Submitted by TEAM Public Affairs, Pax River

The AIM-9X Sidewinder has been approved for production by Dr. Gansler, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics after a review by the Defense Acquisition Board.

This first production contract, worth approximately $43 million, will be awarded to the Raytheon Systems Company as soon as Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations are received.

The first Low Rate Initial Production missiles are scheduled to be delivered beginning in FY 2002. Of the first 143 AIM-9Xs, a combination of training and live missiles, the Navy will get 76 missiles and the Air Force will get 67. The AIM-9X is scheduled to reach its initial operational capability in fiscal year 2003. Navy F/A-18 C/Ds and Air Force F-15Cs will get the AIM-9X first.

"This missile reestablishes U.S. air combat dominance in a highly competitive international arena," said Capt. David Venlet, PMA-259 air-to-air missile program manager. "The AIM-9X has demonstrated the capability to exceed the stringent requirements for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and select foreign customers."

The AIM-9X provides both beyond-visual range and short-range high-off-boresight attack capabilities during highly dynamic air-to-air combat engagements involving challenging countermeasure environments.

"We are killing targets in very aggressive scenarios and having to work with the services to obtain more targets because our success has been better than predicted," said Col. Jim McClendon, AIM-9X program manager.

The AIM-9X system is the newest upgrade to the tried-and-true Sidewinder family of air-to-air missiles. This newest missile upgrade modifies the fielded AIM-9M to the more capable and lethal AIM-9X missile.

The Air Force plans to buy 5,097 and the Navy plans to buy 5,000 AIM-9X missiles over a planned 18-year production run.