1978 M:1983 X:Under Development
User(s): USA, Britain, Canada, and many other countries
Production: A great many
Inventory: Classified
Unit Cost: About 84 000 $US
Deployment: Tornado, A-7, A-10, F-4, F-5, F-14, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-22, F-86, F-100, F-101, F-104, F-105, AV-8, Harrier
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