AIM-9X--the next generation sidewinder

Wings of Gold,  Winter 2000  by Venlet, Dave,  McClendon, Jim,  Dodick, Michael,  Silva, Dave

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ir Intercept Missile 9X (AIM-9X), Lthe next generation Sidewinder, is in production and will be under the trigger finger of Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Strike/Fighter pilots now arriving at their squadrons for duty.

Many countries now possess highly maneuverable missiles and helmet sights giving them the first shot advantage after a merge. Fortunately, our pilot skill, aircraft systems and medium-range missile combination has kept American pilots from absorbing any air-to-air missiles in recent years. However, we are regularly flying counter-air missions in theaters around the world today. Unfriendly nations are searching hard for tactics trying to deny our excellent Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) abilities and engage in short range situations.

You don't have to point your fighter at the target to shoot anymore. AIM9X is a fifth generation infrared (5GenIR) missile. When combined with a myriad of possible cueing sources, it gives the Strike/Fighter pilot the ability to target the bogey and shoot at angles much greater than radar scan limits. AIM-9X is sensitive enough to acquire the target and has the legs to reach well outside visual range of the shooter. It locks, tracks and never lets go of bogies passively at angles and ranges never previously achieved.

Every guided test shot has exceeded AIM-9M capability - high off boresight angle, max range, min range, within visual range (WVR), beyond visual range (BVR), onecircle, two-circle, target in the notch, shooter in the notch, seeker lock-on range. All mixed with countermeasures and background clutter.

A press release from our German allies who flew their MIG-29s against our American aircraft at Nellis AFB, Nevada indicated that legacy Sidewinders and no helmet sight were no match for their hardware. But we tried our AIM-9X and Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) during these latest engagements as well and the new missile system did what we wanted. We aren't at a disadvantage anymore.

A common misconception about helmet-mounted displays and the AIM-9X missile is that they are limited to the post-merge, high G arena. While they were originally designed for this environment, their utility extends well beyond the WVR arena into the near beyond visual range (NBVR) and BVR environments. The true value of these systems is maximized when combined with the entire aircraft avionics suite to include radar and other sensors, data link, weapons, and defensive systems. The addition of combined JHMCS and the AIM-9X missile system to a conventional fighter dramatically increases situational awareness (SA), safety, lethality and survivability in all phases of tactical employment.

Another common misconception is that the AIM-120 AMRAAM is going to make visual engagements a thing of the past. Current training exercises, such as Red Flag and Green Flag, and recent combat experience have demonstrated this is not true. Restrictive rules of engagement (ROE), electronic attack (EA), AIM120 aware maneuvering bandits, and multiple bandit engagements are among the many reasons friendly fighters are likely to find themselves in the NBVR and WVR environments with live threat aircraft. U.S. fighters are going to find themselves in visual, maneuvering fights for the foreseeable future and need to be prepared, with proper systems and training, to win these types of engagements.

Within Visual Range. In the WVR environment the combined AIM-9X and JHMCS provide a tremendous advantage over an adversary not so equipped. Even against fighters equipped with today's fielded helmet sights and high off boresight missiles, Hornet and Eagle drivers now have first-shot-first-kill advantage. Both Navy (VX-9) and Air Force (422 TES) pilots have demonstrated combined kill ratios exceeding 50:1 against nonhigh-off-boresight equipped fighters in various exercises and during the Operational Assessments (OAs) for the AIM-9X and JHMCS.

In a multi-bogey environment, engaging in sustained turning fight increases the friendly fighter's exposure to undetected threats and decreases survivability. AIM-9X reduces this susceptibility by allowing the pilot to target bandits pre-merge well outside conventional weapon's gimbal angles and inside current minimum ranges. This has the effect of improving the inner edge of the friendly fighter's weapons engagement zone (WEZ) and increasing the possibility of killing bandits pre-merge thus minimizing the need to engage in a sustained post-merge fight.

Beyond Visual Range. While early phases of development focused on the requirements and performance associated with a post-merge system, continued testing has directed more attention to the pre-merge WVR and NBVR environments.

To fully explain the utility of AIM-9X and a helmet-sight system in the BVR arena, it is best to break "beyond visual" down into two regions: BVR and NBVR. The first region is exactly what the name BVR implies. In this region the target is beyond the pilot's physical ability to differentiate the target from the background. Regardless of how hard the pilot searches or the quality of the cueing to the target, he will not be able to detect the target visually.