Now it can be launched from the ground: Ukraine redesigns AIM-9M missiles for F-16 fighters

Last updated Oct 24, 2023 12:03 25

The Western newspaper Financial Times writes that Ukrainian specialists have converted the AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air guided missiles for F-16 fighter jets provided by the United States into surface-to-air missiles.

These missiles were disabled and redesigned to be launched from the ground for the needs of Ukrainian air defense.

“We redesigned them. We found a way to launch them from the ground. It’s a kind of homemade air defense,” an unnamed Ukrainian official told reporters.

According to him, this is one example of re-equipping seemingly unnecessary equipment into a weapon in use.

“We have an agreed solution: we take something outdated and make something different,” the official said, adding that the recycled missiles “will help Ukraine survive the winter” by saving its energy infrastructure from possible Russian attacks.

Journalists of the American magazine Forbes wrote that Ukraine may install AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles on Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters while waiting for F-16 fighters.

The AIM-9M Sidewinder is an American short-range air-to-air missile developed by Raytheon in the mid-1950s. After the AIM-9 was adopted in 1956, the missile has been improved many times and is still in mass production. Most AIM-9 modifications are equipped with an infrared homing system. More than 200,000 missiles have been produced since 1955, making the AIM-9 one of the most mass-produced air-to-air missiles in history. In addition, they shot down 270 aircraft, more than any other air-to-air missile.