SIDEWINDER: THE GAME-CHANGING MISSILE THE NAVY DIDN’T ACTUALLY WANT
Alex Hollings | November 3, 2022
Developed at a turning point in air-to-air combat, the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile was the world’s first infrared-guided — or heat-seeking — missile, forever changing not only the dynamics of dog fighting, but the ways in which combat aircraft are designed, built, and employed in war. But most surprising of all is that this game-changing missile wasn’t developed with backing from the U.S. military… but rather, in spite of it.
The air combat of World War II was largely dominated by daring pilots flying in close quarters with the enemy in an effort to engage them with a variety of onboard cannons. Air-to-air rockets had proven effective in limited use during World War I against observation balloons and again in World War II against bombers, but the unguided nature of these weapons severely limited their range and efficacy.
The birth of air-to-air missiles was all about radar-guidance
Supermarine Swift with Fireflash missiles in1956 (Wikimedia Commons)
By the end of World War II, the advent of radar had made the prospect of fielding guided air-to-air missiles a reality. By 1947, both the U.K. and the U.S. were quickly developing a new bevy of radar-guided weapons like the U.K.’s Fairey Fireflash and America’s AAM-A-1 Firebird. These early air-to-air missiles were complex pieces of equipment — which meant they were difficult and expensive to produce.
https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/sidewinder-the-game-changing-missile-the-navy-didnt-actually-want/
