It is used by a variety of Western fixed-wing combat aircraft and helicopters, and has been adopted for surface-to-air use as the Chaparral missile.
Manufactured by Loral Aeronutronics (formerly Ford Aerospace and Communications), Newport Beach, Calif and Raytheon Company, Lowell, Mass in the USA; Bodenseewerk Geratetechnik GmbH (BGT) in West Germany (a West German-British-Italian-Norwegian consortium); Mitsubishi Industries in Japan also build current models.
USA
|
Iran | Portugal |
| Israel | Saudi Arabia | |
| Italy | Singapore | |
| Japan | South Africa | |
| Australia | Jordan | Spain |
| Bahrain | Kenya | Sweden |
| Belgium | South Korea | Switzerland |
| Canada | Kuwait | Taiwan |
| Chile | Malaysia | Thailand |
| Denmark | Morocco | Turkey |
| Egypt | Norway | United Arab Emirates |
| France | Oman | Venezuela |
| Germany | Pakistan | Yemeni Rep |
| Great Britain | Philippines | - |
|---|---|---|
| Greece | - | - |
| Missile weight | AIM-9H | 186 lb (84.4 kg) |
|---|---|---|
| AIM-9L/M | 191 lb (86.5 kg) | |
| Warhead | AIM-9B/E/J/N/P | 10 lb ( 4.5 kg) |
| AIM-9D/G/H | 22.4 lb (10.2 kg) | |
| AIM-9L/M | 20.8 lb ( 9.4 kg) | |
| Dimensions | Configuration | simple thin cylinder, 4 cruciform "cropped delta" wings with stabilizing "rollerons" on the trailing edges, steerable cruciform foreplanes (see VARIANTS for seeker head differences) |
| Length (AIM-9L/M) | 9 ft 6 in (2.85 m) | |
| Diameter | 5 in (127 mm) | |
| Wing span | 2 ft 1 in (635 mm) | |
| Propulsion | Solid-fuel rocket by Aerojet, Hercules, Rockwell, or Thiokol Mk 17 on B/E/J/N/P Mk 36 with flexadyne propellant on H/L/M | |
| Performance | speed - Mach 2+ maximum range 10 nm (11.5 mi; 18.5 km) | |
| Warhead | AIM-9L/M - annular blast fragmentation wrapped in a sheath of preformed rods also see VARIANTS | |
| Sensors/Fire Control | Except for AIM-9C, all versions have used infrared homing AIM-9L/M is the first with all-aspect seeker analog roll-control autopilot
see VARIANTS | |
AIM-9D had nitrogen-cooled PbS seeker with 40-deg FOV, magnesium fluoride dome, and 125 Hz reticle scan and 12-deg tracking speed. Larger continuous rod warhead detonated by IR or HF (high-frequency) fuze. Weight 195 lb (88.5 kg). Variant was a big improvement and used as basis for later developments including the MIM-72 Chaparral land-based and Sea Chaparral shipboard surface-to-air missiles.
The 9M has lower-smoke motor, the 9L seeker with better background discrimination, and better IR Counter Countermeasures (IRCCM).
3-gimbal stabilized optical platform bearing a new Imaging IR (IRR) seeker with focal plane array which can lock on at greater ranges than previous versions, digital image processing and autotrack, software upgrade through Electronically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM).
Increased packaging density for circuit-card assemblies using surface mount technology. Phased out the refrigeration (missile support) system. Cold gas servos increased maneuverability.
$50 million development effort began in 1987. The first 65 pre-production IIR seekers were delivered to the US Navy in May 1990. 5 of the first 6 flight tests were successful. Limited production for the US Navy had been planned for FY1992 with full-scale production of approximately 5,000 missiles beginning in FY1993.
In September 1991, the US Air Force dropped out of the AIM-9R program, arguing that the $103,000 unit cost was too high.
(Unit cost estimates ranged from $70,000--by the Navy--to a high of $180,000.) The Air Force withdrawal put the full cost and risk on Navy budgets, leading to a decision in December to drop the missile from its 5-year program.
Introduces tail control with small independently activated tail fins shaped like those on the MIM-104 Patriot, eliminates wings and rollerons, relies on body for lift. Missile has greater acceleration, 50-g maneuvering capability, fits into 1/4 of weapons bay space required for conventional AIM-9. Guidance system has Electronically Erasable Programmable Read- Only Memory (EEPROM), digital roll-control autopilot.
Max weight is 185 lb (83.9 kg) and warhead 25 lb (11.3 kg). Length is 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m), tail span 11 in (279 mm). "Box size" (i.e., the square dimensions of its container) is 7.9 in (200 mm) compared to the 20 in (508 mm) of the standard Sidewinder.
During the 1982 air engagements over Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, 51 out of the 55 Syrian-flown MiGs shot down were hit by Sidewinders.
In the 1982 conflict in the Falkland Islands, between Great Britain and Argentina, British Sea Harrier Vertical Short-Take- off and Landing (VSTOL) aircraft used AIM-9L Sidewinders for 16 confirmed kills and 1 probable against Argentine aircraft (of a total 20 air-to-air kills; another 45 Argentine aircraft were shot down by surface-to-air missiles in that conflict).
Compared to its dominant role in the 1982 Falkland Islands campaign as well as the Israeli operation in Lebanon, the Sidewinder was used relatively little during Operation Desert Storm's air assault against Iraqi targets.
The lower use resulted from the nature of most engagements (a stern chase with little "jinking" by the targets) and improvements in the longer-range AIM-7 Sparrow AAM that eliminated the need for a follow-up attack at closer range.
However, Sidewinders fired by US Air Force F-15C Eagle jets downed 6 Iraqi combat aircraft. 2 more Su-22 Fitters were shot down by AIM-9s 3 weeks after the ceasefire. A Saudi F-15 pilot downed 2 French-built Iraqi Mirage F1s with Sidewinders in a single attack. 2 F/A-18 Hornets and an F-14 Tomcat scored with AIM-9s, the Hornets shooting down MiG-21 Fishbeds and the Tomcat downing a helicopter.