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All-aspect
An all-aspect air-to-air missile can track a target no matter which way the target faces relative to the missile. In other words, an all-aspect missile can be launched against a target not only in a tail-chase engagement, but also in a head-on engagement, in a side-on engagement, from above, from below, etc. This is opposed to older infrared homing rear aspect missiles which were only able to track the hot engine exhaust of an aircraft if the aircraft's engine exhaust was pointing towards the missile seeker, and thus were only successfully used in tail-chase engagements. Examples include the US AIM-9 Sidewinder (AIM-9L and later), the Russian Vympel R-73 and the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. () is an Israeli Defense contractor, defense technology company. It was founded as Israel's National R&D Defense Laboratory for the development of weapons and military technology within the Ministry of Defens ... Python 5 air-air/ground-air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants remain standard equipment in most Western-aligned air forces. The Soviet K-13 (AA-2 "Atoll"), a reverse-engineered copy of the AIM-9B, was also widely adopted. Low-level development started in the late 1940s, emerging in the early 1950s as a guidance system for the modular Zuni rocket. This modularity allowed for the introduction of newer seekers and rocket motors, including the AIM-9C variant, which used semi-active radar homing and served as the basis of the AGM-122 Sidearm anti-radar missile. Due to the Sidewinder's infrared guidance system, the brevity code " Fox two" is used when firing the AIM-9. Originally a tail-chasing system, early models saw extensive use during the Vietnam War, but had a low success rate (8% hit rate with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air-to-air Missile
An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel rocket, solid fueled but sometimes liquid-fuel rocket, liquid fueled. Ramjet engines, as used on the Meteor (missile), Meteor, are emerging as propulsion that will enable future medium- to long-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 around 30 km to 40 km maximum 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 LRAAMs), which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Python 5
The Rafael Python (stylized all uppercase; ''פיתון'') is a family of air-to-air missiles (AAMs) built by the Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, formerly RAFAEL Armament Development Authority. Originally starting with the ''Shafrir'' (, loosely translated as a dome, or a protective cloak – but also similar sounding to Dragonfly, a male form of inflection for Damselfly (שפירית)) series, the ''Shafrir-1'' missile was developed in 1959, followed by the ''Shafrir-2'' in early 1970s. Subsequently, the missiles were given the western name of "''Python''" by the parent company for export purposes, starting with the ''Python-3'' in 1978. Since then, it has been further developed and evolved into the ''Python-4'', ''Python-5'', ''Derby'' and also, the SPYDER, an advanced ground-based air-defence system. Currently, the missiles are in service with the armed forces of over fifteen countries from around the world. Design and development In the 1950s, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infrared Homing
Infrared homing is a Missile guidance#Passive homing, passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radiated strongly by hot bodies. Many objects such as people, vehicle engines and aircraft generate and emit heat and so are especially visible in the infrared wavelengths of light compared to objects in the background. Infrared seekers are passive devices, which, unlike radar, provide no indication that they are tracking a target. That makes them suitable for sneak attacks during visual encounters or over longer ranges when they are used with a forward looking infrared or similar cueing system. Heat-seekers are extremely effective: 90% of all timeline of United States military operations, United States air combat losses between 1984 and 2009 were caused by infrared-homing missiles. They are, however, subject ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Head-on Engagement
In military aviation, a head-on engagement is one where a surface-to-air missile system or jet aircraft engages another aircraft while the target aircraft is flying towards the attacker. This makes engagement with infrared homing missiles more difficult because the hot engine exhaust nozzle(s) of the target are pointing away from the attacker. Typically only all-aspect infra-red homing missiles are able to perform head-on engagements. Radar-guided missiles are typically able, however head-on many aircraft have a much smaller radar cross-section so the radar may not be able to track/lock onto the target at maximum range in this type of engagement. Missiles typically have a lower chance of hitting a target in a head-on engagement because of the very fast closure rate. If the missile is travelling at Mach 2.5 and the aircraft at Mach 1, the combined rate of Mach 3.5 doesn't give the missile very much time to respond to violent evasive maneuvers the aircraft might perform or to rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tail-chase Engagement
A tail-chase engagement (or rear-aspect engagement) is one where a surface-to-air missile system or jet aircraft engages another aircraft while the target aircraft is flying away from the attacker. This makes engagement with cannons or infrared homing missiles easier because of the minimal lateral target movement relative to the attacker and the fact that the hot engine exhaust nozzle(s) are pointing directly at the attacker, making the infra-red seeker's task of tracking the target much easier. Missiles typically have a very high chance of hitting a target in a tail-chase engagement because of the much reduced closure rate. If the missile is travelling at Mach 2.5 and the aircraft at Mach 1, the combined overtake rate of Mach 1.5 means that the missile should be easily able to respond to any evasive maneuvers the aircraft might perform. Missiles can typically maneuver faster than aircraft and in a tail-chase engagement the target has no real advantage over the missile. Its only r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R-73 (missile)
The Vympel R-73 (NATO reporting name AA-11 ''Archer'') is a short-range IR-homing air-to-air missile developed by Vympel NPO that entered service in 1984. Development The R-73 was developed to replace the earlier R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') weapon for short-range use by Soviet fighter aircraft. Work began in 1973 initially as the K-73, operational in 1982 and the first missiles formally entered service in 1984. The R-73 is an infrared homing (heat-seeking) missile with a sensitive, cryogenic cooled seeker with a substantial "off-boresight" capability: the seeker can detect targets up to 40° off the missile's centerline. It can be targeted by a helmet-mounted sight (HMS) allowing pilots to designate targets by looking at them. Minimum engagement range is about 300 meters, with maximum aerodynamic range of nearly at altitude. The weapon is used by the MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-27/33, Su-34 and Su-35, and can be carried by newer versions of the MiG-21, MiG-23, Sukhoi Su-24, and Su-25 air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. () is an Israeli Defense contractor, defense technology company. It was founded as Israel's National R&D Defense Laboratory for the development of weapons and military technology within the Ministry of Defense (Israel), Israeli Ministry of Defense; in 2002 it was incorporated as a limited company. History Rafael was established in 1948 as the Science Corps (, known by the acronym HEMED, ) under the leadership of Shlomo Gur. It was renamed the Research and Design Directorate () in 1952. In 1952 David Ben-Gurion decided to split the activities of HEMED into two agencies. The pure scientific research was left with HEMED, while the development of weapons was placed into the new EMET agency. In 1954 Ben-Gurion decided to change the name of EMET to ''RAFAEL'' (). It was reorganized as Rafael in 1958. In 1995, Yitzhak Rabin asked Amos Horev to become chairman of the board of Rafael, following many years in which Horev had served as chairman o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
