AIM-9Ls - UK service - 1982
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Beagle
You could be right about hepta but I was very young at the time and could only count in English. Epi made sense as it seemed eccentric. I escaped MCS just before the mods started as it seemed like too much hard work. Posted to Lossie for Buccs when they were grounded at Honington. It was an outstanding career move.
You could be right about hepta but I was very young at the time and could only count in English. Epi made sense as it seemed eccentric. I escaped MCS just before the mods started as it seemed like too much hard work. Posted to Lossie for Buccs when they were grounded at Honington. It was an outstanding career move.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
If America provided 9Ls within 48 hours of teh task force coming under fire, exactly how did they get the the carriers for the Harriers?
Possibly flown to ASI and then shipped south by fast tramp steamer perhaps?
Possibly flown to ASI and then shipped south by fast tramp steamer perhaps?
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Unclassified extract from Janes about the development sequence of AIM9 - may jog some memories!
Unclassified extract from Janes about the development sequence of AIM9 - may jog some memories!
AIM-9 SIDEWINDER
Type
Short-range, IR air-to-air missile.
Development
This quite exceptional development programme started at what is now called the US Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California in the late 1940s. The first prototype flew in 1953 and the first generation of Sidewinder, the AIM-9B, entered service with the US Navy and US Air Force in 1956. Designed by the US Navy staff at China Lake, the Sidewinder family is now in its fourth generation, with the latest version AIM-9X now in development. The basic Sidewinder airframe shape and simplicity of design has been carried through the entire life of the family, although there has been a continuing product improvement programme, with new versions developed at about five year intervals. A surface-to-air variant, called MIM-72 Chaparral, was developed for the US Army. Many marks of Sidewinder have been made under licence in other countries and many `lookalikes' have been built without licence, such as the Russian AA-2 `Atoll'. The first generation of Sidewinder, AIM-9B, divided into three separate development programmes, all funded by the US Army, US Navy and US Air Force. The US Army developed the MIM-72 Chaparral surface-to-air variant, the US Navy developed AIM-9D and a semi-active radar seeker version AIM-9C and the US Air Force developed AIM-9E. These second-generation systems entered service in 1965 but were improved again when the US Navy developed Sea Chaparral and AIM-9G/H, while the US Air Force developed AIM-9J and P. Export versions of AIM-9J were designated AIM-9N and AIM-9P. Finally, the US Navy and Air Force came together and moved to a joint development programme for the third generation of Sidewinder missiles in 1970, making the major performance change from earlier `tail aspect engagement only' systems in the first- and second-generation Sidewinders, to an all-aspect capability with AIM-9L Sidewinder. In addition, the AIM-9L was designed with stringent reliability requirements, superior to any other air-to-air missile system with a long storage life and several hundred hours of aircraft-carried flight without defect. The Chaparral system was developed further by the US Army to an equivalent standard with MIM-72-C/E/F/G and H versions. Production of AIM-9L started in the US in 1976 and under licence in Europe and Japan in the early 1980s. Further development continued and the AIM-9M version entered production in the US in 1982, with principally an IR countermeasures capability to detect and reject decoy flares, but also with a new reduced smoke motor. AIM-9M flare rejection circuits were upgraded following operational experience in the 1991 Gulf war. A programme was started in 1997 to replace the AIM-9M seeker cooling system with a cryogenic cooling engine, to be located within a modified guidance and control unit, and to further improve the performance against flares. This upgrade is known as the AIM-9M-9 missile. AIM-9S is almost the same as AIM-9M, but with a slightly larger warhead. AIM-9R was being developed to improve further on AIM-9M and was expected in service in the early 1990s, fitted with a visual band CCD seeker, but this programme was halted in 1992.
Further development of Sidewinder was pursued by the US, with several programmes funded from 1989 examining various options for what has become known as AIM-9X or Sidewinder 2000. Two 18 month demonstration/validation contracts were awarded in 1994 to Raytheon and Hughes (now both Raytheon Missile Systems). A final selection for AIM-9X was made in December 1996, referred to as Evolved Sidewinder, and an engineering, manufacturing and development programme started in 1997. A flight development programme started in 1999, and initial production is planned to start in 2001. AIM-9X will be a tail-control missile, but still using the basic Sidewinder airframe, warhead, fuze and motor. A joint service helmet-mounted cueing system is being developed to complement the AIM-9X missile, providing the pilot with an off-boresight target designation system. It is planned that a product improvement programme will start in 2001 to upgrade the warhead, fuze and motor assemblies for AIM-9X. A report in 2000 indicated that a surface-to-air variant of AIM-9X is being designed.
A development programme started in 1982 to modify old AIM-9C semi-active radar guidance and control sections for use on Sidewinder airframes as anti-radiation missiles, these entered service in 1989 as AGM-122A Sidearm. BGT in Germany developed a conversion kit for upgrading AIM-9J/N/P guidance and control assemblies to the AIM-9L standard, and this was marketed as AIM-9JULI. Ford Aerospace, now Lockheed Martin, developed a dual-mode passive RF/IR seeker for the Sidewinder guidance and control assembly, but it is believed that this was intended for use on the SAM variant MIM-72 Chaparral. Sidewinders have been fitted to a large number of aircraft throughout the world and these have included the F-4, F-104, F-5, F-8, A-4, A-6, A-7, F-111, Mirage 3, MiG-21, A-10, JA 37 Viggen, Kfir, F-20, OV-10, Mirage F1, Mitsubishi F-1, Hawk, Sea Harrier, Harrier, Tornado GR. 1, Tornado F3, Nimrod MR2, Jaguar, F-14, Buccaneer, F-15, F-16 and F/A-18. There have been trials from helicopters over several years, including AH-64A Apache in 1987 and AH-1 Cobra in 1988. AIM-9M/S missiles have been launched from the F-22 Raptor prototype, using an LAU-141/A extending trapeze rail launch system from the internal weapons bay and the AIM-9X Sidewinder version is planned to be the short-/medium-range AAM for this aircraft. AIM-9X is expected to be integrated onto F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, JAS-39 Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon and F-22 Raptor aircraft, but initial development trials are being carried out using F-15 and F/A-18 aircraft. An unconfirmed report suggests that the F-117 can carry up to four Sidewinder missiles in internal weapons bays, with trapeze frames lowering the missiles on their launch rails into the airstream, prior to firing.
Type
Short-range, IR air-to-air missile.
Development
This quite exceptional development programme started at what is now called the US Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California in the late 1940s. The first prototype flew in 1953 and the first generation of Sidewinder, the AIM-9B, entered service with the US Navy and US Air Force in 1956. Designed by the US Navy staff at China Lake, the Sidewinder family is now in its fourth generation, with the latest version AIM-9X now in development. The basic Sidewinder airframe shape and simplicity of design has been carried through the entire life of the family, although there has been a continuing product improvement programme, with new versions developed at about five year intervals. A surface-to-air variant, called MIM-72 Chaparral, was developed for the US Army. Many marks of Sidewinder have been made under licence in other countries and many `lookalikes' have been built without licence, such as the Russian AA-2 `Atoll'. The first generation of Sidewinder, AIM-9B, divided into three separate development programmes, all funded by the US Army, US Navy and US Air Force. The US Army developed the MIM-72 Chaparral surface-to-air variant, the US Navy developed AIM-9D and a semi-active radar seeker version AIM-9C and the US Air Force developed AIM-9E. These second-generation systems entered service in 1965 but were improved again when the US Navy developed Sea Chaparral and AIM-9G/H, while the US Air Force developed AIM-9J and P. Export versions of AIM-9J were designated AIM-9N and AIM-9P. Finally, the US Navy and Air Force came together and moved to a joint development programme for the third generation of Sidewinder missiles in 1970, making the major performance change from earlier `tail aspect engagement only' systems in the first- and second-generation Sidewinders, to an all-aspect capability with AIM-9L Sidewinder. In addition, the AIM-9L was designed with stringent reliability requirements, superior to any other air-to-air missile system with a long storage life and several hundred hours of aircraft-carried flight without defect. The Chaparral system was developed further by the US Army to an equivalent standard with MIM-72-C/E/F/G and H versions. Production of AIM-9L started in the US in 1976 and under licence in Europe and Japan in the early 1980s. Further development continued and the AIM-9M version entered production in the US in 1982, with principally an IR countermeasures capability to detect and reject decoy flares, but also with a new reduced smoke motor. AIM-9M flare rejection circuits were upgraded following operational experience in the 1991 Gulf war. A programme was started in 1997 to replace the AIM-9M seeker cooling system with a cryogenic cooling engine, to be located within a modified guidance and control unit, and to further improve the performance against flares. This upgrade is known as the AIM-9M-9 missile. AIM-9S is almost the same as AIM-9M, but with a slightly larger warhead. AIM-9R was being developed to improve further on AIM-9M and was expected in service in the early 1990s, fitted with a visual band CCD seeker, but this programme was halted in 1992.
Further development of Sidewinder was pursued by the US, with several programmes funded from 1989 examining various options for what has become known as AIM-9X or Sidewinder 2000. Two 18 month demonstration/validation contracts were awarded in 1994 to Raytheon and Hughes (now both Raytheon Missile Systems). A final selection for AIM-9X was made in December 1996, referred to as Evolved Sidewinder, and an engineering, manufacturing and development programme started in 1997. A flight development programme started in 1999, and initial production is planned to start in 2001. AIM-9X will be a tail-control missile, but still using the basic Sidewinder airframe, warhead, fuze and motor. A joint service helmet-mounted cueing system is being developed to complement the AIM-9X missile, providing the pilot with an off-boresight target designation system. It is planned that a product improvement programme will start in 2001 to upgrade the warhead, fuze and motor assemblies for AIM-9X. A report in 2000 indicated that a surface-to-air variant of AIM-9X is being designed.
A development programme started in 1982 to modify old AIM-9C semi-active radar guidance and control sections for use on Sidewinder airframes as anti-radiation missiles, these entered service in 1989 as AGM-122A Sidearm. BGT in Germany developed a conversion kit for upgrading AIM-9J/N/P guidance and control assemblies to the AIM-9L standard, and this was marketed as AIM-9JULI. Ford Aerospace, now Lockheed Martin, developed a dual-mode passive RF/IR seeker for the Sidewinder guidance and control assembly, but it is believed that this was intended for use on the SAM variant MIM-72 Chaparral. Sidewinders have been fitted to a large number of aircraft throughout the world and these have included the F-4, F-104, F-5, F-8, A-4, A-6, A-7, F-111, Mirage 3, MiG-21, A-10, JA 37 Viggen, Kfir, F-20, OV-10, Mirage F1, Mitsubishi F-1, Hawk, Sea Harrier, Harrier, Tornado GR. 1, Tornado F3, Nimrod MR2, Jaguar, F-14, Buccaneer, F-15, F-16 and F/A-18. There have been trials from helicopters over several years, including AH-64A Apache in 1987 and AH-1 Cobra in 1988. AIM-9M/S missiles have been launched from the F-22 Raptor prototype, using an LAU-141/A extending trapeze rail launch system from the internal weapons bay and the AIM-9X Sidewinder version is planned to be the short-/medium-range AAM for this aircraft. AIM-9X is expected to be integrated onto F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, JAS-39 Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon and F-22 Raptor aircraft, but initial development trials are being carried out using F-15 and F/A-18 aircraft. An unconfirmed report suggests that the F-117 can carry up to four Sidewinder missiles in internal weapons bays, with trapeze frames lowering the missiles on their launch rails into the airstream, prior to firing.
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AiM-9L
Good post, Circuit Basher, and one that sure does refresh the memory more than a little! After 20-odd years I could have sworn that the Lima had IR countermeasures, but clearly that was not the case, and SWIFT must therefore have been used to overcome that deficiency.
Think I'll stick to talking about things that happened this century henceforth!
Think I'll stick to talking about things that happened this century henceforth!
I remember clearly (as a QWI at Wattisham) that we had 9L before the conflict and they were taken away in a Herc a few days before the task force sailed. SEAM was an F4 mod to give better off-boresight acquisition capability - with the 7 petal scan pattern as mentioned earlier. SWIFT was an anti-flare measure.
Apart from the head-on capability the L had greater G available than the G (if you know what I mean), better aim point selection and better turning ability at low speed due to the new wings. It also had improved (laser) fuzing to go along with the faster approach speed of a head-on engagement. That said, its head-on capability against a cold power, subsonic target was not great.
Apart from the head-on capability the L had greater G available than the G (if you know what I mean), better aim point selection and better turning ability at low speed due to the new wings. It also had improved (laser) fuzing to go along with the faster approach speed of a head-on engagement. That said, its head-on capability against a cold power, subsonic target was not great.
Hey - I obviously remembered something the long-suffering QWIs taught me at Wattisham!
Thanks chaps - a top bunch (apart from the camp one!)....
Thanks chaps - a top bunch (apart from the camp one!)....
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Thanks, maxburner, you seem pretty certain about it, so apologies to Wiggy from me for bad-mouthing his memory. However, if we had 9Ls in the UK inventory when the task force sailed, why did we need the US to supply us with them?
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However, if we had 9Ls in the UK inventory when the task force sailed, why did we need the US to supply us with them?
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Hey guys I've waited long enough but nobody has given a true answer yet as to how we got the birds. Fact is at least one Herc sortie was mounted to USAFE Spagdahlen in April 1982 to pick up some AIM 9L and AGM54 missiles for our use courtesy of Maggie sucking up to Ron. They were quickly moved to Asi. The 9L's went south on a warship and the 54's were fitted to the Vulcan. Ok?
