NytHawk Posted August 25, 2024 Posted August 25, 2024 I have been sent this image which appears to show an obscure AIM-9R variant without any additional information. Is anybody able to identify this missile and give some source with additional information about it? Thanks. Google reverse image searching doesn't yield me any results, and i have spent some time trying to identify this missile myself.
TKhaos Posted August 25, 2024 Posted August 25, 2024 These are a couple of original data sheets from Loral Aeronutronic, one of the B&W photos on the launch rail of the F/A-18 looks like a similar setup to your photo. They did reach the trial stage but were shelved early 90's due to lack of funding, although some sources say it was the fall of the Soviet Union. There's hardly any information on them, let alone photos there is one site with a little bit of information. https://ausairpower.net/TE-Sidewinder-94.html
Snappy Posted August 25, 2024 Posted August 25, 2024 (edited) This is what wikipedia says: AIM-9R (USN) [edit] The AIM-9R was an improved AIM-9M developed by the navy, it included the new WGU-19/B IIR (Imaging Infrared) seeker, with much better tracking performance and detection performance (during daytime), with the ability to reject both background terrain and clouds, a bigger seeker FOV, and more effective counter-countermeasures capability against known and postulated jamming or seduction techniques. The first live firing occurred in 1990, but in 1992, production was cancelled as a lack of funding due to defense budget cuts.[16] But I'm not so sure if OPs photo really shows an Aim-9R. The tip part still looks much longer. Maybe it is something entirely different, not a unknown variant , but a modified missile to for telemetry data collection or something. Another link, scroll down to the middle of the page is a official US Navy photo of an F/A-18A test firing the Aim-9R at china lake , if you hover the mouse over the thumbnail, the photo enlarges. It doesnt look like OPs missile, the front part seems to be more conventional and shorter http://www.chinalakealumni.org/1991/1991mo.htm#thumb Edited August 25, 2024 by Snappy
TKhaos Posted August 25, 2024 Posted August 25, 2024 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Snappy said: But I'm not so sure if OPs photo really shows an Aim-9R. The tip part still looks much longer. Maybe it is something entirely different, not a unknown variant , but a modified missile to for telemetry data collection or something. Another link, scroll down to the middle of the page is a official US Navy photo of an F/A-18A test firing the Aim-9R at china lake , if you hover the mouse over the thumbnail, the photo enlarges. It doesnt look like OPs missile, the front part seems to be more conventional and shorter The data sheets I included are the official ones from Loral Aeronutronic who designed the guidance system and looks like a pretty similar setup to the OP's image. Having looked at the China Lake link there are two photos on there of the AIM-9R. One is four photos with it being launched from an aircraft and you can't really see much and the other one that mentions the AIM-9R is showing a photograph of a BOA-M PTV-1 (Programmed Test Vehicle-One) which looks nothing like the AIM-9R. Edited August 25, 2024 by TKhaos
Snappy Posted August 29, 2024 Posted August 29, 2024 On 8/25/2024 at 11:33 PM, TKhaos said: The data sheets I included are the official ones from Loral Aeronutronic who designed the guidance system and looks like a pretty similar setup to the OP's image. Having looked at the China Lake link there are two photos on there of the AIM-9R. One is four photos with it being launched from an aircraft and you can't really see much and the other one that mentions the AIM-9R is showing a photograph of a BOA-M PTV-1 (Programmed Test Vehicle-One) which looks nothing like the AIM-9R. Maybe its the different angle from which the pictures were taken, but I really dont find they look very similar. The part of the missile in front of the moving canards is much much longer on OPs pic than on the Loral datasheet picture. Also in both pictures there seems to be a "regular" sidewinder mounted on the inner pylon station and again in the Loral pictures the strange missile barely exceeds it in length, while in OP picture the strange missile is much longer than the regular one.
macmacmacmoc Posted March 10 Posted March 10 Seems to be the AIM-9M+ HALM Seeker that adds 90 degree off bore sight capability to 9Ms along with singificantly increasing seeker range and slew rate. It was 12 inches longer than the AIM-9M which fits the image. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/the-aim-9-sidewinder-family.33436/#post-385912 1
NytHawk Posted March 10 Author Posted March 10 48 minutes ago, macmacmacmoc said: Seems to be the AIM-9M+ HALM Seeker that adds 90 degree off bore sight capability to 9Ms along with singificantly increasing seeker range and slew rate. It was 12 inches longer than the AIM-9M which fits the image. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/the-aim-9-sidewinder-family.33436/#post-385912 Thank you, this might be it.
Rick50 Posted March 10 Posted March 10 So this was an early step towards what would become the 9X ? One that was developed but not bought?
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