AA-20 Nord
Contents
Description
The AA-20 is a French command guided air-to-air missile, it was introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On".
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
Weighing in at 134 Kg, the AA-20 Nord air-to-air missile is general a great tool to evict slow moving targets or distracted of their air craft.
The AA-20 is Manually guided using MCLOS (Manual command to line of sight), at a speed of 563 m/s the missile is easy to keep a visual on as you guide it towards your target. You have to keep in mind that the flare on the missile is not really bright, so firing at peak day time will be hard to do unless you really keep a close eye on it, the flare will vanish from your sight at around from around 4Km in distance. This should grant you about 7 to 10 seconds of visual contact as you guide it towards your target. The missile has a maximum overload launch of 4Gs, which is recommended you do anyway as the turn radius on it the missile is almost the same as a Modern day Boeing 737. You can make quick adjustments with it flight path but it will lose speed and the turning will be degraded greatly.
The AA-20 has a TNT Filler type with a explosive mass of 8 kg. That's enough to take out any target with impact or 3m range. You will be able to severely damage any craft that decides to get within about 8m range to 13m range.
With this being said, you are able to eliminate ground soft ground targets, such as light Anti Air with about 10mm of armor from over pressure and open top vehicles with crew knock outs and over pressure playing in too.
Effective damage
- Mass: 134 kg
- Guidance: (Manual MCLOS)
- Maximum Speed: 563 m/s
- Maximum overload during launch: 4G
- Explosive Type: TNT
- Explosive Mass: 8 kg
Comparison with analogues
Give a comparative description of missiles that have firepower equal to this weapon.
Usage in battles
The AA-20 is the AS-20's air-to-air counterpart, it should not be used as an air-to-ground armament due to its proximity fuse. The best time to use the AA-20 is when the enemy target is unaware that you are near them or they are not paying much attention. It can also be used for head-on engagements, but do be aware that it can be shot out of the sky. This missile has a steep learning curve due to it being controlled by manual inputs, it is best to practice before using it in combat.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High explosive mass
- Proximity fused
- Longer range than early IR guided missiles like the AIM-9B
- Can be used in head-on engagements
- Easy to learn
Cons:
- Uses command-guidance
- Slower than most missiles
- Hard to master
History
The Nord Aviation company started developing this missile in 1953. It was improved upon to make the AA-25 which was a beam-riding air to air missile. Neither the AA-20 or AA-25 saw any combat use, though they were regarded as only a stepping stone to the Matra R530.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the weapon;
- other literature.
