Air - to - air missile An air - to - air missile ( AAM ) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft . AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motor s , usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled . Ramjet engines , as used on the MBDA Meteor ( currently in development ) , are emerging as propulsion that will enable future medium - range missiles to maintain higher average speed across their engagement envelope . Air - to - air missiles are broadly put in two groups . Those designed to engage opposing aircraft at ranges of less than 30 km are known as short - range or " within visual range " missiles ( SRAAMs or WVRAAMs ) and are sometimes called " dogfight " missiles because they emphasize agility rather than range . Most use infrared guidance and are called heat - seeking missiles . In contrast , medium - or long - range missiles ( MRAAMs or LRAAMs ) , which both fall under the category of beyond visual range missiles ( BVRAAMs ) , tend to rely upon radar guidance , of which there are many forms . Some modern ones use inertial guidance and / or " mid - course updates " to get the missile close enough to use an active homing sensor . History . The air - to - air missile grew out of the unguided air - to - air rocket s used during the First World War . Le Prieur rocket s were sometimes attached to the struts of biplanes and fired electrically , usually against observation balloons , by such early pilots as Albert Ball and A . M . Walters . Facing the Allied air superiority , Germany in World War II invested considerable effort into missile research , using the R4M unguided rocket first and later the first guided rockets like the Ruhrstahl X - 4 . Post - war research led the Royal Air Force to introduce Fairey Fireflash into service in 1955 but their results were unsuccessful . The US Navy and US Air Force began equipping guided missiles in 1956 , deploying the USAF ' s AIM - 4 Falcon and the USN ' s AIM - 7 Sparrow and AIM - 9 Sidewinder . The Soviet Air Force introduced its Kaliningrad K - 5 into service in 1957 . As missile systems have continued to advance , modern air warfare consists almost entirely of missile firing . The faith in Beyond Visual Range combat became so pervasive in the US that early F - 4 variants were armed only with missiles in the 1960s . High casualty rates during the Vietnam War caused the US to reintroduce autocannon s and traditional dogfighting tactics but the missile remains the primary weapon in air combat . In the Falklands War British Harriers , using AIM - 9L missiles provided by the United States , were able to defeat faster Argentinian opponents . Since the late 20th century all - aspect heat - seeking designs can lock - on to a target from various angles , not just from behind , where the heat signature from the engines is strongest . Other types rely on radar guidance ( either on - board or " painted " by the launching aircraft ) . Warhead . A conventional explosive blast warhead , fragmentation warhead , or continuous rod warhead ( or a combination of any of those three warhead types ) is typically used in the attempt to disable or destroy the target aircraft . Warheads are typically detonated by a proximity fuze or by an impact fuze if it scores a direct hit . Less commonly , nuclear warheads have been mounted on a small number of air - to - air missile types ( such as the AIM - 26 Falcon ) although these are not known to have ever been used in combat . Lockheed Martin is working on a hit to kill missile for air to air combat . By removing the warhead they could enable the carriage of more missiles in the size constrained weapons bays of Fifth - generation jet fighter s . Guidance . Guided missiles operate by detecting their target ( usually by either radar or infrared methods , although rarely others such as laser guidance or optical tracking ) , and then " homing " in on the target on a collision course . Although the missile may use radar or infra - red guidance to home on the target , the launching aircraft may detect and track the target before launch by other means . Infra - red guided missiles can be " slaved " to an attack radar in order to find the target and radar - guided missiles can be launched at targets detected visually or via an infra - red search and track ( IRST ) system , although they may require the attack radar to illuminate the target during part or all of the missile interception itself . Radar guidance . Radar guidance is normally used for medium or long range missiles , where the infra - red signature of the target would be too faint for an infra - red detector to track . There are three major types of radar - guided missile - active , semi - active , and passive . Radar guided missiles can be countered by rapid maneuvering ( which may result in them " breaking lock " , or may cause them to overshoot ) , deploying chaff or using electronic counter - measures . Active radar homing . Active radar ( AR ) - guided missiles carry their own radar system to detect and track their target . However , the size of the radar antenna is limited by the small diameter of missiles , limiting its range which typically means such missiles are launched at a predicted future location of the target , often relying on separate guidance systems such as Global Positioning System , inertial guidance , or a mid - course update from either the launching aircraft or other system that can communicate with the missile to get the missile close to the target . At a predetermined point ( frequently based on time since launch or arrival near the predicted target location ) the missile ' s radar system is activated ( the missile is said to " go active " ) and the missile then homes in on the target . If the range from the attacking aircraft to the target is within the range of the missile ' s radar system the missile can " go active " immediately upon launch . The great advantage of an Active Radar Homing system is that it enables a " Fire - and - forget " mode of attack , where the attacking aircraft is free to pursue other targets or escape the area after launching the missile . Semi - active radar homing . Semi - active radar homing ( SARH ) guided missiles are simpler and more common . They function by detecting radar energy reflected from the target . The radar energy is emitted from the launching aircraft ' s own radar system . However , this means that the launch aircraft has to maintain a " lock " on the target ( keep illuminating the target aircraft with its own radar ) until the missile makes the interception . This limits the attacking aircraft ' s ability to maneuver , which may be necessary should threats to the attacking aircraft appear . An advantage of SARH guided missiles is that they are homing on the reflected radar signal so accuracy actually increases as the missile gets closer because the reflection comes from a " point source " : the target . Against this , if there are multiple targets , each will be reflecting the same radar signal and the missile may become confused as to which target is its intended victim . The missile may well be unable to pick a specific target and fly through a formation without passing within lethal range of any specific aircraft . Newer missiles have logic circuits in their guidance systems to help prevent this problem . At the same time , jamming the missile lock - on is easier because the launching aircraft is further from the target than the missile , so the radar signal has to travel further and is greatly attenuated over the distance . This means that the missile may be jammed or " spoofed " by countermeasures whose signals grow stronger as the missile gets closer . One counter to this is a " home on jam " capability in the missile that allows it to home in on the jamming signal . Beam riding . An early form of radar guidance was " beam - riding " ( BR ) . In this method the attacking aircraft directed a narrow beam of radar energy at the target . The air - to - air missile was launched into the beam where sensors on the aft of the missile controlled the missile , keeping it within the beam . So long as the beam was kept on the target aircraft , the missile would ride the beam until making the interception . While simple in concept , the difficulty of simultaneously keeping the beam solidly on the target ( which couldn ' t be relied upon to cooperate by flying straight and level ) , continuing to fly one ' s own aircraft , all the while keeping an eye out for enemy countermeasures , can be readily appreciated . An added complication was that the beam will spread out into a cone shape as the distance from the attacking aircraft increases . This will result in less accuracy for the missile because the beam may actually be larger than the target aircraft when the missile arrives . The missile could be securely within the beam but still not be close enough to destroy the target . Infrared guidance . Infrared guided ( IR ) missiles home on the heat produced by an aircraft . Early infra - red detectors had poor sensitivity , so could only track the hot exhaust pipes of an aircraft . This meant an attacking aircraft had to maneuver to a position behind its target before it could fire an infra - red guided missile . This also limited the range of the missile as the infra - red signature soon become too small to detect with increasing distance and after launch the missile was playing " catch - up " with its target . Early infrared seekers were unusable in clouds or rain ( which is still a limitation to some degree ) and could be distracted by the sun , a reflection of the sun off of a cloud or ground object , or any other " hot " object within its view . More modern infra - red guided missiles can detect the heat of an aircraft ' s skin , warmed by the friction of airflow , in addition to the fainter heat signature of the engine when the aircraft is seen from the side or head - on . This , combined with greater maneuverability , gives them an " all - aspect " capability , and an attacking aircraft no longer had to be behind its target to fire . Although launching from behind the target increases the probability of a hit , the launching aircraft usually has to be closer to the target in such a tail - chase engagement . An aircraft can defend against infra - red missiles by dropping flares that are hotter than the aircraft , so the missile homes in on the brighter , hotter target . In turn , IR missiles may employ filters to enable it to ignore targets whose temperature is not within a specified range . Towed decoys which closely mimic engine heat and infra - red jammers can also be used . Some large aircraft and many combat helicopters make use of so - called " hot brick " infra - red jammers , typically mounted near the engines . Current research is developing laser devices which can spoof or destroy the guidance systems of infra - red guided missiles . See Infrared countermeasure . Start of the 21st century missiles such as the ASRAAM use an " imaging infrared " seeker which " sees " the target ( much like a digital video camera ) , and can distinguish between an aircraft and a point heat source such as a flare . They also feature a very wide detection angle , so the attacking aircraft does not have to be pointing straight at the target for the missile to lock on . The pilot can use a helmet mounted sight ( HMS ) and target another aircraft by looking at it , and then firing . This is called " off - boresight " launch . For example , the Russian Su - 27 is equipped with an infra - red search and track ( IRST ) system with laser rangefinder for its HMS - aimed missiles . In order to maneuver sufficiently from a poor launch angle at short ranges to hit its target , missiles are now employing gas - dynamic flight control methods such as vectored thrust , which allow the missile to start turning " off the rail " , before its motor has accelerated it up to high enough speeds for its small aerodynamic surfaces to be useful . Electro - optical . A recent advancement in missile guidance is electro - optical imaging . The Israeli Python - 5 has an electro - optical seeker that scans designated area for targets via optical imaging . Once a target is acquired , the missile will lock - on to it for the kill . Electro - optical seekers can be programmed to target vital area of an aircraft , such as the cockpit . Since it does not depend on the target aircraft ' s heat signature , it can be used against low - heat targets such as UAVs and cruise missile s . However clouds can get in the way of electro - optical sensors . Passive Anti - radiation . Evolving missile guidance designs are converting the anti - radiation missile ( ARM ) design , pioneered during Vietnam and used to home in against emitting surface - to - air missile ( SAM ) sites , to an air intercept weapon . Current air - to - air passive anti - radiation missile development is thought to be a countermeasure to airborne early warning and control ( AEW & C - also known as AEW or AWACS ) aircraft which typically mount powerful search radars . Due to their dependence on target aircraft radar emissions , when used against fighter aircraft passive anti - radiation missiles are primarily limited to forward - aspect intercept geometry . For examples , see Vympel R - 27 , Brazo , and AIM - 97 Seekbat . Another aspect of passive anti - radiation homing is the " home on jam " mode which , when installed , allows a radar - guided missile to home in on the jammer of the target aircraft if the primary seeker is jammed by the electronic countermeasures of the target aircraft Design . Air - to - air missiles are typically long , thin cylinders in order to reduce their cross section and thus minimize drag at the high speeds at which they travel . Missiles are divided into five primary systems ( moving forward to aft ) : seeker , guidance , warhead , rocket motor , and control actuation . At the front is the seeker , either a radar system , radar homer , or infra - red detector . Behind that lies the avionics which control the missile . Typically after that , in the centre of the missile , is the warhead , usually several kilograms of high explosive surrounded by metal that fragments on detonation ( or in some cases , pre - fragmented metal ) . The rear part of the missile contains the propulsion system , usually a rocket of some type and the control actuation system or CAS . Dual - thrust solid - fuel rockets are common , but some longer - range missiles use liquid - fuel motors that can " throttle " to extend their range and preserve fuel for energy - intensive final maneuvering . Some solid - fuelled missiles mimic this technique with a second rocket motor which burns during the terminal homing phase . There are missiles in development , such as the MBDA Meteor , that " breathe " air ( using a ramjet , similar to a jet engine ) in order to extend their range . Modern missiles use " low - smoke " motors — early missiles produced thick smoke trails , which were easily seen by the crew of the target aircraft alerting them to the attack and helping them determine how to evade it . The CAS is typically an electro - mechanical , servo control acuation system , which takes input from the guidance system and manipulates the airfoils or fins at the rear of the missile that guide or steers the weapon to target . Missile range . Missiles are often cited with their maximum engagement range , which is very misleading . A missile ' s effective range is dependent on factors such as altitude , speed , position , and direction of the target aircraft as well as those of the attacking aircraft . For example the Vympel R - 77 has stated range of 100 km . That is only true for a head - on , non - evading target at high altitude . At low altitude , the effective range is reduced by as much as 75 % – 80 % to 20 – 25 km . If the target is taking evasive action , or in stern - chase position , the effective range is further reduced . See Air - to - Air missile non - comparison table for more information . The effective range of an air - to - air missile is known as the " no - escape zone " , noting the range at which the target can not outrun the missile once launched . Poorly - trained pilots are known to fire their missiles at maximum - range engagement with poor results . In the 1998 – 2000 Eritrean - Ethiopian War , fighters from both sides shot over a dozen medium - range R - 27 ( " AA - 10 Alamo " ) missiles at distance with little effect . But when better - trained Ethiopian Su - 27 pilots gave chase and attacked with short - range R - 73 ( " AA - 11 Archer " ) missiles , the results were often deadly to the Eritrean aircraft . Performance . A number of terms frequently crop up in discussions of air to air missile performance . Dogfight . Short - range air - to - air missiles used in " dogfighting " are usually classified into five " generations " according to the historical technological advances . Most of these advances were in infrared seeker technology ( later combined with digital signal processing ) . First generation . Early short - range missiles such as the early Sidewinders and Vympel K - 13 ( " AA - 2 Atoll " ) had infrared seekers with a narrow ( 30 degree ) field of view and required the attacker to position himself behind the target ( rear aspect engagement ) . This meant that the target aircraft only had to perform a slight turn to move outside the missile seeker ' s field of view and cause the missile to lose track of the target ( " break lock " ) . Second generation . Second generation missiles utilized more effective seekers that improved the field of view to 45 degrees . Third generation . This generation introduced " all aspect " missiles , because more sensitive seekers allowed the attacker to fire at a target which was side - on to itself , i . e . from " all aspects " not just the rear . This meant that while the field - of - view was still restricted to a fairly narrow cone , the attack at least did not have to be behind the target . Fourth generation . The Vympel R - 73 ( " AA - 11 Archer " ) entered service in 1985 and marked a new generation of dogfight missile . These missiles employed more advanced seeker technologies such as focal plane array s that improved resistance to infrared countermeasures ( IRCM ) such as flares and increased off - bore sight capability to in excess of 60 degrees , i . e . a 120 degree field of view . To take advantage of the increased field - of - view that now exceeded the capabilities of most aircraft radars also meant that helmet mounted sights gained popularity . Many newer missiles include what is known as " look - down - shoot - down " capability , as they could be fired onto low flying planes that would formerly be lost in ground clutter . These missiles are also much more agile , some by employing thrust vectoring ( typically gimballed thrust ) . Fifth generation . The latest generation of short - range missiles again defined by advances in seeker technologies , this time electro - optical imaging infrared ( IIR ) seekers that allow the missiles to " see " images rather than single " points " of infrared radiation ( heat ) . The sensors combined with more powerful digital signal processing provide the following benefits : Examples of fifth generation missiles include : List of missiles by country . " For each missile , short notes are given , including an indication of its range and guidance mechanism . "