AIM-9X Sidewinder

A current-generation infrared-guided short-range missile used by combat aircraft and, through NASAMS, as a surface-launched air-defense interceptor.

Overview

The AIM-9X is the current-generation member of the Sidewinder family, manufactured by Raytheon, an RTX business, for a US Navy-led joint program with the US Air Force. It is designed principally for short-range air-to-air combat and is integrated across a broad selection of US combat aircraft. The program also supports more than 30 Foreign Military Sales partners, giving the missile one of the widest installed bases among contemporary Western short-range air-to-air weapons.

Its role has expanded beyond fighter armament. AIM-9X Block II can be fired from the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, providing a short-range layer alongside the system's AIM-120 AMRAAM-family interceptors. That integration gives existing air-to-air missile inventories a second function in ground-based defense against aircraft, cruise missiles and uncrewed threats. It is particularly relevant to Ukraine, although the variant and intended launch platform for 43 missiles donated from Canadian stocks have not been publicly established.

The program is undergoing a major production expansion. Planned US joint-service procurement covers 11,635 Block II and Block II+ missiles through 2035, while Raytheon intends to increase annual production capacity to 2,500 rounds. The expansion reflects demand from both air-combat inventories and ground-based air defense, but it also exposes an unfavorable cost exchange when a sophisticated fighter missile is used against inexpensive one-way attack drones.

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