PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC
Upgrade includes a lock-on after launch modification to stretch the weapon's range
Raytheon is pursuing two company-funded initiatives to extend the AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile's operational abilities. Changes include a lock-on-after- launch modification to further stretch the weapon's range and high-off boresight (HOBS) lock-on without helmet-mounted cueing.
The lock-on-after-launch AIM-9X is being pitched as a "network enabled" weapon that uses remote targeting cues datalinked from other platforms, such as fighters or surveillance aircraft. "Lock-on after launch uses the network to provide 360°engagement and takes advantage of other cues," says Bill West, Raytheon director of air-to-air missile development.
By locking on after launch the missile is limited by kinematic rather than seeker range. Depending on the firing direction and velocity, this change could extend the AIM-9X's reach by 33%. In the forward hemisphere this would give a range almost comparable to a beyond-visual-range missile and would allow over-the-shoulder launches towards rear hemisphere threats.
"Helmetless HOBS"is intended to permit the AIM-9X to scan in the vertical mode, lock on and be fired at targets without the aid of a helmet-mounted sight. "This is basically a poor man's cueing system," says West. A similar capability has been developed and tested for the Lockheed Martin/Rafael Python 4.
Raytheon says there is US Air Force interest in Helmetless HOBS, while Canada, Denmark and Norway have expressed interest in the lock-on-after-launch capability. Poland, South Korea and Switzerland have ordered or selected the AIM-9X. Canada is the nearest-term prospect to arm its upgraded Boeing CF-18s, with a request for proposals expected this year.
The company delivered the first production AIM-9X in April to the USAF to arm Boeing F-15s and Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds and has three low-rate initial production contracts for 1,000 missiles. The air force and navy are conducting operational evaluation which will result in a full-rate production decision.
Source: Flight International
