AIM-9L

AIM-9L
AIM-9L
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The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile developed by the United States Navy at China Lake, California, in the 1950s, and subsequently adopted by the United States Air Force. Since its entry into service in 1956, the Sidewinder has proved to be an enduring international success, and its latest variants are still standard equipment in most western-aligned air forces.[3] The Soviet K-13, a reverse-engineered copy of the AIM-9, was also widely adopted by a number of nations.

 The next major advance in IR Sidewinder development was the AIM-9L ("Lima") model which was in full production in 1977.[17][18] This was the first "all-aspect" Sidewinder with the ability to attack from all directions, including head-on, which had a dramatic effect on close-in combat tactics. Its first combat use was by a pair of US Navy F-14s in the Gulf of Sidra in 1981 versus two Libyan Su-22 Fitters, both of the latter being destroyed by AIM-9Ls. Its first use in a large-scale conflict was by the United Kingdom during the 1982 Falklands War. In this campaign the "Lima" reportedly achieved a kill ratio of around 80%, a dramatic improvement over the 10–15% levels of earlier versions, scoring 17 kills and 2 shared kills against Argentine aircraft.[19]

In combat uses of the AIM-9L, opponents had not developed tactics for the evasion of head-on missile shots with it, making them more vulnerable.[citation needed] The AIM-9L was also the first Sidewinder that was a joint variant used by both the US Navy and Air Force since the AIM-9B. The "Lima" was distinguished from earlier Sidewinder variants by its double delta forward canard configuration and natural metal finish of the guidance and control section. The Lima was also built under license in Europe by a team headed by Diehl BGT Defence. There are a number of "Lima" variants in operational service at present. First developed was the 9L Tactical, which is an upgraded version of the basic 9L missile. Next was the 9L Genetic, which has increased infra-red counter counter measures (IRCCM); this upgrade consisted of a removable module in the Guidance Control Section (GCS) which provided flare-rejection capability. Next came the 9L(I), which had its IRCCM module hardwired into the GCS, providing improved countermeasures as well as an upgraded seeker system. Diehl BGT also markets the AIM-9L(I)-1 which again upgrades the 9L(I)GCS and is considered an operational equivalent to the initially "US only" AIM-9M.

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