The MAA-1 Piranha is a supersonic, short-range air-to-air missile relying on infrared passive guidance which seeks the target's heat emissions coming primarily from an aircraft's engines. It is highly maneuverable and can turn at accelerations of up to 50g. The Piranha performs as a 'fire and forget' missile, that means once launched the missile does not require input data coming the aircraft's sensors to hit its target. A laser fuze is responsible for detonating the high-explosive warhead. Externally, the aerodynamic configuration is very similar to Rafael's Python 3 air-to-air missile.