WD helps Sidewinder reach production milestone

An AIM-9X Block 1 Sidewinder is fired from an F/A-18 Super Hornet during a recent test on the NAWCWD China Lake land range. (U.S. Navy Photo)

Date: 19-May-10
News Release Number: ECL201005191

The Sidewinder logged another milestone earlier this year with the delivery of the 4,000th AIM-9X Block I missile.

A ceremony was held Feb. 25 at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. where U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Benjamin Angus, representing NAVAIR's PMA- 259, accepted delivery of the 4,000th weapon from Raytheon.

"We have a long history of Sidewinder work here at China Lake," said Dr. Mark Lambert, lead for the Sidewinder technical project office in the NAWCWD Weapons and Energetics Department. "Our systems engineering support and our high level of technical expertise are significant contributions to the success of the program."

In addition to the production milestone, the AIM-9X Block I Sidewinder reached another major milestone when it completed one million operational flight hours by the United States and allied Air Forces.

"This is a significant milestone because it demonstrates the reliability of the world's most capable infrared-guided air-to-air missile," said Harry Schulte, of Raytheon Missile Systems.

The conception, design and development of Sidewinder began at China Lake with Dr. William B. McLean in the '40s. Maintaining its role as technical design agent for Sidewinder, NAWCWD had to be flexible and evolve as the acquisition strategy changed significantly for the AIM-9X.

"The 'modern' acquisition strategy, with the contractor taking the lead, was a philosophical struggle for us," Lambert said. "But, China Lake still has a very impressive systems engineering capability in terms of understanding how the missile works. Our technical contributions are unmatched."

The underlying technology for 9X's thrust vector control system, infrared imagining seeker technology, warhead, fuze and rocket motor were all based on China Lake research and development efforts.

"There wouldn't be an AIM-9X without China Lake," Lambert said. "Ninety percent of the real estate on the missile is all China Lake-developed technology."

The AIM-9X offers the warfighter maneuverability, high off-boresight capability, and reliability. The missile's ability to defeat infrared countermeasures and its digital reprogramming capability allow it to defeat ever-changing threats. AIM-9X is preparing to begin production of the Block II missile, which will further enhance warfighting capabilities with a new fuze offering a data link and lock-on-after-launch capability. The AIM-9X is a joint program between the Navy and the Air Force. The Navy is the lead service and Raytheon is the prime contractor. NAWCWD China Lake provides integration support for AIM-9X, and performs test and evaluation work on its ranges.

"Raytheon did a great job on the front end," Lambert said. "Their design brings a significant increase in capability to the warfighter regarding countermeasure capability and processing. We at China Lake work hard to stay technically sharp and remain relevant to the science and technology development of weapon systems now and into the future."

[Return to 2010 News Releases]