AIM-9X Successfully Completes First Guided Launch From F/A-18 Aircraft.LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 1999-- The AIM-9X Sidewinder sidewinder, common name for a rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes, found in the deserts of the SW United States. This 2-ft (60-cm), pale yellow and pink snake is named for its curious method of locomotion. short range air-to-air missile Noun 1. air-to-air missile - a missile designed to be launched from one airplane at another missile - a rocket carrying a warhead of conventional or nuclear explosives; may be ballistic or directed by remote control successfully completed its first guided launch by intercepting a QF-4 drone yesterday at the Naval Air Warfare air warfare Military operations conducted by airplanes, helicopters, or other aircraft against aircraft or targets on the ground and in the water. Air warfare did not become important until World War I (1914–18). Center-Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif. The launch, from a U.S. Navy F/A-18D fighter aircraft fighter aircraft Aircraft designed primarily to secure control of essential airspace by destroying enemy aircraft in combat. Designed for high speed and maneuverability, they are armed with weapons capable of striking other aircraft in flight. , was the first in a series of guided launches off F/A-18 and F-15 aircraft. The AIM-9X is under development by Raytheon Systems Company, a unit of Raytheon Company (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :RTNA RTNA Ring Tone No Answer )(NYSE:RTNB RTNB Radio Television Nationale du Burundi (Africa) RTNB Return the Next Bit (computers) ). The launch marked a significant milestone for the AIM-9X program as it was the first guided launch evaluating the ability of the missile's high off-boresight, infrared seeker to track a full-size target through launch, flyout, and intercept. In addition, data from the flight is essential to validating the high fidelity simulation being used to predict missile performance. "This successful AIM-9X intercept is a major step in providing the U.S. warfighter with the advanced short range missile required in today's lethal air-to-air engagements," said CAPT David Venlet, Program Manager Air-to-Air Missile Systems, PMA-259. The guided launches are taking place in parallel with a series of separation and control tests whose objectives are to clear the missile for launch through the aircraft's flight regime and demonstrate the missile advanced airframe incorporating jet vane Vane , John Robert 1927-2004. British pharmacologist. He shared a 1982 Nobel Prize for research on prostaglandins. vane the membranous or main part of the contour feather in birds as distinct from the shaft. control. AIM-9X has successfully completed two separation and control tests from the F/A-18 and most recently one from the F-15. Subsequent guided launches and separation tests off the U.S. Navy F/A-18 and U.S. Air Force F-15 aircraft are scheduled throughout 1999. "This successful guided launch precisely demonstrates the technological advancements of the missile's IR seeker and high off-boresight performance and places the AIM-9X at the forefront of next generation air-to-air missile technology," said Chuck Anderson, Raytheon Systems Company Vice President for the Air-to-Air Missiles product line in Tucson, Ariz. The AIM-9X is a joint U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force program currently in engineering and manufacturing development. It is the newest member of the AIM-9 Sidewinder short range missile family currently in use by more than 40 nations throughout the world. Raytheon Company, based in Lexington, Mass., is a global technology leader that provides products and services in the areas of commercial and defense electronics, engineering and construction, and business and special mission aircraft. Raytheon has operations throughout the United States and serves customers in more than 80 countries around the world. |
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