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 134 Kg, the AA-20 Nord air-to-air missile is general a great tool to evict slow moving targets. 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 4 km distance. This should grant you about 7 to 10 seconds of visual contact as you guide the missile towards your target. The missile has a maximum overload launch of 4G. You can make quick adjustments with its flight path but it will lose speed and the turning will be degraded greatly. The AA-20 has an explosive filler with a TNT equivalent mass of 8 kg. That's enough to take out any target on impact and within a 3 m radius. In addition, any aircraft within about 8 m range to 13 m range will be severely damaged. You are also able to eliminate soft ground targets with overpressure, such as light anti-air vehicles and open-topped vehicles.
Effective damage
- Mass: 134 kg
- Guidance: MCLOS (manual)
- Maximum Speed: 563 m/s
- Maximum overload during launch: 4G
- Explosive Mass: 8 kg TNT
Comparison with analogues
The AA-20 Nord works the same as the Rb05A using MCLOS and exploding near the flying target.
The Length of the missile is 2.6 metres (8 ft 6 in) and the Diameter 0.25 metres (9.8 in), almost as tall as an adult ostrich.
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;
- other literature.
