Difference between revisions of "AIM-9H Sidewinder"

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The most similar thing to the AIM-9H is the AIM-9G, borrowing the same degrees of boresight and rocket motor, but the AIM-9H features a better track rate. Compared to the USAF Juliet model, it has a longer guidance time and motor burn time, but has a slightly lower G limit, making the Hotel inferior in dogfight scenarios but slightly more suited to ranged launches. It can be radar slaved, like the Juliet.
 
The most similar thing to the AIM-9H is the AIM-9G, borrowing the same degrees of boresight and rocket motor, but the AIM-9H features a better track rate. Compared to the USAF Juliet model, it has a longer guidance time and motor burn time, but has a slightly lower G limit, making the Hotel inferior in dogfight scenarios but slightly more suited to ranged launches. It can be radar slaved, like the Juliet.
  
−
{| class="wikitable"
+
{{AIM-9 Comparison Table}}
−
! Missile Characteristics !! AIM-9H !! AIM-9G !! AIM-9J
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Mass''' || 88 kg || 88 kg || 76 kg
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Guidance''' || IR || IR || IR
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Aspect''' || Rear || Rear || Rear
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Seeker Head''' || Uncaged || Uncaged || Uncaged (radar slavable)
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Lock range (rear-aspect)''' || 5.5 km || 5.5 km || 5.5 km
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Launch range''' || 18 km || 18 km || 18 km
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Maximum speed''' || 2.5 M || 2.5 M || 2.5 M
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Maximum overload''' || 18 G || 18 G || 20 G
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Missile guidance time''' || 60 s || 60 s || 40 s
 
−
|-
 
−
| '''Explosive Mass''' || 3.53 kg TNTeq || 3.53 kg TNTeq || 7.62 kg TNTeq
 
−
|-
 
−
|}
 
  
 
== Usage in battles ==
 
== Usage in battles ==
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Most players will be expecting an AIM-7 from your aircraft, so an AIM-9 would sufficiently confuse the enemy and net you a good hit.  
 
Most players will be expecting an AIM-7 from your aircraft, so an AIM-9 would sufficiently confuse the enemy and net you a good hit.  
  
−
Using the AIM-9H is situational however, as a misjudged shot could either result in a miss, or worse, a friendly fire incident. Good judgement and timing will net you many rewards, but the IR seeker is unlikely to differentiate between friend or foe when it matters most.  
+
Using the AIM-9H is situational however, as a misjudged shot could either result in a miss, or worse, a friendly fire incident. Good judgement and timing will net you many rewards, but the IR seeker will not differentiate between friend or foe when it matters most.  
  
 
=== Pros and cons ===
 
=== Pros and cons ===
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* No G limit when launching the missile so you can launch the missile when turning at an high angle of attack
 
* No G limit when launching the missile so you can launch the missile when turning at an high angle of attack
 
* Front-aspect locks are occasionally possible
 
* Front-aspect locks are occasionally possible
 +
* Occasionally rejects flares ~0.90 km and below (0.55 miles)
  
 
'''Cons:'''
 
'''Cons:'''
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In December 1965, McLean and LaBerge (who is at the time employed by Philco-Ford) got together to consider options of improving the missile's reliability. One proposal was to convert all remaining missile electronic components to solid-state gradually. While the US Air Force was open to this gradual replacement of electronics into solid-state, the proposal to the US Navy by engineer Walt Freitag was instead a complete the transition to solid-state all at once.<ref name="Westrum_ChinaLakeAIM9_2ndGen" /> The tracking rate was improved from 12 degrees/second into 20 degrees/second to complement the missile's more powerful actuators. The new missile, designated the '''AIM-9H''', was introduced into the US navy service in 1972 at the tail end of the Vietnam War, though sources are mixed on whether they were used in combat before the US withdrawal in 1973. A total of 7,700 AIM-9H units would be produced between 1972-1974 by Philco-Ford and Raytheon.<ref name="Designation_Sidewinder">Parsch 2008</ref>
 
In December 1965, McLean and LaBerge (who is at the time employed by Philco-Ford) got together to consider options of improving the missile's reliability. One proposal was to convert all remaining missile electronic components to solid-state gradually. While the US Air Force was open to this gradual replacement of electronics into solid-state, the proposal to the US Navy by engineer Walt Freitag was instead a complete the transition to solid-state all at once.<ref name="Westrum_ChinaLakeAIM9_2ndGen" /> The tracking rate was improved from 12 degrees/second into 20 degrees/second to complement the missile's more powerful actuators. The new missile, designated the '''AIM-9H''', was introduced into the US navy service in 1972 at the tail end of the Vietnam War, though sources are mixed on whether they were used in combat before the US withdrawal in 1973. A total of 7,700 AIM-9H units would be produced between 1972-1974 by Philco-Ford and Raytheon.<ref name="Designation_Sidewinder">Parsch 2008</ref>
  
−
Projects after the Vietnam War to continue improving the AIM-9s led to using the AIM-9H as the basis of the improvements. China Lake started the program as the ''AIM-9H Product Improvement Package (PIP)''. The United States Air Force, also seeking a missile improvement from their [[AIM-9E Sidewinder|AIM-9E]] and [[AIM-9J Sidewinder|AIM-9J]] models of the Sidewinder, became involved with the US Navy's AIM-9H PIP under direction the Pentagon. The variety of improvements inputted by both service branches led to the missile that would be designated as the [[AIM-9L Sidewinder|AIM-9L]].<ref name="Westrum_ChinaLakeAIM9L">Westrum 2013, p.191</ref>
+
Projects after the Vietnam War to continue improving the AIM-9s led to using the AIM-9H as the basis of the improvements. China Lake started the program as the ''AIM-9H Product Improvement Package (PIP)''. The United States Air Force, also seeking a missile improvement from their [[AIM-9E Sidewinder|AIM-9E]] and [[AIM-9J Sidewinder|AIM-9J]] models of the Sidewinder, became involved with the US Navy's AIM-9H PIP under direction the Pentagon. The variety of improvements input by both service branches led to the missile that would be designated as the [[AIM-9L Sidewinder|AIM-9L]].<ref name="Westrum_ChinaLakeAIM9L">Westrum 2013, p.191</ref>
  
 
== Media ==
 
== Media ==

Latest revision as of 13:05, 25 November 2024

This page is about the American air-to-air missile AIM-9H Sidewinder. For other versions, see AIM-9 Sidewinder (Family).

Description

The AIM-9H Sidewinder missile (scale is approximate)


The AIM-9H Sidewinder is an American infrared homing air-to-air missile, it was introduced in Update "Danger Zone".

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

The AIM-9H is a further development of the AIM-9G, retaining all of the AIM-9Gs characteristics with a better tracking rate.

Missile characteristics
Mass 88 kg
Guidance IR
Aspect Rear-aspect
Lock range 5.50 km
Launch range 18 km
Maximum speed 2.5 M
Maximum overload 18 G
Missile guidance time 60 secs
Explosive mass 3.53 kg TNTeq

Effective damage

The AIM-9H, like all of its competitors, uses a high-explosive warhead to shower the target in shrapnel.

Similarly to nearly every missile in the game, a direct hit from the missile will most likely destroy the target aircraft either through the explosion itself or the resulting damage and/or fire.

Comparison with analogues

The most similar thing to the AIM-9H is the AIM-9G, borrowing the same degrees of boresight and rocket motor, but the AIM-9H features a better track rate. Compared to the USAF Juliet model, it has a longer guidance time and motor burn time, but has a slightly lower G limit, making the Hotel inferior in dogfight scenarios but slightly more suited to ranged launches. It can be radar slaved, like the Juliet.

  • AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder - A European-licensed version of the AIM-9B with their own improvements; however the performance in-game are quite similar.
  • R-3S/PL-2 - Infamous as a reverse-engineered variant of the AIM-9B, the R-3 missile shares many of its in-game performances with the AIM-9B, only falling slightly short in locking and launching range.
  • Shafrir - Shares in-game performance values despite their design differences
  • Rb24 - Licensed-produced version of the AIM-9B for the Swedish, and as such shares in-game performance values.
Missile Guidance Lock range
(rear-aspect)(km) 		Launch range
(km) 		Maximum speed
(Mach) 		Maximum overload
(g) 		Mass
(kg) 		TNT Equivalent
(kg)
Type Aspect Time Uncaged seeker Radar slaving
USA flag.png AIM-9B Sidewinder IR Rear 20 Icon RedXCross.png Icon RedXCross.png 4 10 1.7 10 72 7.62
USA flag.png AIM-9C Sidewinder SARH Front 60 Icon RedXCross.png Icon GreenCheckmark.png 9 18 2.5 18 95 4.69
USA flag.png AIM-9D Sidewinder[note 1] IR Rear 20 Icon RedXCross.png Icon RedXCross.png 5.5 18 2.5 18 88 4.69
USA flag.png AIM-9E Sidewinder[note 2] IR Rear 20 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon RedXCross.png 5.5 18 2.8 10 76 7.62
USA flag.png AIM-9G Sidewinder IR Rear 60 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon GreenCheckmark.png 5.5 18 2.5 18 88 3.53
USA flag.png AIM-9H Sidewinder IR Rear 60 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon GreenCheckmark.png 5.5 18 2.5 18 88 3.53
USA flag.png AIM-9J Sidewinder[note 3] IR Rear 40 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon RedXCross.png 5.5 18 2.5 20 76 7.62
USA flag.png AIM-9L Sidewinder IR All 60 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon GreenCheckmark.png 11 18 2.5 30 84 4.58
USA flag.png AIM-9M Sidewinder IR All 60 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon GreenCheckmark.png 11 18 2.5 30 84 4.58
USA flag.png AIM-9P Sidewinder IR Rear 40 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon GreenCheckmark.png 5.5 18 2.5 20 76.93 7.62
USA flag.png AIM-9P4 Sidewinder IR All 40 Icon GreenCheckmark.png Icon GreenCheckmark.png 11 18 2.5 20 76.93 7.62
FRG flag.png AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder IR Rear 20 Icon RedXCross.png Icon RedXCross.png 5.5 10 1.7 10 72 7.62
Israel flag.png Shafrir IR Rear 20 Icon RedXCross.png Icon RedXCross.png 7 10 1.7 11 65 7.62
Sweden flag.png RB24 IR Rear 20 Icon RedXCross.png Icon RedXCross.png 4 10 1.7 10 72 7.62
USSR flag.png R-3S IR Rear 21 Icon RedXCross.png Icon RedXCross.png 9 10 1.7 10 75 8.8
China flag.png PL-2 IR Rear 21 Icon RedXCross.png Icon RedXCross.png 9 10 1.7 10 75 8.8
  1. ↑ Successor to the AIM-9B
  2. ↑ Successor to the AIM-9B
  3. ↑ Upgrade modification often found on aircraft with AIM-9B

Usage in battles

The AIM-9H is most effective against unaware or occupied enemy aircraft from about 2.4 km or less (1.5 miles) from the rear or side aspects, able to tackle many opponents who are even attempting to evade the missile.

Depending on the encountered aircraft, the AIM-9H can occasionally lock an enemy aircraft from head-on, allowing a skilled player to launch said missile from the front.

Most players will be expecting an AIM-7 from your aircraft, so an AIM-9 would sufficiently confuse the enemy and net you a good hit.

Using the AIM-9H is situational however, as a misjudged shot could either result in a miss, or worse, a friendly fire incident. Good judgement and timing will net you many rewards, but the IR seeker will not differentiate between friend or foe when it matters most.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Long lasting rocket motor allowing for shots beyond 3 km
  • Large seeker ring making off boresight shots more effective
  • No G limit when launching the missile so you can launch the missile when turning at an high angle of attack
  • Front-aspect locks are occasionally possible
  • Occasionally rejects flares ~0.90 km and below (0.55 miles)

Cons:

  • Small explosive warhead
  • IR Seeker sometimes tracks friendlies

History

Main article: History of the AIM-9G Sidewinder

The AIM-9G variant of the Sidewinder was thought by some engineers at China Lake to be the pinnacle of Sidewinder designs. Compared to the preceding AIM-9D, the AIM-9G introduced the "Sidewinder Expanded Acquisition Mode" (SEAM) that allowed the Sidewinder to be slaved to the aircraft's radar or perform a circular scan of around 25 degrees. Though some engineers thought the AIM-9G was perfect, others engineers involved with the Sidewinder project since its inception like William McLean (originator of the Sidewinder weapon) and Walter LaBerge (Sidewinder's missile engineer) believed that the AIM-9G's reliability could be further enhanced.[1]

In December 1965, McLean and LaBerge (who is at the time employed by Philco-Ford) got together to consider options of improving the missile's reliability. One proposal was to convert all remaining missile electronic components to solid-state gradually. While the US Air Force was open to this gradual replacement of electronics into solid-state, the proposal to the US Navy by engineer Walt Freitag was instead a complete the transition to solid-state all at once.[1] The tracking rate was improved from 12 degrees/second into 20 degrees/second to complement the missile's more powerful actuators. The new missile, designated the AIM-9H, was introduced into the US navy service in 1972 at the tail end of the Vietnam War, though sources are mixed on whether they were used in combat before the US withdrawal in 1973. A total of 7,700 AIM-9H units would be produced between 1972-1974 by Philco-Ford and Raytheon.[2]

Projects after the Vietnam War to continue improving the AIM-9s led to using the AIM-9H as the basis of the improvements. China Lake started the program as the AIM-9H Product Improvement Package (PIP). The United States Air Force, also seeking a missile improvement from their AIM-9E and AIM-9J models of the Sidewinder, became involved with the US Navy's AIM-9H PIP under direction the Pentagon. The variety of improvements input by both service branches led to the missile that would be designated as the AIM-9L.[3]

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Related development

External links

References

Citations
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Westrum 2013, p.187
  2. ↑ Parsch 2008
  3. ↑ Westrum 2013, p.191
Bibliography
  • Parsch, Andreas. 2008. "AIM-9." Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. Last modified July 09, 2008. Website (Archive)
  • Westrum, Ron. 2013. Sidewinder; Creative Missile Development at China Lake. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.


Missiles
USA 
AAM  AIM-54A Phoenix · AIM-54C Phoenix · ATAS (AIM-92) · AIM-120A · AIM-120B · Fakour-90 · Sedjeel
Sparrow  AIM-7C · AIM-7D · AIM-7E · AIM-7E-2 · AIM-7F · AIM-7M
Sidewinder  AIM-9B · AIM-9C · AIM-9D · AIM-9E · AIM-9G · AIM-9H · AIM-9J · AIM-9L · AIM-9M · AIM-9P
AGM  AGM-22 · APKWS II (M151) · APKWS II (M282) · BGM-71D TOW-2
Bullpup  AGM-12B Bullpup · AGM-12C Bullpup
Hellfire  AGM-114B Hellfire · AGM-114K Hellfire II
Maverick  AGM-65A · AGM-65B · AGM-65D · AGM-65E2 · AGM-65G · AGM-65L
ATGM  LOSAT/MGM-166A
TOW  BGM-71 · BGM-71A · BGM-71B · BGM-71C
SAM  FIM-92 Stinger · MIM-72 · MIM146
Naval SAM  RIM-24A
Germany 
AAM  AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder · AIM-9L/I Sidewinder · Flz Lwf 63 · Flz Lwf 63/80
AGM  9M14M Malyutka · Flz Lwf LB 82 · HOT-1 · HOT-2 TOW · HOT-3 · PARS 3 LR
AShM  AS.34 Kormoran
ATGM  HOT-K3S · Spike-LR II
SAM  Roland
Naval SAM  Strela-2M
USSR 
AAM  9M39 Igla · R-3R · R-3S · R-13M1 · R-23R · R-23T · R-24R · R-24T · R-27ER(1) · R-27ET(1) · R-27R(1) · R-27T(1) · R-60 · R-60M · R-60MK · R-73(E) · R-77
AGM  9K127 Vikhr · 9M17M Falanga · 9M120 Ataka · 9M120-1 Ataka
  Kh-23M · Kh-25 · Kh-25ML · Kh-29L · Kh-29T · Kh-29TE · Kh-29TD · Kh-66 · S-25L · S-25LD
ATGM  3M7 · 9M14 · 9M113 Konkurs · 9M114 Shturm · 9M123 Khrizantema · 9M133 · 9M133FM3 · 9M133M-2
SAM  95Ya6 · 9M311 · 9M311-1M · 9M331 · 9M37M
Naval SAM  Volna-M
Britain 
AAM  Fireflash · Firestreak · Red Top · Skyflash · Skyflash SuperTEMP · SRAAM · R-Darter
AGM  AGM-65E · AS.12 · ZT-6 Mokopa
AShM  AJ.168
ATGM  BAe Swingfire · MILAN · MILAN 2 · ZT3
SAM  Starstreak
Japan 
AAM  AAM-3 · AAM-4
AGM  Ki-148 I-Go Model 1B
ATGM  Type 64 MAT · Type 79 Jyu-MAT
SAM  Type 81 SAM-1C · Type 91
China 
AAM  PL-2 · PL-5B · PL-5C · PL-5EII · PL-7 · PL-8 · PL-12 · SD-10(A) · TY-90
AGM  AKD-9 · AKD-10 · Fire Snake 90A · HJ-8A · HJ-8C · HJ-8E · HJ-8H
ATGM  302 · HJ-73 · HJ-73E · HJ-9 · QN201DD · QN502CDD
SAM  HN-6
Italy 
AAM  Aspide-1A · MAA-1 Piranha
AGM  AGM-65H · CIRIT · L-UMTAS · Spike ER
ATGM  Spike-LR II
Naval AShM  Nettuno
SAM  Mistral SATCP
France 
AAM  AA-20 Nord · Matra R511 · Matra R530 · Matra R530E · Matra Super 530D · Matra Super 530F · Matra R550 Magic 1 · Matra R550 Magic 2 · Mistral · MICA-EM
AGM  9M14-2 Malyutka-2 · AS-20 Nord · AS-30 Nord · AS-30L Nord · HOT-1 · HOT-2 TOW · HOT-3 · Spike ER
ATGM  HOT · SS.11
SAM  Roland · VT1
Sweden 
AAM  RB24 · RB24J · RB71 · RB 74 · RB 74(M) · RB 99
AGM  Rb05A · RB 53 Bantam · RB 55B Heli TOW · RB 55C Heli TOW · RB 75 · RB 75T
ATGM  Rbs 55 · Rbs 56
SAM  Rbs 70
Israel 
AAM  Shafrir · Shafrir 2 · Python 3 · Derby
ATGM  Spike-LR II
  AAM = Air-to-Air Missile   AGM = Air-to-Ground Missile   AShM = Anti-Ship Missile   ATGM = Anti-Tank Guided Missile (Ground mounts)   SAM = Surface-to-Air Missile

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