Use of the Sidewinder
| Site: | Open Flight School |
| Course: | F/A-18C Hornet Weapon Basic Course (DCS) |
| Book: | Use of the Sidewinder |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Thursday, 1 May 2025, 3:14 PM |
1. Armament Selection
At the weapon stations 1, 2, 8 and 9 different AIM-9 variants can be loaded. These include the AIM-9L, AIM-9M, AIM-9X and CAP-9M (Captive AIM-9M Simulator for use during training).
AIM-9L
The AIM-9L was the first variant that allowed the acquisition of targets in the frontal hemisphere. It also has a revised warhead with an active laser proximity fuse.
AIM-9M
The AIM-9M is a revised AIM-9L with a reduced smoke rocket motor, revised electronics and better suppression of Infra-Red (IR) countermeasures.
AIM-9X
Finally, the AIM-9X. After the end of the Cold War and the German reunification it was found that the air-to-air missiles of the Eastern Bloc were much more effective than expected. To compensate for this superiority the development of the AIM-9X was started. Although the AIM-9X is assigned to the AIM-9 series by name, it is really a completely new development. However, some components of its predecessors are still used, e.g. the reduced smoke rocket motor and the warhead of the AIM-9M. Its advantages are reduced drag, better maneuverability, longer maximum detection range, better target differentiation between target and jamming, and a significantly increased angle of detection.
CAP-9M
The Captive Air Training Missile (CAP-9M) simulates the size and weight of a real rocket and is used for air combat training.
The combination of the carriers; LAU-115C with LAU-127 may be somewhat confusing. This is because an AIM-9 cannot be mounted directly to a LAU-115A/C. Either a double carrier is necessary or a LAU-127 is mounted in between.
Always prefer the AIM-9X over the other variants, because it is greatly improved. If it is not available, use the AIM-9M instead of the AIM-9L. The missiles mounted on the wingtips (1 and 9) can hit targets unhindered. But AIM-9s mounted at other stations have limitations on target acquisition (see this article in the DCS-Forum).
Weapon Stations
Finally a list of which rocket can be attached to which station or carrier.
In SMS (Stores Management System) are used below.
| Weapon Designation / Station | SMS | SMK | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 x AIM-9L | 9L | X | X | ||||||||
| 2 x AIM-9M | 9M | X | X | ||||||||
| 2 x AIM-9X | 9X | X | X | ||||||||
| 2 x CAP-9M | TST | X | X | ||||||||
| AIM-9L | 9L | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| AIM-9M | 9M | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| AIM-9X | 9X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| CAP-9M | TST | X | X | X | X |
2. Use without Radar
- Switch on the cooling of the AIM-9 search head. (IRCOOL NORM)
- Turn off the radar. (RADAR OFF)
- Activate weapon main switch. (MASTER ARM)
- Weapon selector switch on the control stick to Sidewinder. (WEAPON SELECT SIDEWINDER)
The main mode is automatically changed to Air-to-Air. (Check MASTER MODE A/A)
From now on you will hear the sound of the seaker head as a permanent growl.
You can't set anything in the SMS. But you see the following information:
- Release the seeker head by pressing the CAGE/UNCAGE button. (UNCAGE)
Normally the seeker head is already in the released state. If not, press the button. - Bring the target into the AIM-9 seeker boresight target circle (BORESIGHT).
The better the seeker detects the heat source, the higher the squeal will be.
- When you have a good shooting position and the growl sound becomes a squeal it is good. Now you have two options:
- Press the Cage/Uncage button to lock target (CAGE). This is useful, for example, if the angle is not yet optimal and you don't want to shoot the missile until you achieve a better aspect.
- Or pull the trigger and release the missile immediately. (FIRE).
- As soon as the rocket flies, you can't do much else. That's why it's called a Fire-and-Forget missile.
If the angle was too severe or the enemy drops flares, it's possible that the missile may look lock and miss, or it may hit and fail to do sufficient damage. If so, try again.