Air Force print news: Edwards test team fires F-16's first AIM-9X Sidewinder

Defense AT&L, July-August, 2004 by Leigh Anne Bierstine

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- A test team from the Global Power Fighters Combined Test Force fired the newest variant of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, the X variant, for the first time from an F-16 Fighting Falcon here April 9.

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The Sidewinder is a supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft. Before this, the AIM-9X had been fired only from F-15 Eagles and U.S. Navy F-18 Hornets.

The test mission is part of the F-16 M4-plus test project currently going on here. The project tests an improved avionics system that will be used to upgrade about 600 active-duty F-16 aircraft.

This was the first firing in a series of tests designed to clear the new variant for use on the F-16, said Capt. Chad Hale, 416th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS) operations engineer for the project. The initial flights are designed to validate the effects predicted by its contracted developer.

The team's first two firings are unguided, and the flight profiles will build up to three guided firings against subscale drones, Captain Hale said.

In its first test, after clearing the aircraft the missile was programmed to perform a high-G dive into the ground. Air Force Maj. Ray Toth, 416th FLTS test pilot, fired the new Sidewinder. "The test went as planned, and there were no surprises," said Toth, who fired the missile over a test range at nearby China Lake Naval Air Weapons Center.

The team also evaluated how the new Sidewinder variant works with the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System. It is compatible with the system, which is designed to acquire targets more easily and decrease aircrew workload.

Results of the tests will have big payoffs for combat pilots, said Air Force Maj. Monte Cannon, a project pilot and 416th FLTS F-16 chase pilot for the mission.

"The AIM-9X test marks a tremendous increase in combat capability for the F-16," Cannon said. "Together, the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System and the missile will provide a lethal combination for pilots who find themselves in visual engagements."

The latest variant has the same rocket motor and warhead as the AIM-9M, which is the most current operational variant of the missile. However, the AIM-9X has major changes from previous versions including increased flight performance.

The Sidewinder was originally developed by the Navy for fleet air defense and was later adapted by the Air Force for use on fighter aircraft. Early versions of the missile were used in the Vietnam War.