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According to US officials, the Air Force F-16 that shot down an object over Lake Huron on Sunday missed its first attempt. “A second Sidewinder air-to-air missile was needed.” Fox News reported. It is unclear where the first missile landed.

The AGM-122 "Sidearm" anti-radiation missile (ARM) is one of the more obscure operational missile systems within the annals of air combat history, but how it came to be was pretty creative and we probably could use something very similar to it today. The history of the legendary Sidewinder air-to-air missile reads like alphabet soup, with dozens of variants carrying different letter designations, all of which were designed, tested, and in many cases deployed operationally over the last six decades. These have included a surface-to-air variant, the MIM-72, that equipped the M48 Chaparral short-range mobile air defense system, the air-to-ground AGM-87...

90th Fighter Squadron is the first F-22 Raptor combat unit equipped with the AIM-9X dogfight missile. On Mar. 1, 2016 the 90th Fighter Squadron (FS) belonging to the 3rd Wing stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska officially became the first combat-operational Raptor unit to equip an F-22 with the AIM-9X Sidewinder. According to Chief Master Sgt. Chuck Jenkins, 3rd Wing Weapons Manager, the AIM-9X will increase the already outstanding Raptor’s combat capabilities. “This has been in the inventory for the Air Force and Navy for some years; it’s nothing new to the military, but to put it on the Ferrari...

The Army and Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems have test-fired the latest version of the company’s venerable Sidewinder air-to-air missile from a ground launcher to down an unmanned aircraft target, the company said Wednesday. WHAT HAPPENED Raytheon said that an AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missile was launched from a prototype Multi-Mission Launcher, a new ground-based launch system under development by the Army. The test was performed in March at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and details were announced by the company Wednesday. The AIM-9X missile locked onto an unmanned aircraft before launch and then intercepted and destroyed the drone,...

34 years ago, the USAF set out to build a fighter that could guarantee American air superiority for decades to come. $75B, 563 less aircraft than planned, and a decade after being declared operational later, the F-22 still doesn’t have what some MiG-21s have, a Helmet Mounted Sight and a missile to go with it. Helmet Mounted Sights (HMS) and High-Off Bore-Sight (HOBS) short-range air-to-air missiles have been around for a long, long time. Helmet Mounted Sights, in their most basic form, allow pilots to just look at their target in order to slew their weapons onto it and engage...

US Air Force's 411th Flight Test Squadron and F-22 Combined Test Force successfully test fired two guided AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles this year as part of the latest phase in getting the Raptor closer to using the missile operationally. The AIM-9X is an advanced infrared missile and the newest of the Sidewinder family of short-range air-to-air missiles carried on a wide range of fighter jets. The first guided launch of the AIM-9X from an F-22 Raptor was Feb. 26, 2015, by Maj. Christopher Guarente, 411th FLTS assistant director of operations and F-22 test pilot (Credit: Lockheed Martin) The first guided launch...

US Navy hopes to increase AIM-9X range by 60% The US Navy is hoping to increase the range of the new Raytheon AIM-9X Block III by some 60% over current Sidewinder variants due to the unique needs of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) says. The new weapon is scheduled to become operational in 2022. "The Block III range requirement was in response to Joint Strike Fighter requirements in the 2020+ timeframe," NAVAIR says. "The design is anticipated to increase AIM-9X employment ranges by 60%." NAVAIR says the current Block II AIM-9X already...

U.S. and Allies Benefiting from Spike in Air-to-Air Missile Sales 14:24 GMT, March 28, 2012 PATUXENT RIVER, Md. | Reflecting a recent report on international arms transfers, one of the Navy’s oldest, affordable and most successful air-to-air missiles has seen heightened interest in foreign military sales (FMS). The AIM-9 Sidewinder, short-range, air-to-air missile, carried primarily by tactical aircraft, entered service with the Navy in the mid-1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service worldwide after six decades. The volume of worldwide arms transfers in 2007-2011 was 24 percent higher than in 2002-2006 and the five largest arms importers in...

FMS: United Arab Emirates Requests 218 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II Air-to-Air Missiles News >> Missiles & Munitions >> Sales & Contracts Released on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 United Arab Emirates � AIM-9X-2 SIDEWINDER Missiles WASHINGTON, April 19, 2011 � The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress Monday of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the United Arab Emirates of 218 AIM-9X-2 SIDEWINDER Block II Tactical Missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $251 million. The Government of the United Arab Emirates has requested a possible sale of 218 AIM-9X-2 SIDEWINDER...

Sidewinder The missile that has rattled enemy pilots since 1958. By Preston Lerner Air & Space Magazine, November 01, 2010 May 1956. Holloman Air Force Base, Alamogordo, New Mexico. The preflight briefing took place in the office of the base’s commanding general, but the center of attention was a cocky young Navy pilot named Glenn Tierney. He was dead certain that he was about to win a shoot-off between two weapons competing to become the United States’ first self-guided air-to-air missile. The Air Force was betting on the radar-guided Falcon, built by a vast engineering group at Hughes Aircraft. Representing...

A force to be reckoned with Posted on 9 August 2010 in Defence The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) or Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya, is one of the largest air arms in the region and is also one of the longest established. Formed in 1930 as the Egyptian Army Air Force, it became fully independent in 1937. Initially it had close links with the British Royal Air Force and was primarily equipped with British-supplied aircraft. Spitfires gave way to Meteors and Vampires before the 1952 revolution, after which the new president, General Gamal Abdel Nasser, turned to the Soviet...

Two years ago, the U.S. Air Force asked the manufacturer of the AIM-7X Sidewinder air-to-air missile if the weapon could be adapted to hit ground targets (including armored vehicles and speedboats). The manufacturer got to work and, recently, conducted several successful of the modified AIM-7X. The mods apparently were mainly in the fire control software, and the details are being kept secret. The AIM-7 is a heat seeking missile, and the heat sensors have become much more sensitive since the first AIM-7 entered service half a century ago. The current versions of the missile work by detecting a heat source...

EXCLUSIVE: Raytheon adapts AIM-9X for air-to-ground mission By Stephen Trimble Raytheon has adapted the heat-seeking AIM-9X to strike moving targets on the ground or in the water, adding another new capability for the formerly air-to-air-only missile. The modification allows the same AIM-9X to strike both air and ground targets. Jeff White, Raytheon's business development manager for AIM-9X, declines to describe the modification in detail, but says it involves only software changes. The AIM-9X infrared seeker, proximity fuse and blast/fragmentation warhead remain unchanged. During a 23 September Gulf of Mexico test, a US Air Force F-15C fired the air-to-surface AIM-9X and...

Australia confirms AIM-9X selection for Super Hornets By Peter La Franchi Australia has confirmed that its Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet acquisition will include the purchase of the Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile, and potentially also Raytheon's ATFLIR targeting pod. "We are going to go with the US Navy-common AIM-9X," says Gp Capt Stan Roberton, head of Australia's Super Hornet programme office. "We are very happy with [MBDA's] ASRAAM and the capability that is bringing to our legacy [F/A-18A/B] Hornets, but the driver is to stay USN-common with the weapons and keep this a very low risk but high-end capability."...

These two ball teams really support Scouting March 4 Scout Day at Tucson Electric Park (TEP)Sidewinder Home and Spring traiining location for the Diamond Backs it's Diamondbacks vs. White Sox May 5-6 at TEP The Scout Show/Youth Expo and we get the stadium. This will be the Pinewood Derby Compitition to find the Council winners and for the Scouts to Show off their skills and crafts. June 23 Scout Day and Sleepover in the TEP Ball stadium. Game, Scouts Parade on the field after the game, fireworks, midnight pizza madness, the movie "Follow Me Boys," Sidewinder/Scout patch, and sleepover on...

US, Germany eye arms sale to Turkey ANKARA - TDN with wire dispatches The U.S. administration is proposing to sell 225 AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and related gear to Turkey in a deal valued at up to $96 million, the Pentagon told Congress on Thursday. The sale of the Raytheon Co.-built missiles would boost Turkey's ability to contribute to NATO operations and the war on terror without affecting the basic regional military balance or U.S. efforts to encourage a negotiated settlement on the divided island of Cyprus, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a mandatory notice to lawmakers, according...

AIM-9X Sidewinder Approved For Full-Rate Production Navy News Service May 19, 2004 PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- The Naval Air Systems Command Air-to-Air Missile Program Office announced May 17 that the AIM-9X Sidewinder has been approved for Full-Rate Production. Authorization for this milestone was granted by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, the Honorable John J. Youngon. "It's great to get approval for AIM-9X full-rate production," said Air-to-Air Missile Systems Program Manager, Capt. Scott Stewart. "Our Navy, Air Force and Allied air crews deserve weapons that allow them to dominate in air-to-air combat. AIM-9X extends their...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894   November 16, 2003Release Number: 03-11-24 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OPERATION IVY CYCLONE II TIKRIT, Iraq – The 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse has launched a series of combined arms operations to include air and ground strikes against identified targets, along with precision raids against non-compliant groups and individuals focused on neutralizing paramilitary, former regime loyalists, foreign fighters and other extremist and subversive elements within task force area of responsibility. Operation Ivy Cyclone II will utilize actionable intelligence combined...

Operation Sidewinder Raids Grab Saddam-Regime Supporters, Outlawed Weapons By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 2, 2003 – Security operations designed to corral Saddam-regime sycophants remaining in Iraq continue, according to a U.S. Central Command news release July 2. Operation Sidewinder raids against suspected Hussein supporters, the release noted, have so far netted 20 high- value former Baath Party leaders and members, former Fedayeen paramilitary leaders and a former Iraqi military intelligence officer. The operation began June 29. And five recent Sidewinder raids conducted by 4th Infantry Division soldiers have garnered a cornucopia of outlawed weaponry, including...

SCORPION AND SIDEWINDER CONTINUE TO YIELD RESULTS BAGHDAD, Iraq – A total of eight raids were conducted in the last 24 hours by the 4th Infantry Division. Operation Sidewinder resulted in 32 detained individuals and 10 AK-47s, two pistols and one mortar being confiscated. In one successful raid, the 4th ID detained a Ba’ath party colonel along with five other individuals. Eight million Iraqi Dinar and assorted weapons, including eight AK-47s, were also confiscated in the raid. Meanwhile, as a part of Desert Scorpion in Baghdad, the 1st Armored Division detained 148 individuals and secured 247 sites by conducting raids,...