AIM-9 Sidewinder

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	Weapon: AIM-9 Sidewinder Type: Air-to-Air Missile Country of Origin: United States Year Adopted: 1956 Overall Length (mm): 3020.0 Overall Length (in): 118.9 Weight (kg): 85.00 Weight (pounds): 187.39

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is the West's most widely used short-range air-to-air missile, conceived at the U.S. Navy's China Lake in the late 1940s/early 1950s under Dr. William B. McLean. A compact, heat-seeking weapon with a high-explosive warhead, it evolved from early rear-aspect infrared seekers (AIM-9B) into modern high-off-boresight designs with imaging infrared seekers, thrust-vector control, and lock-on-after-launch capability (AIM-9X Block II/II+). Total production exceeds 110,000 missiles for the U.S. and at least 27 other nations, with licensed builds and numerous sub-variants across seven decades.

In service, Sidewinder scored its first kills in the 1958 Taiwan Strait crisis, went on to extensive combat in Vietnam, and later equipped virtually every U.S. and many allied fighters-from F-4s and F-8s to F-14/15/16/18 and today's F-22/F-35 fleets. Early combat revealed maintenance and seeker limitations, but successive models (notably the all-aspect AIM-9L and digital AIM-9M) markedly improved performance; the current AIM-9X introduced agile HOBS cueing via helmet sights and a datalink for beyond-visual-range LOAL shots. The family's longevity also reflects constant upgrades and steady procurement into the 2020s.

The Sidewinder's notoriety stems from both its ubiquity and its influence on adversary systems: a 1958 dud that lodged in a MiG enabled Soviet reverse-engineering of the K-13/AA-2 "Atoll," while Western variants spawned naval derivatives (RIM-7/Sea Sparrow lineage) and numerous export offshoots. As a result, AIM-9 is often cited as the most successful dogfight missile in history-credited with hundreds of aerial kills-and remains a cornerstone of Western air combat loadouts even as active-radar BVR weapons dominate longer-range engagements.

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