AIM-132 ASRAAM

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The AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile is a British air-to-air missile with infra-red guidance.

Contents

1 History
2 Characteristics
3 ASRAAM P3I
4 Operators
5 See also
6 External links

History

In the 1980s, NATO countries had an agreement that the United States would develop a medium-range air-to-air missile (the AIM-120 AMRAAM) to replace the AIM-7 Sparrow, and Britain and Germany would develop a short-range air-to-air missile (the ASRAAM) to replace the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

After numerous development delays with ASRAAM, the U.S. later changed its mind and developed an improved Sidewinder, the AIM-9X. The AIM-9X uses the same seeker head as the ASRAAM.

Germany left the ASRAAM project in the early 1990s, and in the spring of 1995 initiated an improved version of the Sidewinder, the IRIS-T. This decision was motivated by new insights into the performance of the Russian Vympel R-73 (AA-11 'Archer') missile carried by the MiG-29s which Germany inherited during reunification.

Characteristics

The main improvement compared to the existing AIM-9L/M Sidewinder is a new Focal Plane Array IIR (128x128 resolution imaging infrared) seeker built by Raytheon-Hughes, this seeker was also adopted for the new AIM-9X. It has a long acquisition range, high countermeasures resistance, 90 degrees off-boresight lock-on capability, and the possibility to designate specific parts of the targeted aircraft (like cockpit, engines, etc.). The ASRAAM also has a LOAL (Lock-On After Launch) ability which is a distinct advantage when the missile is carried in an internal weapons bay such as in the upcoming F-35 Lightning II, which uses internal weapon bays for stealth.

ASRAAM P3I

In 1995, Hughes and British Aerospace proposed the "P3I ASRAAM" after the AIM-132 ASRAAM's performance was evaluated insufficient. The P3I is very much like the AIM-132, but it features thrust vectoring to provide increased agility and to carry a larger warhead.

Operators

External links

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