AIM-9 Sidewinder - e-HAF

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Operation Guide Contents: The Weapon Characteristics History Specifications Shootdowns by AIM- 9 Similar types comparison Integration into the F-16 A-A Master Mode, AIM-9 HUD Symbology Modes F-16 AIM-9 Loadout Engagement in CRM mode Engagement in ACM mode Engagement w ithout radar lock Resources & Links AIM-9 Sidewinder 2 www.vojenskeletectvi.cz
Operation Guide 1. The Weapon Characteristics The AIM-9 (Air I ntercept Missile - 9) Sidewinder is an air-to-air short range supersonic heat-seeking missile developed by the U.S. Navy and being in service since the 1950 s in a variety of versions. History The development program of AIM-9 was initiated by the U.S. Naval Weapons Centre in the early 50 s in order to provide the U.S. naval interceptor aircraft with a heat-seeking missile. Its name, the Sidewinder, was chosen after a desert rattlesnake because of its ability to detect other animals by sensing their heat emissions. One of the earliest versions was the AIM-9B, that, having no serious competitor in its time, was adopted by the U.S. Air Force and became a standard weapon of NATO. However, this version had a lot of limitations, such as the range limit of 2.6 NM, speed of M 1.7 and an uncooled seeker, that was very often locking on to the sun or clouds. Therefore the probability of kill was only a couple of tens of percent. Despite this from today s point of view poor quailty, more than 80,000 - 9B missiles were built. Knowing of these limitations, the U.S. Navy proceeded in Sidewinder s developement. This effort led to the development of so-called Navy Sidewinders designated as AIM-9D, G and H. The speed was increased to M 2.5+, which together with the mission time of 60 seconds, gave the effective range of more than 14 NM. More than 10,000 D/ G/H missiles were built during the time. The H model showed as the most succesfull of the early versions, having the best kill ratio among all air-to-air missiles used in the Vietnam war. If we take a look on the USAF s use of the winder that time, we see that the AIM-9B, which was originaly designed for bomber-interception missions, showed as not very convenient for close-range engagments of North Vietnamese agile MiG-17s. During 1965-1968 there were 175 missiles fired by F-4C/D fighters, from which only 28 destroyed their target. The U.S. Air Force not being much impressed by the AIM-9B s performance in Vietnam decided to develop a new version that would be better suited for fighter-type targets engagement. This resulted into the creation of the E version and its follow-on types the J and N models. In comparison with the Navy D model, the E version had a better track rate of 16.5 deg/s (the -9N s one is 12.0 deg/s) and had a blast/fragmentation warhead. The above listed models (B,D,G,H,E,J,N) are all rear-aspect. The poor performance of these in low altitudes and the need for a missile that could be used against a maneuvering target from all aspect angles indicated the developement of a new version with a new fuse and better optical and cooling systems. This brand-new all-aspect L version was based on the very succesfull Navy -9H model, differing from it by having an active laser fuse and being fitted with an Argon cooled Indium Antimonide detector element. Thid type can be easily distinguished by double delta canards with a pointed tip. The AIM-9L played a key role in the Falkland war, where it achieved a kill probability of more than 80% per launch. This model still remains a very efficient air-to-air close- AIM-9 Sidewinder 3 www.vojenskeletectvi.cz
Page 1: Operation Guide Operation Guide AIM
Page 5 and 6: Operation Guide AIM-9P Photo: FAS (
Page 7 and 8: Operation Guide F-16A 16 Mirage III
Page 9 and 10: Operation Guide F-16 AIM- 9 Loadout
Page 11 and 12: Operation Guide Check AIM-9 RDY If
Page 13 and 14: Operation Guide Check AIM-9 RDY If
Page 15 and 16: Operation Guide Place diamond over
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