The sidewinder missile is still lethal after 60 years

It started out as an unguided air-to-air rocket. Then, someone had the idea to put a sensor on it that could pick up the heat put out by an airplane's engine. Add a control system and you've got yourself an effective, deadly missile — one that has been relied upon for decades by American pilots and their allies.

Two 500 pound Laser Guided Bomb Units (GBU-12) (left) and an AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile are visible on the wing of an F/A-18 Hornet from the "Mighty Shrikes" of Strike Fighter Squadron Nine Four (VFA-94). (U.S. Navy photo)

That missile is the AIM-9 Sidewinder, and it's come a long way since its combat debut in 1958. The Taiwanese scored this missile's first kill when it was carried on and fired by North American F-86 Sabre fighters. Today, the missile is a key part of the weapons suite for the Lockheed F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning stealth fighters.




The missile was solely a Navy weapon for its first few years. The United States Air Force backed the GAR-2 Falcon, which later got the designation AIM-4. Eventually, the Navy's missile won out and the Air Force adopted it.




Learn more about the Sidewinder in the video below:


(Dung Tran | YouTube)