The U.S. Navy and Raytheon completed operational testing and evaluation live fires of the AIM-9X® Sidewinder Block II infrared air-to-a...
The U.S. Navy and Raytheon completed operational testing and evaluation live fires of the AIM-9X® Sidewinder Block II infrared air-to-air missile.
Testing and evaluation consisted of 16 planned shots against a mix of full-scale and sub-scale targets. The U.S. government is now finalizing approval, acceptance and delivery of Block II missiles to the U.S. services and foreign allies for later this year.
The new AIM-9X missile retains all of Block I's dogfighting capabilities and continues to deliver the "First Look, First Shot, First Kill" capability. It has new processors in the guidance section and a new fuze that includes a weapon datalink, which can enable the missile to lock-on-after-launch. Future missile software updates will be able to further expand missile capabilities as the speed and increased memory capacity of the new processors are leveraged.
Sidewinder have rapid, high off-boresight acquisition to enable the first firing opportunity in a hard-turning visual dogfight. Second, the pilot can now extend their reach through the use of aircraft sensors and weapon datalink to engage with Sidewinder missiles well before the initial merge to help ensure the survival and triumph of our warfighters.
The AIM-9X entered operational service in 2003; international deliveries began in 2005.
