PAF jets to be fitted with Sidewinder missiles

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of National Defense (DND) reported yesterday that the delivery of AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles would start within the year and would be fitted onto the Philippine Air Force (PAF)’s new supersonic jets FA50 Fighting Eagles.

The air-to-air missiles were procured from Diehl Raytheon of Germany for P1,016,734,088 as the PAF transitions from rockets and bombs to missile fighting capabilities.

“The (Sidewinder missiles) would be delivered within the year,” DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said.

Andolong, however, declined to say how many Sidewinders were purchased from Diehl Ratheon.

PAF is already flying one squadron of FA50 Fighting Eagles that would soon be armed with air-to-air AIM-9 Sidewinders in addition to the 20 mm automatic cannons.

The AIM-9 sidewinders, developed for the US Navy in the 1950s, is one of the world’s most reliable and effective air-to-air missiles that became popular in the 1982 Falklands War, when British Harrier jets and French-made Mirage fighters of the rival Argentine Air Force saw action.

Israeli fighter jets are also armed with AIM-9 Sidewinders and downed dozens of Syria’s Soviet-built MIG jets during hostilities over Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in 1982.

Andolong said the AIM-9 Sidewinders to be delivered are all live rounds and fresh from the factory, meaning all of its sensors, rocket motors and warheads are brand new.

The Sidewinder missile uses homing device for guidance and tracking and has a top speed of Mach 3 or three times the speed of sound. 

The missile’s warhead weighs around 20 pounds and has a length of nine feet and 11 inches.