AIM-9H Sidewinder
| This page is about the American air-to-air missile AIM-9H Sidewinder. For other versions, see AIM-9 Sidewinder (Family). |
Contents
Description
The AIM-9H Sidewinder is an American infrared homing air-to-air missile, it was introduced in Update "Danger Zone".
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
The AIM-9H is a further development of the AIM-9G, retaining all of the AIM-9Gs characteristics with a better tracking rate.
| Missile characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Mass | 88 kg |
| Guidance | IR |
| Aspect | Rear-aspect |
| Lock range | 5.50 km |
| Launch range | 18 km |
| Maximum speed | 2.5 M |
| Maximum overload | 18 G |
| Missile guidance time | 60 secs |
| Explosive mass | 3.53 kg TNTeq |
Effective damage
The AIM-9H, like all of its competitors, uses a High Explosive warhead to shower the target in shrapnel.
Similarly to nearly every missile in the game, a direct hit from the missile will most likely destroy the target aircraft either through the explosion itself or the resulting damage and/or fire.
Comparison with analogues
The most similar thing to the AIM-9H is the AIM-9G, borrowing the same degrees of boresight and rocket motor, but the AIM-9H features a better track rate.
Usage in battles
The AIM-9H is most effective against unaware or occupied enemy aircraft from about 2.4 kilometers or less (1.5 miles) from the rear or side aspects, able to tackle many opponents who are even attempting to evade the missile.
Depending on the encountered aircraft, the AIM-9H can occasionally lock an enemy aircraft from head-on, allowing a skilled player to launch said missile from the front.
Most players will be expecting an AIM-7 from your aircraft, so an AIM-9 would sufficiently confuse the enemy and net you a good hit.
Using the AIM-9H is situational however, as a misjudged shot could either result in a miss, or worse, a friendly fire incident. Good judgement and timing will net you many rewards, but the IR seeker is unlikely to differentiate between friend or foe when it matters most.
Pros and cons
Summarize and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.
Pros:
- Long lasting rocket motor allowing for shots beyond 3 km
- Large seeker ring making off boresight shots more effective
- No G limit when launching the missile so you can launch the missile when turning at an high angle of attack
- Front-aspect locks are occasionally possible
Cons:
- Small explosive warhead
- IR Seeker sometimes tracks friendlies
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
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
