Raytheon 's AIM-9X®Sidewinder air-to-air missile program has marked a milestone of delivering 5,000 missiles to the U.S. government ...
Raytheon's AIM-9X®Sidewinder air-to-air missile program has marked a milestone of delivering 5,000 missiles to the U.S. government and nine international partners.
The AIM-9X Sidewinder is an infrared-guided, air-to-air missile employing a focal plane array sensor for unparalleled target acquisition and tracking, augmented by jet vane control technology for extreme maneuverability against a variety of high performance threats.
AIM-9X is the fifth generation Sidewinder currently in production and provides full day/night employment, resistance to countermeasures, extremely high off-boresight acquisition and launch envelopes, greatly enhanced maneuverability and improved target acquisition ranges.
The Sidewinder is the most widely used air-to-air missile currently in use by more than 40 nations throughout the world. The AIM-9 is one of the oldest, least expensive and most successful missiles in the U.S. weapons inventory.
The missile also has proven capability in air-to-surface and demonstrated capability in surface-to-air missions.
The AIM-9X Block II adds a redesigned fuze and a digital Ignition Safety Device that enhances ground handling and in-flight safety. The Block II variant also features updated electronics that enable significant enhancements, including lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) capability using a new weapon datalink to support Beyond Visual Range (BVR) engagements.
"The AIM-9X thrust vectoring, high off-bore-sight seeker gimbals limits, and imaging focalplanar array make it the world's premier dogfighting missile," said Capt. John Martins, U.S. Navy air-to-air missile program manager."The AIM-9X Block II's datalink, improved guidance algorithms and LOAL attributes create BVR capabilities against the most advanced threats that are designed to be survivable against radar-guided missile systems."
Block II is currently on track to complete Operational Testing and is expected to be cleared for employment in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in early 2014. Block II missile deliveries to international partners are scheduled to begin in 2014. Two current AIM-9X international partners will be the initial recipients.
The AIM-9X reached initial operational capability in late 2003 and was approved for full-rate production in May 2004, with international deliveries began in 2005.
AIM-9X reliability has reached three times the required mean time between failures.
