A-Darter
The V3E A-Darter (Agile Darter) is a modern short-range infrared homing ("heat seeking") air-to-air missile, featuring countermeasures resistance with a 180-degree look angle and 120-degrees per second track rate, developed by South Africa's Denel Dynamics (formerly Kentron) and Brazil's Mectron (now SIATT), Avibras and Opto Eletrônica (acquired by AKAER). It will equip the South African Air Force's Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D and BAE Hawk 120, and the Brazilian Air Force's A-1M AMX, Northrop F-5BR and Gripen E/F. It was expected to be in production before the end of 2015. Development Development of the A-Darter began in 1995, but the program suffered from inadequate funding and changes to the SAAF's requirements. Mectron, Avibras and Atech joined the program in 2006 after a three-year negotiation process with US$52 million invested by the Brazilian Government in the project, estimated to be worth US$130 million. In that same year, Denel announced that it would use t ...
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Air-to-air Missile
The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fueled but sometimes liquid fueled. Ramjet engines, as used on the Meteor, are emerging as propulsion that will enable future medium-range missiles to maintain higher average speed across their engagement envelope. Air-to-air missiles are broadly put in two groups. Those designed to engage opposing aircraft at ranges of less than 16 km are known as short-range or "within visual range" missiles (SRAAMs or WVRAAMs) and are sometimes called "dogfight" missiles because they are designed to optimize their agility rather than range. Most use infrared guidance and are called heat-seeking missiles. In contrast, medium- or long-range missiles (MRAAMs or L ...
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