The Dornier Viper was a
West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
/Norwegian
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 a ...
project, intended to replace the
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prov ...
, in ''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' service from 1975/76.
The Viper was developed by
Bodenseewerk
Diehl Defence GmbH & Co. KG is a German arms manufacturer and a division of the Diehl Stiftung with headquarters in Überlingen. Diehl Defence mainly produces missiles and ammunition. Diehl BGT Defence was founded in 2004 as result of the merger ...
and Dornier Systems, using an
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
seeker and a new
solid-fuel rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
motor (by ''Kongsberg Vapenfabrik''), intended to have twice the burn time of the Sidewinder.
In 1974, the Viper was abandoned in favor of evaluating an American missile.
*Length:
*Diameter:
*Weight:
References
Notes
Bibliography
* .
* {{citation , title = Viper, Dornier , editor-last = Fitzsimons , editor-first = Bernard , encyclopedia = The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare , place = London , publisher = Phoebus , year = 1978 , volume = 24 , page = 2578.
Air-to-air missiles of Germany
Abandoned military projects of Germany
Air-to-air missiles of the Cold War