Weapon Stats:
AIM-9B Sidewinder
The original version of the American AIM-9 Sidewinder infra-red air-to-air missile was built in 3 almost identical versions (AIM-9A/B/C), with the majority of missiles produced being of the -9B variant.
The AIM-9B used a 4.5 kg (10 lb) blast-fragmentation warhead. This was triggered by an IR proximity or contact fuze, and had an effective kill radius of about 9 m (30 ft). The uncooled PbS seeker of these early missiles had a 4° angle of view and a tracking rate of 11°/s, and the missile itself could turn at 12G. Propulsion was provided by a Thiokol MK 17 solid-fuel rocket motor (17.8 kN (4000 lb) thrust for 2.2 s), which could propel the missile to a speed of Mach 1.7 above launch speed. Because of the limitations of the seeker, the AIM-9B could only be used for tail-on engagements of non-manoeuvering targets and was very susceptible to other heat sources (sun, ground reflections, etc).
The AIM-9B has been known to have been fitted to the Sabre and Mirage III. It has not been confirmed that a version of the AIM-9B was also known as the V1.
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