IP-14: AIM-9 Sidewinder Missile Introduction

INTERCEPT PROCEDURES TEXTBOOK

MISSILES

IP-14: AIM-9 SIDEWINDER MISSILE INTRODUCTION

AIM-9 Introduction

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range, all-aspect, heat-seeking missile. The Sidewinder has

proven itself to be the weapon of choice because of its simplicity, reliability, and high probability

of kill. Throughout its history, the Sidewinder has seen vast improvements in its basic design.

However, it remains limited to the in-close, visual combat arena.

History

The AIM-9 missile project was initiated in the early 1950s and the production models entered

operational service in 1956. The first guided missile kill occurred in September 1958 when

employed by the Chinese Nationalists (Taiwan) against the Communist Chinese during the

Formosa Straits conflict. It was also during this conflict that an unexploded AIM-9 was

recovered by the Communists, and eventually turned over to the Soviets, who exploited the

technology to develop the AA-2 Atoll.

The early Sidewinders suffered from poor seeker head discrimination (i.e. could not

distinguish one heat source from another) and a very limited firing envelope. During the

Vietnam War, the Sidewinder received improved seeker head capabilities with Sidewinder

Expanded Acquisition Mode (SEAM), which enabled the missile to have a wider field of view

for acquiring targets.

During the 1970s, the Sidewinder received a new seeker head, fuse, and warhead

combination that gave it all-aspect capability. Since then, additional improvements have included

better turn performance, flare rejection capabilities, and smokeless motors.

Design

The AIM-9 is a small, lightweight, low-cost missile. Although it still carries a price tag of

$100,000, this is relatively economical when compared to its radar-guided big brothers. The

Sidewinder has four major sections: guidance, fuse, warhead, and rocket motor.