How Does a Sidewinder Missile Work?

Also known as: AIM-9X "Rattlesnake" short-range air-to-air missile has initial combat capabilities, it marks that this type of missile has been listed as a combat weapon. The U.S. military claims that equipped with such missiles can give pilots an advantage in air combat, and pilots' capabilities will have a "qualitative leap." The "Rattlesnake" missile is a type of missile used by Western countries for air and naval combat. It was developed based on the Rattlesnake's ability to capture targets.

Fourth Generation Rattlesnake Missile

This entry lacks an information bar and an overview map . Supplementing related content makes the entry more complete and can be upgraded quickly. Come on!

Also known as: AIM-9X "

After years of testing, AIM-9X "

So far, more than 70 types of air-to-air missiles have been developed all over the world. The role of air-to-air missiles in modern warfare has become increasingly apparent. During the Vietnam War, the US Air Force used air-to-air missiles to shoot down 89 Vietnamese aircraft, and the air-to-air missile hit rate was nearly 10%. In the 1991 Gulf War, this proportion increased to 95%, and 36 of the 38 aircraft shot down by Iraq were shot down by air-to-air missiles. In order to win the victory of future air battles, the world's military powers have worked hard to develop new air-to-air missiles with better performance and wider use. The AIM-9X missile was designed by the United States to meet the requirements of close-range air combat in the 21st century. It is the only short-range combat air-to-air missile currently owned by the US military that can be compared with the Russian AA-11 "Archer".

As the saying goes, a good horse must also be equipped with a saddle, and the missile must cooperate with a superior aircraft to achieve its performance. In fact, the US military has found a satisfactory "Langjun" for this type of missile, namely the F / A-22 fighter.

F / A-22 is currently the most advanced stealth fighter in the world. The radar reflection cross-section of this aircraft is only 0.1 square meters, while the radar reflection cross-section of a general fighter aircraft is generally about 20 square meters. Therefore, once the aircraft engages with the opponent in the air, the opponent's fire control radar is difficult to detect. The fire control radar of the F / A-22 aircraft can automatically search for targets, can track up to 30 flying targets, and can track 16 ground targets, just like a small airborne early warning aircraft. The aircraft is also equipped with two turbofan engines, the maximum flight Mach number is 2.1, can fly 4000 kilometers at a time, like a medium-range bomber. During air combat, the F / A-22 aircraft can carry 8 air-to-air missiles at a time; for ground attack, it has a variety of weapons such as anti-radiation missiles, long-range air-to-surface missiles and laser-guided bombs.

It is estimated that the combat power of one F / A-22 stealth fighter is equivalent to three current F-15 heavy fighters. When the F / A-22 aircraft fired the Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile in 2000, the aircraft flew to an airspace of about 7000 meters at a speed of 0.7 times the speed of sound. Off the carrier, successfully destroyed the distant target, and achieved the expected results.

According to the US Air Force's plan, the first F / A-22 stealth fighter squadron will be put into use in 2005. At that time, the aircraft will replace the current Air Force F / A-15 fighter. The U.S. Air Force is expected to deploy 339 F / A-22 stealth fighters over the next 10 years. The combination of F / A-22 fighter jets and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles can be described as "Long Cai Nv Nuo", and in the future air combat will be "invincible in the world." Some military experts said that from 2005 to 2035, the aircraft equipped with the AIM-9X "Rattlesnake" missile will "dominate" the air combat world.

The "Rattlesnake" missile is a type of missile used by Western countries for air and naval combat. It was developed based on the ability of Rattlesnake to capture targets. The rattlesnake in nature has almost zero vision, but the cheek fossa organ on its nose has a thermal positioning function, can sense a temperature difference of 0.001 degrees Celsius, and the reaction time does not exceed 0.1 seconds. Even if the reptiles, small beasts, etc. are sleeping at night, the rattlesnake can quickly sense their position according to the thermal energy emitted by the body of these animals and go to prey quickly. Scientists have developed this air-to-air missile based on the peculiar functions of the rattlesnake.

In order to compete for superiority in air combat, the United States began to develop Sidewinder missiles in 1949. Today, after continuous improvement, the Sidewinder missile has become the world's most-produced air-to-air missile. At present, it has produced more than 200,000. At the same time, the missile equipment It also has the largest number of models and has been used in the Gulf War, Kosovo War, and Iraq War.