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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
FY97 Annual Report

AIM-9X SIDEWINDER AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE

	Joint Navy (lead)/Air Force ACAT ID Program 10,049 missiles Total program cost $3,232.9M Average unit cost $193K LRIP 2QFY00 Full-rate Production 1QFY02 Prime Contractor Hughes Missile Systems

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The AIM-9X Sidewinder Air-to-Air missile program will develop a short range heat seeking weapon to be employed in both offensive and defensive counter-air operations. Offensively, the weapon will assure that US and combined air forces have the ability project the necessary power to insure dominant maneuver. In the defensive counter-air role, the missile system will provide a key capability for force protection.

The multi-service Air Intercept Missile (AIM-9X Sidewinder) development will field a high off-boresight capable short range heat seeking missile to be employed on US Air Force and Navy/Marine Corps fighters. The missile will be used both for offensive and defensive counter-air operations as a short range, launch and leave air combat missile that uses infra red guidance. The AIM-9X will complement longer range radar guided missiles such as the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).

The new missile is required to reestablish the parity of US aircraft in short range air combat, vis-à-vis improved foreign export aircraft and missiles. Specific deficiencies exist in the current AIM-9M in high off-boresight angle capability, infra-red counter-countermeasures robustness, kinematic performance, and missile maneuverability. The MiG-29 with its AA-10/AA-11 missiles are the major threat to US forces. Additionally, there are a number of other missiles on the world market that outperform the current US inventory AIM-9M weapon system in the critical operational employment areas.

The AIM-9X will expand the capabilities of the current AIM-9M by developing a new seeker imaging infra-red focal plane array, a high performance airframe, and a new signal processor for the seeker/sensor. The current acquisition strategy seeks to retain the warhead, fuze, and rocket motor of the current design in order to capitalize on the large existing inventory of AIM-9 weapons. The F-15C/D and the F/A-18C/D will be the initial platforms for integration and T&E.

No data.

COMOPTEVFOR and AFOTEC have completed operational assessments of the two AIM-9X DEM-VAL participants and the British Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air missile, as specified in the system TEMP. The purpose of the operational test agencies efforts was to assess the potential operational effectiveness and suitability of the systems under consideration to support a December 2, 1996 DAB and down-selection to one final contract award. The assessments were based upon laboratory, simulation, and captive test unit data collected during the developmental effort, and dedicated foreign comparative testing. DOT&E personnel were actively involved in the assessment activity.

Following the EMD contract award to Hughes Missile Systems, DOT&E, the Program Office, the Service OTAs, and the prime contractor have aggressively worked to formulate an EMD strategy that integrates early OT involvement into a combined DT/OT phase, a strategy for modeling and simulation accreditation that makes efficient use of both developmental and operational test data, integrated testing events and systems integration efforts with the Helmet-mounted Cueing System to save time and resources, and explored the potential to execute the OT&E using the first operational units programmed to receive the weapon system in order to accelerate the fielding of the weapon. Additionally, a preliminary Live Fire Test and Evaluation Strategy has been developed that integrates existing warhead data with an adequate test program to characterize the contribution of changes in end-game geometry afforded by the new missile guidance package.

The early operational assessment of the Hughes and Raytheon DEMVAL results was executed by COMOPTEVFOR. The EOA focused on four risk areas of missile development: focal plane array performance, detector cooling, gimbal and platform stabilization, and signal processing.

The assessment was supported by data gathering activity in two flight phases (15 ground-to-air and 37 air-to-air sorties) and a coordinated modeling and simulation effort. The flight phases assessed the missiles performance in various background, countermeasure, and target aircraft maneuvering conditions.

The result of the assessment was that both the Hughes and Raytheon missiles showed potential for meeting both the mission effectiveness and suitability requirements of the AIM-9X operational requirements document. Specifically, all critical operational issues were rated green (potentially effective/suitable) except counter-countermeasures capability, lethality, built in test functionality, and reprogrammability. Counter-countermeasures capability of both missiles was initially below the operationally required threshold values, however the Hughes missile showed a rapid improvement through the course of the evaluation. The missiles demonstrated acceptable performance levels in the air-to-air phase. The other assessment areas not resolved as green had insufficient data for conclusive evaluation. However, again, the risk of either DEMVAL missile not meeting the threshold requirement was rated as low. The results of the operational assessment were integral to the Service source selection decision to award the engineering, manufacturing, development contract to Hughes Missile Systems Corporation.

The early operational assessment of the British ASRAAM foreign comparative test (FCT) was executed by the AFOTEC at the direction of the DOT&E. The FCT focused on the risk areas of the ASRAAM: focal plane array effectiveness, seeker signal processing, warhead effectiveness, rocket motor testing, and kinematic/guidance ability to support the lethality requirements of the AIM-9X.

The initial FCT plan called for nine ground-to-air test flights, 40 captive carry air-to-air flights, four programmed missile launches, warhead testing, and motor case testing. These test events were to be supported by an integrated modeling and simulation evaluation. After several modifications to the scope of the FCT, the EOA assessed: four ground-to-air sorties, 19 air-to-air captive carry sorties, four programmed missile launches, eight static warhead tests, and four rocket motor case tests.

Due to immaturity of the British furnished modeling and simulation tools and missile design, AFOTEC was not able to individually report on each critical operational issue. The assessment, instead, aggregated the issues in three major assessment areas: seeker/tracker performance, airframe kinematic capability, and mission capability/system maturity. The resulting assessment was that the ASRAAM (as is) cannot meet the AIM-9X operational requirements in high off-boresight angle performance, infrared counter-countermeasures robustness, lethality, and interoperability.