Mitsubishi AAM-3
| Mitsubishi AAM-3 | |
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| General Information | |
| Type | Air-to-air missile |
| Local name | Type-90 |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| development | from 1985 - 1990 |
| Commissioning | 1991 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 3100 mm |
| diameter | 127 mm |
| Combat weight | 91 kg |
| span | 640 mm |
| drive | Solid rocket motor |
| Range | 0.5 - 5 km |
| Furnishing | |
| Target location | Infrared |
| Warhead | 15 kg fragmentation warhead |
| Weapon platforms |
McDonnell F-4EJ Mitsubishi F-2 McDonnell Douglas F-15J |
| Lists on the subject | |
The AAM-3 developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a short-range air-to-air missile that has been used by the Japanese armed forces since 1990 under the name Type-90 . It replaces the US AIM-9 Sidewinder in the armament of the Japanese Air Force .
History and technology
By the mid-1980s it became apparent that the Sidewinder AIM-9L was getting on in years, and since the AAM-2 program was discontinued, the Air Self-Defense Forces had only obsolete short-range air-to-air missiles. The development of a significantly improved variant based on the AIM-9L at the Technical Research and Development Institute Ministry of Defense (TRDI) began in 1985. A two-color infrared seeker head, which can deal better with decoys , and a significantly heavier fragmentation warhead (15 kg) were installed. The canards on the AAM-3 have been shaped to target the rocket tip to create a shock wave. This ensures that the air flow around the missile's cell is much more stable.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was selected to build the AAM-3 from 1990 onwards. The Air Self-Defense Forces ordered about 400 copies, the ones on the McDonnell F-4EJ , McDonnell Douglas F-15J and the Mitsubishi F-2 that emerged from the FS-X program .
References
Web links
- AAM-3 on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.co.jp (eng)
- AAM-3 on janes.com (eng)
- www.fas.org (eng)
literature
- Duncan S. Lennox & Arthur Rees: Jane's Air-Launched Weapons , Issue 5, Janes Information Group
- Keith Atkin: Jane's Electro-Optic Systems , Sixth Edition 2000-2001, Jane's Information Group