NASAMS in action: AIM‑9X missile confirms its potency

An interesting video has surfaced online, showing the activity of a NASAMS anti-aircraft system battery. The video captures a missile launch that appears to be the newest member of the AIM-9 Sidewinder family. We present its performance.

In the video below, you can see one of the missiles launched from the NASAMS anti-aircraft system launcher, shooting down a Russian target, most likely a drone or cruise missile.

According to X user John Ridge, who specializes in anti-aircraft missiles, the fired missile could have been an AIM-9X Sidewinder. This is also supported by a frame-by-frame analysis of the recording, which shows the lack of large canards in the front part of the missile (characteristic of older versions) and short fins in the rear part of the missile.

AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles have been the standard short-range armament for most NATO aircraft since the 1950s. The AIM-9X variant, produced only since 2003, is an evolution of the older AIM-9L/M missiles, retaining only the rocket motor and the warhead weighing about 10 kilograms.

Significant changes have been made to the rest of the missile, starting with a slightly redesigned airframe with greater strength and modified aerodynamics to a new generation of guidance heads. This is a fourth-generation design that operates in the infrared spectrum and sees the thermal image of the target, hence the term IIR (imaging infrared).

Unlike older models, it can track an aircraft's heated fuselage and not just the engine's heat point. It is also resistant to decoys like flares. Essentially, the only forms of protection against an attack are to outmanoeuvre it (nearly impossible) or to blind the head with a laser beam, which only very few self-defence systems can achieve.

The range varies depending on the version. The Block I version can have a range above 16 kilometres, while the Block II version, produced since 2015, is estimated to have a range of about 31 kilometres. Notably, a communication link was added in the Block II version, enabling features such as target confirmation post-launch or switching to another target.

The above range values apply to launches from aircraft at high altitudes. For ground launches, the range will be significantly lower (below 19 kilometres), as the denser air causes greater drag and faster energy dissipation of the missile.