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Country: USA
Type: AAM
Introduction: 1956 |
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The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile (AAM) carried by fighter aircraft and some helicopters. The Sidewinder was the first effective air-to-air missile. New variants and upgrades have kept the AIM-9 Sidewinder in active service with many air forces, five decades after its introduction.
The development of the Sidewinder missile began in 1946 at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, Inyokern, California, now the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. A prototype Sidewinder, the XAAM-N-7 (later AIM-9A), was first fired successfully in September 1953. The initial production version, designated AAM-N-7 (later AIM-9B), entered operational use in 1956, and has been improved upon steadily since.
About 110,000 Sidewinders have been built, of which perhaps one percent have been used in combat, resulting in some 250-300 kills world-wide to date.
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| General Information |
| Developed by |
USA |
| Deployed by |
(all versions)Argentian, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippins, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen |
| Development Year |
1949 |
| Deployment Year |
1956(9B) |
| Platform |
many western fighters and attack aircrafts |
| Launcher |
LAU-7/A Sidewinder launcher |
| Number manufactured |
150,770(48,850 all version, through 1999, including 48,850 export) |
| Contractor |
Raytheon Co., Raytheon Systems, Lockheed Martin Corp., Loral Space Div. |
| Dimensions and Performance |
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Length |
2.85m(,AIM-9L), 2.85m(AIM-9M), 3.07m(AIM-9P), 2.85m(AIM-9R) |
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Body Diameter |
12.7cm |
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Wing/Fin span |
63cm, 63cm, 56cm, 63cm |
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Launch Weight |
85.3kg, 86.0kg, 78.0kg, 87.0kg |
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Range |
17.7km, 17.7km, 17.7km, 19.3km |
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Speed |
Mach 2.5+ |
| Components |
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Propulsion |
solid propellant |
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Engine |
Atlantic Research, Thiokol and Hercules Mk16, Mk36 Mod11 or Bermite/Rocketdyness TX-683 (AIM-9L/M) |
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Warhead |
9.4kg annular blast, preformed-rod sheth, HE fragmentation warhead |
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Guidance |
passive infrared homing (except for AIM-9C/9R) |
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