Air-to-Air Missile (AAMs) Database

Air-to-Air Missiles or AAMs are used by air-superiority fighters to attack enemy aircraft from the air. Guidance may be by radar (beam follower or on-board missile Active all the time or Semi- Active ranging) or InfraRed. In most cases a radar lock from the aircraft is used to point the seeker to the target aircraft, then the seeker begins homing. Once the seeker is locked on, the missile is released, upon which it follows its own guidance to the target. In recent aircraft (fixed wing and helicopters), AAMs have been loaded in order to provide defensive capabilities, thus reducing the reliance on air cover aircraft. For example, helicopter gunships may now carry AAMs in order to provide defensive or offensive tactics against other battlefield support helicopters, as well as defend against the faster and more agile attack fighters providing close air support to the battlefield. The AAM in this role clearly removes the speed advantages of the attack fighter, since the AAM can move at speeds exceeding most aircraft designs, allowing the helicopter to add the reach of the AAM to its battlefield capability.

Incidentally, when firing an AAM, U.S. pilots announce their execution over their radios to warn their colleagues that they have a missile in the air...this is to ensure no one gets in the way, or keeps out of the way if the missile misses its target. The calls are shown below:

Fox 1 - AIM-9 Sidewinder missile (Heat Seeking infrared guided)
Fox 2 - AIM-7 Sparrow missile (Semi-Active Radar homing)
Fox 3 - AIM-54 Phoenix missile (Semi-Active Radar homing, very large warhead)
Fox 4 - AIM-120 AMRAAM (Infrared or Radar, terminal heat seeking or radar, fire and forget)

The following is a list of the AAMs in use today throughout the world.

Legend

FO Foreign Sales Only

ARH Active Radar Homing

IGARH Inertial Guided (mid course correction typical)/Active Radar Homing

IR InfraRed guided

LBR Laser Beam Rider

RAD Radio guided

RBR Radar Beam Rider

SARH Semi-Active Radar Homing

BOTH Combo of IR acquired, radar homing or radar acquired, IR homing

DUAL Pilot selects IR or SARH at launch

ABFL Annular Blast Fragmentation, Laser proximity fuzed

ADCR Advanced Design Continuous Rod

BALL Ballistic, radio detonated

BF Blast Fragmentation Warhead

BFIRP Blast Fragmentation, IR Proximity fuzed

CR Continuous Rod

FRAG Fragmentation

HE High Explosive

KE Kinetic Energy (high velocity, high mass rod)

PF Pre-fragmented

Desig	Name	Cntry	Seek	Spd	Rng	Len	Diam	Weight	Wrhd	Weight
Deployed
AA-2	Atoll	USSR	IR	M2.5	4 mi	110in	4.72in	154lbs	BF	13.2lbs
AA-2	Atoll	USSR	SARH	M2.5	4 mi	114in	4.72in	154lbs	BF	13.2lbs
AA-5	Ash	USSR	IR	M3	13 mi	18ft	12in	860lbs	?	100lbs
AA-5	Ash	USSR	SARH	M3	35 mi	18ft	12in	860lbs	?	100lbs
AA-6	Acrid	USSR	IR	M4	15.5mi	248"	15.7in	1765lbs	~BF	132-200lbs
AA-6	Acrid	USSR	SARH	M4	50mi	232"	15.7in	1765lbs	~BF	132-200lbs
AA-7	Apex	USSR	SARH	M3	12.4mi	181in	8x9in	705lbs	?	88lbs
AA-8	Aphid	USSR	IR	M3	.5-3mi	84"	4.72in	121lbs	?	13.2lbs
AA-9	-	USSR	AR	?	80mi
SA-7	Grail	USSR	IR	M1.5	.5-3mi	53.25in	2.75in	20.3lbs	FRAG	5.5lbs
AAM-1	Japan	IR	?	4.3mi	102in	?	?	154lbs	BFIRP	10lbs
AA-X-10	-	USSR
AA-XP-1	-	USSR	?	?	12-22	?	?	?	?	?
AA-XP-2	-	USSR	?	?	24-44	?	?	?	?	?
AA-X-?	-	USSR	?	?
AIM-4D	Falcon	US	IR	M4	6mi	79.5in	6.4in	134lbs	?	29-40lbs
AIM-4F	Falcon	US	SARH	M4	7mi	86.0in	6.6in	150lbs	?	29-40lbs
AIM-7A	Sparrow	US	RBR	M3.7	5mi	140in	8in	310lb	CR	66lbs
AIM-7B	Sparrow	US	ARH	M3.7	?	144in	8in	420lb	CR	66lbs
AIM-7C	Sparrow	US	SARH	M3.7	25mi	144in	8in	380lb	CR	66lbs
AIM-7D	Sparrow	US	SARH	M3.7	25mi	144in	8in	440lb	CR	66lbs
AIM-7E	Sparrow	US	SARH	M3.7	28mi	144in	8in	452lb	CR	66lbs
AIM-7F	Sparrow	US	SARH	M3.7	62mi	144in	8in	503lb	ADCR	88lbs
AIM-7M	Sparrow	US	SARH	M3.7	62mi	145in	8in	503lb	ADCR	88lbs
AIM-9E	Side.	US	IR	M2.5+	4.3mi	118in	7.75"	164lb	BFIRP	10lbs
AIM-9P	Side.	US	IR	M2.5+	11mi	121in	7.75"	172lb	HE	20.8lbs
AIM-9P-4	Side.	US(FO)	IR	M2.5+	11mi	121in	7.75"	172lb	HE	20.8lbs
AIM-9M	Side.	US	IR	M2.5+	11mi	112in	7.75in	190lb	ABFL	25lbs
AIM-54C	Phoenix	US	SARH	M5+	124mi	158in	15in	985lbs	CR	132lbs
AIM-120	AMRAAM	US	IGARH	M4	31mi	12ft	7in	340lbs	?	?
AIM-26A	Falcon	US	IRARH	M2	5mi	84in	11in	203lbs	NUCLEAR	1.5KT
AIR-2A	Genie	US	BALL	M3.3	6.2mi	116in	17.5in	822lbs	NUCLEAR	1.5KT
	ASAT	US
Under Development
Desig	Name	Cntry	Seek	Spd	Rng	Len	Diam	Weight	Wrhd	Weight
	Firestreak	UK	IR	M3	.75-5mi	125.5in	8.75in	300lbs	HE	50lbs
	Red Top	UK	IR	M3.2	7.5mi	131in	8.75in	330lbs	FRAG	68.3lbs
	Sky Flash	UK	SARH	M4	31mi	145in	8in	425lbs	CR	66lbs (AIM-7E)
	Aspide	Italy	SARH	M4	31-62	12ft	8in	485lbs	FRAG	72.75lbs
	Python 3	Israel	IR	>M2.5	>11mi	?	?	?	CR	~24lbs
	Shafir	Israel	IR	> M1	3.1mi	97in	6.3in	205lbs	PF	24.3lbs
R.530		France	IR	M2.7	11mi	125.9in	10.35in	426.6lb	CR	60lbs
R.530		France	SARH	M2.7	11mi	129.3in	10.35in	423.3lb	CR	60lbs
	Super 530	France	ARH	M4.6	22mi	139.4in	10.35in	551lbs	BF	> 66lbs
R.550	Magic	France	IR	M3	.2-6.2	109in	6.2in	198lbs	CR	27.6lbs
V3	Kukri	Saudi Arabia	IR	M2+	.2-2.5	116in	5in	162lbs	FRAG
Proposed
Desig	Name	Cntry	Seek	Spd	Rng	Len	Diam	Weight	Wrhd	Weight
	ASRAAM	UK	BOTH?	M3+	.6-9mi	<AIM-9	<AIM-9		small
	HATCP	France	IR	M2.6	3-4mi	71.26in	3.54in	38lbs	Blast	6.5lbs
	IR-AAM	Japan	IR
	Mica	France	BOTH
	MLMS	US	IR	> M1	3mi	60in	2.75in	22.3lbs	FRAG	6.6lbs
	Piranha	Brazil	IR
RBS 70		Sweden	LBR	> M1	3mi	52in	4.17in	33lbs	PF	2.2lbs

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