OVERVIEW: The AIM-9L-1 Sidewinder is a short-range, supersonic, infra-red guided (IR) air-to-air missile with a 9.4 kilogram warhead.   

DETAILS: Although based on the AIM-9H, the AIM-9L provided a major improvement in capability.  It features a cooled dual spectra IR seeker that, combined with a laser proximity-fused warhead provided an all-aspect engagement capability against maneuvering targets. The AIM-9L also featured redesigned canards and improved seeker tracking capabilities that give the AIM-9L a significantly improved maneuverability and increased resistance to countermeasures over earlier versions of the AIM-9.  The AIM-9L-1 is a further modification of the -9L, featuring modified missile electronics that give it better enhanced countermeasures resistance comparable or better than the AIM-9M.
   
Specifications:
Weight:			87 kg 
Length: 		2.87 m 
Diameter: 		127 mm 
Wingspan: 		0.64 m
Warhead:		9.4 kg, annular blast fragmentation with laser fusing 

PERFORMANCE: 
Operational range: 	10 nm.
Speed: 			2.5 mach
Maneuverability:	35 g

NOTES: IOC 1980. The AIM-9L achieved a kill probabilities in excess of 80% in the Falklands and Bekka air campaigns.


SOURCES: Friedman, Norman, "The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems, 1997-1998, Annapolis, MD: Naval  
Institute Press, 1997, pg. 427 ; Jane's Weapons: Air Launched 2012-2013, pg. 35, https://planesandstuff.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/samplejwal.pdf ;  "AIM-9 Sidewinder - Military Power." Welcome to the Military Power Wiki - Military Power. Accessed September 1, 2015. http://militarypower.wikidot.com/aim-9-sidewinder ; "AIM-9 Sidewinder." Federation Of American Scientists -. Accessed September 1, 2015. http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9.htm ; "AIM-9 Sidewinder." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed September 1, 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder ; "Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder." Designation-Systems.Net. Accessed September 1, 2015. http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-9.html ; "The Sidewinder Story / The Evolution of the AIM-9 Missile." Air Power Australia. Accessed September 1, 2015. http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-Sidewinder-94.html ; "U.S. Naval Museum of Armament & Technology." U.S. Naval Museum of Armament & Technology. Accessed September 1, 2015. http://www.chinalakemuseum.org/exhibits/sidewinder.shtml ; "US Air-to-Air Missiles." Accessed September 2, 2015. http://www.pmulcahy.com/aams/us_aams.htm ; Flight International, 29 May 1976, pg. 1446. https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%200924.html
