AIM-9M Sidewinder
The AIM-9M Sidewinder is an American infrared homing air-to-air missile, it was introduced in Update 2.29 "Sons of Attila"
The AIM-9M entered service in 1983 as much improved AIM-9L with much better background rejection and a form of IRCCM. The AIM-9M is responsible for all 10 Sidewinder kills in the 1991 Gulf War
Contents
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
The AIM-9M Sidewinder is the first sidewinder to have IRCCM, and it achieves this by suspending the seeker if it detects flare countermeasures. and resorting to INS navigation and a reduced/low smoke motor. It is directly based on the USN/AF AIM-9L
| Missile characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Mass | 84.5 kg |
| Guidance | IR |
| Aspect | All-aspects |
| Lock range in rear aspect | 11km |
| Lock range in all aspect | 3km |
| ECCM | Yes |
| Launch Range | 18km |
| Maximum Speed | 2.5M |
| Maximum Overload | 30G |
| Missile Guidance time | 60.0s |
| Explosive mass | 4.58kg TNTeq |
Effective damage
Describe the type of damage produced by this type of missile (high explosive, splash damage, etc)
Comparison with analogues
Compared to the AIM-9L it is practically the exact same expect for the IRCCM capabilities of it. It still has the same max G pull and the same range as the AIM-9L. While compared the R-73 it doesn't pull as hard but for better IRCCM capabilities from the front and side or at long range. The AIM-9M also has longer range then the R-73
| Missile Characteristics | AIM-9M | R-73 | Magic 2 | AIM-9L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mass | 84 kg | 105 kg | 89 kg | 84 kg |
| Guidance | IR | IR | IR | IR |
| Aspect | All-Aspect | All-Aspect | All-aspects | All-Aspect |
| Seeker Head | Uncaged (radar slavable) | Uncaged (radar slavable) | 6 km | Uncaged (radar slavable) |
| Lock range (rear-aspect) | 11 km | 11 km | 6 km | 11 km |
| Lock range (all-aspect) | 3 km | 3.4 km | 3 km | 3 km |
| ECCM | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| ECCM Type | Suspended Animation | FOV Gating | FOV Gating | N/A |
| Thrust Vectoring | No | Yes | No | No |
| Launch range | 18 km | 30km | 10 km | 18 km |
| Maximum speed | 2.5 M | 2.5 M | 3 M | 2.5 M |
| Maximum overload | 30 G | 40 G | 35 G | 30 G |
| Missile guidance time | 60 s | 25 s | 25 s | 60 s |
| Explosive Mass | 4.06 kg TNTeq | 5.96 kg TNTeq | 9.6kg TNTeq | 4.06 kg TNTeq |
Usage in battles
The AIM-9M is known for it's Great seeker and IRCCM as well and it's decent G overload. With the IRCCM features of the AIM-9M it makes it a very challenging opponent for the enemy planes It also has good range compared to other missiles.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Best or one of the best IRCCM in the game.
- Great range
Cons:
- Weak in a dogfight
- Relatively low G overload
- Relatively less explosive content than some counterparts
Defense
The AIM-9M requires new ways to flare the missile since it has a new type of IRCCM, there are 3 different ways to defeat against AIM-9M
Preflaring
Preflaring involves flaring before the missile launch, to prevent the enemy pliot from gaining a targeting solution and firing on you.
"Flare Flower"
A "Flare Flower" involves making a sort of flower of flares for the AIM-9M to bite off on.
Direction change
Direction change involves flaring and then changing your direction of your plane into on that you were not going before. This exploits a weakness of the AIM-9Ms IRCCM as it shuts off and goes to your last known position.
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
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.
