TUCSON, Ariz. - RTX's Raytheon announced it has been selected by the U.S. Navy to produce AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles as part of a $1.1 billion contract issued.
The missiles, which will mainly be produced at Raytheon's Tucson, Ariz., location, are part of RTX's effort to support U.S. and foreign allies with needed hardware and software amid growing demand. Raytheon says it is increasing its production capacity to 2,500 missiles per year.
"Our teams have streamlined production, shortened lead times and ramped up deliveries of AIM-9X missiles to keep pace with growing demand," said Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon.
Related: RTX's BBN demonstrates self-healing tactical communications system for contested environments
Heat seeker
The AIM-9X Block II is an infrared-guided heat-seeking missile that equips most jet fighters, fighter-bombers, and other offensive combat aircraft in the U.S. arsenal, and is suitable for engaging nearby enemy aircraft. The AIM-9X works by homing in on an enemy aircraft's hot engine exhaust. Variants of the AIM-9 Sidewinder have been deployed since the 1950s.
While the missile is a heat seeker by nature, it uses sensors to produce a thermal image of the enemy aircraft it is engaging, allowing the ordnance to differentiate between thermal decoys and the airframe.
The Block II includes a weapon datalink to enable the missile to be fired before it has locked onto the target. It flies toward a predicted intercept point and later uses its infrared seeker as part of a standard lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) ability.
Related: Navy taps Raytheon for M-Code upgrade to JPALS precision landing system
The AIM-9X entered service in 2003 on the Navy F/A-18C Hornet fighter-bomber and on the U.S. Air Force F-15C jet fighter. It has an infrared focal-plane array seeker with 90-degree off-boresight capability for accuracy.
The missile is compatible with helmet-mounted displays such as the U.S. Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System and features 3-D thrust-vectoring control for improved maneuvering capability. The AIM-9X also includes an internal cooling system.
This newest Block II version has lock-on-after-launch capability for use with the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter and the F-22 Raptor advanced tactical fighter.
