The Arizona Daily Star December 19, 2009
Sidewinder upgraded here for use in surface warfare
By David Wichner
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.19.2009
For more than 50 years, the Sidewinder air-to-air missile has helped America and its allies rule the skies as a potent dogfighting weapon.
Now, Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems is adapting the latest Sidewinder to help master the battleground.
Raytheon recently announced that it had completed testing of a modified AIM-9X Sidewinder that can hit moving surface targets, in a demonstration program for the U.S. Air Force.
The company also has been working with the U.S. Marine Corps to develop a land-launched version of the Sidewinder as an anti-aircraft system, while with the Navy it is developing a submarine-launched version to allow subs to defend against air threats in coastal waters.
Raytheon says it has been developing the AIM-9X's surface-attack capability with the Air Force since 2007.
In the most recent test in September, an AIM-9X fired from a U.S. Air Force F-16C fighter jet sank a "rapidly moving target boat" in the Gulf of Mexico, Raytheon said.
In two prior tests with the Air Force, a Sidewinder fired from an F-16 sank a maneuvering boat in April 2008, and a missile fired by an F-15C fighter jet destroyed a fast-moving armored personnel carrier in March 2007.
New capability sought
Jeff White, air warfare systems business development manager for Raytheon Missile Systems, said the Air Force came to Raytheon in 2007 seeking the new capability.
Though the Air Force has used various versions of the Sidewinder since the late 1950s, the U.S. Navy is the primary program manager.
"The Air Force had what they believed was a tactical requirement, to see if we could make the AIM-9X track surface targets," said White, a former Marine Corps aviator who goes by his old pilot's handle, "Jaws."
Raytheon had an answer, with a software upgrade that allows the AIM-9X — the latest version of the Sidewinder, in service since 2003 — to retain its air-to-air capabilities and gain the ability to hit ground targets. What's more, pilots can reprogram the missiles for air or ground combat after their planes take off.
It wasn't an easy task, but the mission was aided by the built-in flexibility of the AIM-9X, an "all-digital" missile that can be quickly reprogrammed for different missions, White said.
Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of air warfare systems, said the surface-attack capability could be added "at a very affordable cost," though cost figures were not available.
Testing of missile complete
White said testing of the new missile configuration is considered complete, but it's up to the Air Force to decide on the next step, such as a possible initial production contract.
Air Force program officials were unavailable for comment this week, a spokeswoman for the service said.
More than 40 U.S. allies use some version of the Sidewinder, but only nine foreign nations use the latest AIM-9X version — South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark and Poland.
Such sales are made through the Pentagon foreign military sales program, with approval from the U.S. State Department.
Defense analysts said the AIM-9X surface-attack project reflects a growing practice of the Pentagon and defense contractors working to adapt existing weapon systems to evolving threats.
Examples involving Raytheon Missile Systems include the Surface-Launched Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or SL-AMRAAM, with Raytheon's air-launched AMRAAM adapted for use as a ground-based air defense system; and the Centurion Weapon System, a mobile air-defense system adapted from Raytheon's Phalanx close-range ship-defense system.
"I think that's part of it — it's been going on for a while," said Philip Coyle, senior adviser for the Center for Defense Information in Washington, D.C., and formerly the chief Pentagon adviser on defense technology.
"You have systems that are well-proven for years and years, so their capabilities are well understood."
Limiting civilian casualties
With the need to limit civilian casualties and other "collateral damage" in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanders also may be looking for small tactical weapons with more direct human control than unmanned aircraft like the Predator, Coyle added.
Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., said that giving pilots the ability to switch the AIM9-X from an air-to-air role to a ground-attack mission would add valuable flexibility to combat operations.
"What a nice way to get more benefit from the sortie," O'Hanlon said, adding that a supersonic jet fighter could get to a hot spot much faster than other ground-attack options like helicopters.
The modified AIM-9Xs also would give some fighter aircraft that lack ground-attack armament — including several versions of the F-15 — a new attack option, he said.
John Pike, director of the defense Web site GlobalSecurity.org, said that tweaking existing weapons for new missions can be cost-effective. Each AIM-9X costs about $84,000, according to the Navy.
"I don't think any missile is going to be a solution to all your problems, but it may be a solution to a bunch of problems," he said.
But there may be limits to such adaptations, he added, noting that the Sidewinder's relatively small warhead may limit its effectiveness against some targets. The heat-seeking AIM-9X, which is about 10 feet long and five inches in diameter, carries a 20.8-pound blast-fragmentation warhead.
Built in Tucson
Raytheon's White said adapting the company's weapon systems to new uses is a good business strategy. About 400 Raytheon Missile System workers design and build the AIM-9X in Tucson, Andover, Mass. and Goleta, Calif.
"I think if the only thing we did with it was use it as an air-to-air missile, other companies would fill those niches," he said.
Meanwhile, Raytheon is busy working on the next version of the Sidewinder, the AIM-9X Block II, White said.
The Block II missile, which has completed some flight testing, will feature an improved fuze and a new data link that allows a "lock-on after launch" mode to target the weapon after launch, he said.
© Copyright 2009, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
