AIM-9x vs AIM-120

By: djcross - 24th May 2013 at 03:17 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

The winner for best maneuverability at time of launch is AIM-9X.

But if you have to rely on WVR, expect to die in a mutual kill by your adversary's dogfight missile.

The tricks enabled by AIM-120D's 2-way data link is my favorite.

By: obligatory - 24th May 2013 at 04:36 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

AIM-9X is twice as agile, but if the target is moving away, then AIM-9X doesnt have the range to catch the target,
so while twice as likely to actually hit, it will depend on parameters, both should be in the inventory

By: bring_it_on - 24th May 2013 at 08:04 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Its tough to really compare since both missiles are designed around different roles and no one seems to be ditching them yet in favour of just one.

By: F-18Growler - 24th May 2013 at 19:38 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Well if your in a dogfight what what you choose? I'd say the AIM-9X beacuse its much more skinner so it can get at higher speeds, range and better maneuverability. AIM-120 is the other way of it. Aim-120 has been in service for a long time so it's not very useful but it still is.

Aim-120 specs
Weight: 335 pounds (152*kg)
Length: 12 feet (3.7*m)
Diameter: 7 inches (180*mm)
Speed: Mach 4
Wingspan: 20.7 inches (530*mm)
range of aim-120:
AIM-120A/B 55–75 km
AIM-120C-5 >105 km
AIM-120D (C-8) >180 km

Aim-9X and AIM-9 specs

Primary Function: Air-to-air missile
Contractor: Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, AZ
Date Deployed: AIM-9B:1956
Propulsion: Solid-propellant rocket
Length: AIM-9M 9.3 feet AIM-9X 9.9 feet
Diameter: 5 inches (.13 meters)
Wingspan: 2 feet 1 inch (0.63 meters)
Weight: 188 pounds
Speed: AIM-9M AIM-9X Mach 4+
Range: Classified
Guidance System: Passive infrared
Warhead: Annular blast fragmentation (conventional) weighing 20.8 pounds (9.36 kg)

I'd take both but when dogfighting ill want to have the AIM-9X beacuse it has a better maneuverability and has stealth on it that's why it's a skinny missile.

By: Nicolas10 - 24th May 2013 at 21:46 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Get Micas. Best of both worlds

By: F-18Growler - 24th May 2013 at 21:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Get Micas. Best of both worlds

It's a SRAATM. Why that missile? It's only for the French for their Rafales.

By: Jinan - 25th May 2013 at 00:21 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

It's a SRAATM.

So is 9X ... 21-23 miles radius a.k.a about 35-40km

MICA is a replacement for both Super 530 (interception) and Magic II (dogfight). There are two MICA variants; MICA RF has an active radar homing seeker and MICA IR has an imaging infra-red homing seeker. Max missile range quotes by 1/2 Cigognes Air Defense Squadron is 80km. Mica efficiency radius is sometimes given as about 55 km for the RF variant, and 13km for the IR variant. Besides on Rafale, it is used also on Mirage 2000 e.g ROCAF (960 missiles) and IAF (490 missiles). But also Greece, UAE, Oman and Quatar.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/MICA

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r279/sampaix/Mica-Seeker-Range-1.jpg

By: Tu22m - 25th May 2013 at 00:53 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

It's a SRAATM. Why that missile? It's only for the French for their Rafales.

Actually it is integrated with the Gripen as well, its just not adopted by any air force. SwAF went with the Meteor + IRIS-T combo. (possibly the best combination you can get today).

But MICA and MICA IR are very interesting missiles, especially the IR version as it, afaik, is the only western BVR IR missile.

By: obligatory - 25th May 2013 at 08:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

So is 9X ... 21-23 miles radius a.k.a about 35-40km

This is the street-smart part of the missile manufacturer,
when they pull out a number, they pull out the distance at launch, head on distance more specifically,
and to spice up numbers extra it is also at high closing speed and vs non maneuvering targets.
a.k.a anywhere between 1 km to 40 km, depending on launch parameters

By: Mercurius - 25th May 2013 at 18:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

There is no French involvement/influence in ASRAAM. Development of the original ASRAAM design was by a European consortium known as BBG (formed by Bae Dynamics and the West German missile manufacturer Bodenseewerke Geratetechnik). It later became a BAe Dynamics programme and is now handled by MBDA.

The ASRAAM seeker is by Raytheon, MBDA does the warhead, Roxel UK does the motor, and Thales Missile Electronics (formerly known as Thomson-Thorn Missile Electronics) is responsible for the fuze.

By: EELightning - 25th May 2013 at 19:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

so whats the best wvr missile for destroying air to air targets? there both in operation and there used alot. so whats the difference about the aim-120 and aim-9x?

If you're in WVR and you still have all your AIM-120s, you've obviously done something wrong!

By: Jinan - 26th May 2013 at 08:56 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

This is the street-smart part of the missile manufacturer,
when they pull out a number, they pull out the distance at launch, head on distance more specifically,
and to spice up numbers extra it is also at high closing speed and vs non maneuvering targets.
a.k.a anywhere between 1 km to 40 km, depending on launch parameters

If someone calls Mica a sraatm then what is 9X? (i.e. the exact km don't matter for the point)

By: Jinan - 26th May 2013 at 09:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

its a French missile so for real does the Gripen and euro use it? isn't the ASRAAM related to the mica missile? i think so

Research it before you state it, pls.

The Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile, also known by its United States identifier AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing ("heat seeking") air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA. It is currently in service in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), replacing the AIM-9 Sidewinder. The project started as a British-German collaboration in the 1980s; eventually the Germans left the project due to concerns over the missile's performance. The British proceeded on their own, and the missile was introduced into RAF service in 1998. ASRAAM was developed to have longer range and higher speed than the Sidewinder at the expense of some maneuverability.

Concluding that they needed a missile with better performance than the Archer, the UK-German partnership broke down in the early 1990s, with the German Air Force deciding in 1995 to procure its own new air-to-air missile, the IRIS-T built by Diehl BGT Defence. Due to the numerous developmental delays caused by the UK-German disagreement over ASRAAM design with no solution in sight, and in light of threat of Archer, the US could not wait any longer and began development of their own improved version of the Sidewinder, the AIM-9X in 1990.
In February 1998 the British-French Matra British Aerospace consortium won a contract to supply ASRAAM to the Royal Australian Air Force for use on their F/A-18 Hornets following competitive evaluation of the improved ASRAAM, the Rafael Python 4 and the AIM-9X
At the DSEi conference in September 2007 it was announced the UK MoD was funding a study by MBDA to investigate a replacement for the Rapier and Sea Wolf missiles. The Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), would share components with ASRAAM.[6]
MBDA has agreed to jointly develop a new generation air-to-air missile with India

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASRAAM

The MBDA MICA (Missile d’interception et de combat aérien, “Interception and Aerial Combat Missile”) is an anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system.It was developed from 1982 onward by Matra. The first trials occurred in 1991, and the missile was commissioned in 1996 to equip the Rafale and Mirage 2000. It is a replacement for both Super 530 (interception) and Magic II (dogfight)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MICA_(missile)

MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and the United States. It was formed by a merger of French Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles (of EADS), Italian Alenia Marconi Systems (of Finmeccanica) and British Matra BAe Dynamics (of BAE Systems) in December 2001. The consolidation of Europe's missile companies began in 1996, when parts of Matra Defense and BAe Dynamics merged their missile activities to form Matra BAe Dynamics (MBD).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBDA

Mica clearly predates ASRAAM. Although now marketed by the same company, the latter was developed seperately from Mica.

By: Fedaykin - 26th May 2013 at 18:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Maybe, there is the issue of visually id'ing a target in certain circumstance and AIM-120 is regarded as a bit more discriminating in a WVR situation then an IR missile.

By: F-18Growler - 1st June 2013 at 02:23 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

If someone calls Mica a sraatm then what is 9X? (i.e. the exact km don't matter for the point)

The MBDA MICA is an anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system. It is intended for use both by air platforms as individual missiles as well as ground It is intended for use both by air platforms as individual missiles as well as ground units and ships, which can be equipped with the rapid fire MICA Verunits and ships, which can be equipped with the rapid fire MICA Vrtical Launch System. It is fitted with a thrust vector control (TVC) system.

Viper is mixed up, MICA is a Multi-Role missile as you can see.

AIM-9X is a Advanced Air-to-air missile from its predecessor the AIM-9M. It's a newer Sidewinder missile with extended range, increased maneuverability and increased reliability. Also the biggest difference between both AIM-9 and AIM-9x missiles is that AIM-9x is thinner and stealthy in design which is why it's a small skinny missile. The original AIM-9 is bigger which increases the aircrafts (RCS) while carrying the AIM-9 in the main hard point sections. Then AIM-9x is use-full when adding the JHMCS which is especially important if your trying to get the enemy down with your advanced missile.

Utilizing the JHMCS, a pilot can point the AIM-9X missile's seeker and "lock on" by simply looking at a target, thereby increasing air combat effectiveness It retains the same rocket motor, fuze and warhead of the 9-"Mike", but its lower drag gives it improved range and speed. AIM-9X also includes an internal cooling system, eliminating the need for use of launch-rail nitrogen bottles or internal argon bottle. It also features an electronic safe and arm device similar to the AMRAAM, allowing reduction in minimum range and reprogrammable InfraRed Counter Counter Measures capability that coupled with the FPA provide improved look down into clutter and performance against the latest IRCM.

Differences between the AIM-9 Sidewinders missile series:

Here's the AIM-9x compared to the AA-11 missile. AIM-9X with JHMCS gives it longer range. AIM-9x with Radar Cue gives it medium range. AIM-9x without the JHMCS gives it short range but it's in the medium range side AIM-9M is really a horrible missile in todays warfare, very short range, good missile when practicing in a Air-to-air situation AIM-9M lacks, range, maneuverability and versatility.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]217174[/ATTACH]

By: F-18Growler - 1st June 2013 at 14:55 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

I also found some of the Air Dominance Weapons Roadmap graph.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]217180[/ATTACH]

By: F-18Growler - 1st June 2013 at 21:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

interesting info growler. thanks for the mica one

:)