Difference between revisions of "Matra R550 Magic 1"

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(Described weapon capabilities, and usage in battles. Added section on operationnal history, and a picture.)
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{{About
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| about = French air-to-air missile '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
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| usage = the other version
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| link = Matra R550 Magic 2
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}}
 
== Description ==
 
== Description ==
 
<!-- ''Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.'' -->
 
[[File:WeaponImage Matra R550 Magic 1.png|thumb|left|420px|The Matra R550 Magic 1 missile (scale is approximate)]]
 
[[File:WeaponImage Matra R550 Magic 1.png|thumb|left|420px|The Matra R550 Magic 1 missile (scale is approximate)]]
 
{{Break}}
 
{{Break}}
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The Matra R.550 Magic 1 is a French [[Air-to-air_missiles#Infrared_homing_.28heat-seeking.29_missiles|IR homing air-to-air missile]] that was intended to replace the AIM-9s in French Army service. It was introduced in [[update "Starfighters"]]. It is a light missile, classified as an "autodefense missile" in french service.
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The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a French [[Air-to-air_missiles#Infrared_homing_.28heat-seeking.29_missiles|IR homing air-to-air missile]] that was intended to replace the AIM-9s in French Air Force service. It was introduced in [[update "Starfighters"]].
  
 
=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===
 
=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===
 
<!-- ''List out vehicles that are equipped with the weapon.'' -->
 
<!-- ''List out vehicles that are equipped with the weapon.'' -->
  
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* {{Specs-Link|a_5c}}
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* {{Specs-Link|f-8e_fn}}
 
* {{Specs-Link|jaguar_a}}
 
* {{Specs-Link|jaguar_a}}
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* {{Specs-Link|jaguar_e}}
 
* {{Specs-Link|mirage_3c}}
 
* {{Specs-Link|mirage_3c}}
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* {{Specs-Link|mirage_3e}}
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* {{Specs-Link|mirage_5f}}
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* {{Specs-Link|mirage_f1c}}
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* {{Specs-Link|mirage_2000c_s4}}
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* {{Specs-Link|mirage_2000c_s5}}
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* {{Specs-Link|super_etendard_97}}
  
 
== General info ==
 
== General info ==
 
<!-- ''Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the missile.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the missile.'' -->
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The R.550 Magic is the most capable missile currently at War Thunder, with boasting 30G overload and resistance to G overload when launching, make it the most deadly missile at top tier when use correctly. It is to be noted that the Magic is a very light missile, with only two seconds of boost time. The missiles comes equipped with large and numerous control surfaces, ensuring high manoeuvrability throughout the flight time. The price of these big control surfaces is a high drag, with the weapon decelerating quickly after end of boost time, limiting the missile range.
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
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! colspan="2" | Missile characteristics
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|-
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| '''Mass''' || 89 kg
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|-
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| '''Guidance''' || IR
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|-
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| '''Aspect''' || Rear-Aspect
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|-
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| '''Lock range in rear-aspect''' || 5.5 km
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|-
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| '''Launch range''' || 10 km
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|-
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| '''Maximum speed''' || 3 M
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|-
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| '''Maximum overload''' || 35 G
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|-
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| '''Missile guidance time''' || 25 secs
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|-
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| '''Explosive mass (TNT eq.)''' || 9.6 kg
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|-
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|}
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The Matra R550 Magic 1 is a very capable missile, with a 35 G maximum overload, which makes it a very deadly missile at top-tier when used correctly. The Matra Magic 1 is also a very light missile, with only two seconds of boost time. The missiles come equipped with large and numerous control surfaces, ensuring high manoeuvrability throughout the flight time. The price of these big control surfaces is a high drag, with the weapon decelerating quickly after the end of boost time, limiting the range of the missiles.
  
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The weapon enable time is 0.5 second, meaning the missile will accelerate straight for half a second before starting manoeuvres.
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The weapon enable time is 0.5 seconds, meaning the missile will accelerate straight for half a second before starting manoeuvres.
  
 
=== Effective damage ===
 
=== Effective damage ===
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<!-- ''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of missile (high explosive, splash damage, etc)'' ->
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<!-- ''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of missile (high explosive, splash damage, etc)'' -->
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Having a warhead containing 6 kg of HBX explosive (9.6 kg TNT equivalent), it guarantees the destruction of enemy vital parts such as engine, tail section, wings, etc
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Having a warhead containing 6 kg of HBX explosive (9.6 kg TNT equivalent), it all but guarantees the destruction of enemy vital parts such as engine, tail section, wings, etc. The explosive charge is generally enough to deal with any attacker with a single hit. Still, the proximity fuse is very sensible, and the missile can explode far enough from the target, only provoking a critical hit.
  
 
=== Comparison with analogues ===
 
=== Comparison with analogues ===
 
<!-- ''Give a comparative description of missiles that have firepower equal to this weapon.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Give a comparative description of missiles that have firepower equal to this weapon.'' -->
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The explosive charge is of six kilograms, generally enough to deal with any fighter/attacker  with a single hit, but the proximity fuse is very sensible, and the missile can explode far enough from the target, only provoking a critical hit, or two.
 
  
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It is safe to assume that an aircraft reached by the weapon is damaged enough to either be dead, or out of the fight.
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* [[R-60]] - A soviet short-range IR missile with excellent overload performance but poor booster capability
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* [[R-60]] - A soviet short range IR missile with excellent overload performance but poor booster capability
 
  
 
== Usage in battles ==
 
== Usage in battles ==
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''The Magic is mounted on the Mirage series of aircrafts, being extremely well integrated, and slavable to the aircraft's radar. Meaning that if the Mirage's Cyrano radar is locked on an enemy aircraft, enabling the missile seeker will immediately activate the missile seeker's gimbals, and the seeker will orientate itself in the direction of the locked target. Allowing a certain capability of "off-boresight" shooting of the missile. This fact is important in close range engagments and dogfight.''
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<!-- ''Describe situations when you would utilise this missile in-game (vehicle, pillbox, base, etc)'' -->
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The Magic is mounted on the Mirage series of aircraft, being extremely well integrated, and slavable to the aircraft's radar. Meaning that if the Mirage's Cyrano radar is locked on an enemy aircraft, enabling the missile seeker will immediately activate the missile seeker's gimbals, and the seeker will orientate itself in the direction of the locked target. Allowing a certain capability of "off-boresight" shooting of the missile. This fact is important in close-range engagements and dogfights.
  
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Overall, the Matra 550 Magic missile is to be used as a close encounter platorm. Firing the weapon on an enemy at a distance of more than 2 kms yields poor results, especially if the target is fleeing at high speed. Under 1.5 km mark, the hit is nearly assured. Note that the use of flares is an effective countermeasure against the Magic, but the missile onboard computers are pretty resistant to flares seductions. Concerning off-boresight shoots, sending away the weapon over 1-1.2 km is not advised, because the trajectory correction needed for an off-boresight shoot is higher that a standard shoot.
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Overall, the Matra 550 Magic missile is to be used as a close encounter platform. Firing the weapon on an enemy at a distance of more than 2 km yields poor results, especially if the target is fleeing at high speed. Under the 1.5 km mark, the hit is nearly assured. Note that the use of flares is an effective countermeasure against the Magic. Concerning off-boresight shoots, sending away the weapon over 1-1.2 km is not advised, because the trajectory correction needed for an off-boresight shoot is higher that a standard shoot.
  
 
=== Pros and cons ===
 
=== Pros and cons ===
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'''Pros:'''
 
'''Pros:'''
  
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* Great turning capability
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* Excellent overload of 35G and high track rate
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* Can be slaved onto the radar
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* Can be slaved with the radar and IRST
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* High resistance against flare decoys
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* Powerful booster and with a short burning time, pulls almost instantly and aggressively out of the rail
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* Can launch in any G condition
 
  
 
'''Cons:'''
 
'''Cons:'''
  
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* Poor low speed turning capability, easy to dodge if launched close to target
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* Pretty vulnerable to countermeasures
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* As it have a short burning time and high manoeuvrability, has a fairly short range compared to other air-to-air missiles
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* Doesn´t have the All-Aspect capability as the [[Matra R550 Magic 2]] does, not being practical in head-ons or side-aspect shots
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* '''Every''' aircraft that has the R.550 Magic are severely limited to only 2 missiles
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
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The '''R.550 Magic''' (backronym for ''Missile Auto-Guidé Interception et Combat'') is a short-range air-to-air missile designed in 1968 by French company Matra to compete with the American AIM-9 Sidewinder, and it was made backwards compatible with the Sidewinder launch hardware.
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<!-- ''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>.'' -->
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Being a direct competitor of the US-made [[AIM-9 Sidewinder (Family)|AIM-9s]] in French service, Matra (now part of Airbus SE) developed a new IR AAM for French jets in 1968, with additional control surfaces for better manoeuvrability in combat; the new missile now known as the R.550 Magic was first tested in January 1972 on a Gloster Meteor-converted testbed and finally made it into service in 1975.
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On 11 January 1972, a Gloster Meteor of the centre for in-flight trials fired an R550 Magic and shot down a Nord CT20 target drone (unmanned aerial vehicle).
 
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Mass-produced from 1976, the Magic was adopted by the French Air Force and Navy.
 
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The Argentine Air Force received "Magic 1" for its Mirage IIIEA during the 1982 Falklands War.
 
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The Argentine Navy received "Magic 1" for its Super Etendards after the 1982 Falklands War.
 
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An upgraded version, the ''Magic 2'', replaced the original model in 1986. In total, 11,300 Magic 2s were produced; they were exported, notably to Iraq and Greece, who used them in combat.
 
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The Magic is still carried by the Dassault Rafale, Dassault Mirage 2000, F-16, Sea Harrier (FRS51), MiG-21 LanceR,<sup>[''circular reference'']</sup> Super Étendard, Mirage F1, Mirage 5, and Mirage III. It is gradually being replaced by the MBDA MICA.
 
  
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Four hundred and eighty were sold to Taiwan and used by the Republic of China Air Force.<ref>Wikipedia</ref>
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The missile has been exported to many countries operating French jets; China also acquired some examples of it and built a reverse-engineered version known as the [[PL-7]]. The more capable [[Matra R550 Magic 2|Magic 2]] was introduced in 1986.  
  
 
== Media ==
 
== Media ==
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;Images
 
;Images
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−
[[File:Magic I.png|thumb]]
 
 
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="150">
 
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="150">
 
Image:R550 Magic - Mirage IIIC.png|<small>R.550 Magic seen on Mirage IIIC</small>
 
Image:R550 Magic - Mirage IIIC.png|<small>R.550 Magic seen on Mirage IIIC</small>
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Image:Magic I.png|<small>The Matra 550 Magic 1 missile. Note the size and number of control surfaces, and the lack of thrust vectoring in the missile's rocket motor nozzle.</small>
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  

Latest revision as of 16:46, 10 January 2024

Introducing Wiki 3.0
This page is about the French air-to-air missile Matra R550 Magic 1. For the other version, see Matra R550 Magic 2.

Description

The Matra R550 Magic 1 missile (scale is approximate)


The Matra R550 Magic 1 is a French IR homing air-to-air missile that was intended to replace the AIM-9s in French Air Force service. It was introduced in update "Starfighters".

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

Missile characteristics
Mass 89 kg
Guidance IR
Aspect Rear-Aspect
Lock range in rear-aspect 5.5 km
Launch range 10 km
Maximum speed 3 M
Maximum overload 35 G
Missile guidance time 25 secs
Explosive mass (TNT eq.) 9.6 kg

The Matra R550 Magic 1 is a very capable missile, with a 35 G maximum overload, which makes it a very deadly missile at top-tier when used correctly. The Matra Magic 1 is also a very light missile, with only two seconds of boost time. The missiles come equipped with large and numerous control surfaces, ensuring high manoeuvrability throughout the flight time. The price of these big control surfaces is a high drag, with the weapon decelerating quickly after the end of boost time, limiting the range of the missiles.

The weapon enable time is 0.5 seconds, meaning the missile will accelerate straight for half a second before starting manoeuvres.

Effective damage

Having a warhead containing 6 kg of HBX explosive (9.6 kg TNT equivalent), it all but guarantees the destruction of enemy vital parts such as engine, tail section, wings, etc. The explosive charge is generally enough to deal with any attacker with a single hit. Still, the proximity fuse is very sensible, and the missile can explode far enough from the target, only provoking a critical hit.

Comparison with analogues

  • R-60 - A soviet short-range IR missile with excellent overload performance but poor booster capability

Usage in battles

The Magic is mounted on the Mirage series of aircraft, being extremely well integrated, and slavable to the aircraft's radar. Meaning that if the Mirage's Cyrano radar is locked on an enemy aircraft, enabling the missile seeker will immediately activate the missile seeker's gimbals, and the seeker will orientate itself in the direction of the locked target. Allowing a certain capability of "off-boresight" shooting of the missile. This fact is important in close-range engagements and dogfights.

Overall, the Matra 550 Magic missile is to be used as a close encounter platform. Firing the weapon on an enemy at a distance of more than 2 km yields poor results, especially if the target is fleeing at high speed. Under the 1.5 km mark, the hit is nearly assured. Note that the use of flares is an effective countermeasure against the Magic. Concerning off-boresight shoots, sending away the weapon over 1-1.2 km is not advised, because the trajectory correction needed for an off-boresight shoot is higher that a standard shoot.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Excellent overload of 35G and high track rate
  • Can be slaved with the radar and IRST
  • Powerful booster and with a short burning time, pulls almost instantly and aggressively out of the rail

Cons:

  • Pretty vulnerable to countermeasures
  • As it have a short burning time and high manoeuvrability, has a fairly short range compared to other air-to-air missiles
  • Doesn´t have the All-Aspect capability as the Matra R550 Magic 2 does, not being practical in head-ons or side-aspect shots
  • Every aircraft that has the R.550 Magic are severely limited to only 2 missiles

History

Being a direct competitor of the US-made AIM-9s in French service, Matra (now part of Airbus SE) developed a new IR AAM for French jets in 1968, with additional control surfaces for better manoeuvrability in combat; the new missile now known as the R.550 Magic was first tested in January 1972 on a Gloster Meteor-converted testbed and finally made it into service in 1975.

The missile has been exported to many countries operating French jets; China also acquired some examples of it and built a reverse-engineered version known as the PL-7. The more capable Magic 2 was introduced in 1986.

Media

Images

  • R.550 Magic seen on Mirage IIIC

  • The Matra 550 Magic 1 missile. Note the size and number of control surfaces, and the lack of thrust vectoring in the missile's rocket motor nozzle.

Videos
Best guided missiles discusses the Matra R550 Magic 1 at 0:42 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
  • references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


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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