RB24

This page is about the Swedish air-to-air RB24. For the other version, see RB24J.

Description

The RB24 (AIM-9B) missile (scale is approximate)

The RB24 is a Swedish infrared homing air-to-air missile. It was introduced in Update 1.95 "Northern Wind". The RB24 is a license built version of the AIM-9B Sidewinder missile and performs identically to it. The missile is effective at short ranges but lacks the general ability to manoeuvre well.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

Vehicles equipped with this weapon
Jet fighters	J29F · J32B · J34 · JA37C
SAAB 35	J35A · J35D · Saab J35XS
Strike aircraft	AJ37
SAAB 105	SAAB-105G · SAAB-105OE

General info

Missile characteristics
Mass	72 kg
Guidance	IR
Aspect	Rear-Aspect
Lock range in rear-aspect	4 km
Launch range	10 km
Maximum speed	1.7 M
Maximum overload	10 G
Missile guidance time	20 secs
Explosive mass	7.62 kg TNTeq

Effective damage

The RB24 is a Swedish version of the AIM-9B and can be expected to be played the same way. This missile is an excellent tool for intercepting bombers, or unsuspecting players. The missile has a good range but suffers from bad tracking and mobility, making it easy to avoid in regular situations. Despite the many downsides, the Swedish "Robot" missile comes quite handy in most matches, giving the player more options to fight back.

Comparison with analogues

The RB24 is the first missile unlockable in the Swedish tech-tree, just like the AIM-9B in the US tech-tree. Both missiles are very early designs and suffer from older problems. Both missiles are equal in every way and are used in the same situations. These missiles work best when chasing opponents flying straight since the seeker is quite small. Once launched, however, the missiles can guarantee a kill on certain planes. With a 10G overload, heavier targets won't stand a chance. And when used at a higher altitude, the missiles will eliminate almost anyone within reach.

The AIM-9E might perform the same as the RB24, but has a higher chance of a successful launch thanks to the improved seeker. This gives the AIM-9E the ability to lead the missile towards the opponent before launch. This helps the missile, which also suffers from bad manoeuvrability.

• AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder - A European-licensed version of the AIM-9B with their own improvements; however the performance in-game are quite similar.
• R-3S/PL-2 - Infamous as a reverse-engineered variant of the AIM-9B, the R-3 missile shares many of its in-game performances with the AIM-9B, only falling slightly short in locking and launching range.
• Shafrir - Shares in-game performance values despite their design differences
• Rb24 - Licensed-produced version of the AIM-9B for the Swedish, and as such shares in-game performance values.

Missile		Guidance					Lock range (rear-aspect)(km)	Launch range (km)	Maximum speed (Mach)	Maximum overload (g)	Mass (kg)	TNT Equivalent (kg)
		Type	Aspect	Time	Uncaged seeker	Radar slaving
	AIM-9B Sidewinder	IR	Rear	20			4	10	1.7	10	72	7.62
	AIM-9C Sidewinder	SARH	Front	60			9	18	2.5	18	95	4.69
	AIM-9D Sidewinder	IR	Rear	20			5.5	18	2.5	18	88	4.69
	AIM-9E Sidewinder	IR	Rear	20			5.5	18	2.8	10	76	7.62
	AIM-9G Sidewinder	IR	Rear	60			5.5	18	2.5	18	88	3.53
	AIM-9H Sidewinder	IR	Rear	60			5.5	18	2.5	18	88	3.53
	AIM-9J Sidewinder	IR	Rear	40			5.5	18	2.5	20	76	7.62
	AIM-9L Sidewinder	IR	All	60			11	18	2.5	30	84	4.58
	AIM-9M Sidewinder	IR	All	60			11	18	2.5	30	84	4.58
	AIM-9P Sidewinder	IR	Rear	40			5.5	18	2.5	20	76.93	7.62
	AIM-9P4 Sidewinder	IR	All	40			11	18	2.5	20	76.93	7.62
	AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder	IR	Rear	20			5.5	10	1.7	10	72	7.62
	Shafrir	IR	Rear	20			7	10	1.7	11	65	7.62
	RB24	IR	Rear	20			4	10	1.7	10	72	7.62
	R-3S	IR	Rear	21			9	10	1.7	10	75	8.8
	PL-2	IR	Rear	21			9	10	1.7	10	75	8.8

Usage in battles

To launch the missile in a favourable situation, altitude is recommended. Since planes equipped with the RB24 boast large amounts of force, they handle favourably at these altitudes. The higher altitude helps the missile follow opponents more easily since their manoeuvrability becomes worse at height. Higher altitude also gives the option to intercept jet bombers with limited mobility, which are much easier to kill.

Launching the missile should be done between 0.7 - 3 km of distance. This distance is large enough for the missile to accelerate and short enough for the missile to contain fuel throughout the entire trip. Locked targets should be alone, since several heat sources will confuse the missile and send it off course, losing sight of the target. Taking this into consideration, a heat-seeking missile such as the RB24 should never be fired behind teammates. This puts them at high risk of accidentally getting targeted, which could lead to friendly fire.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Effective against larger opponents
• Decent effective range
• 10G maximum overload - Enough to eliminate most opponents at altitude

Cons:

• Easily avoidable
• Bad tracker - Difficult to get a good lock-on
• Tracks poorly - Missile gets easily confused when several heat sources are present

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Related development

• RB24J

Similar-performing missiles

• AIM-9B Sidewinder
• AIM-9E Sidewinder
• R-3S

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.