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R550 MAGIC |
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Short-range, IR air-to-air missile. Development The R550 air-to-air short-range missile programme started as a private venture by Matra (now Matra BAe Dynamics) to produce a missile to compete with the US AIM-9 Sidewinder. Concept and feasibility studies carried out between 1966 and 1968 attracted the attention of the French Air Force, and government funding for the project was approved in 1969. The missile was presented for the first time at the 1971 Paris Air Show and following a series of drop trials, the first guided launch took place in 1972. Deliveries of preproduction R550 Magic 1 missile to the French Air Force for evaluation trials started in 1974 and full series production began in 1975. Magic 1 was limited to tail-aspect engagements only by the lack of sensitivity of the IR detector. An improved version, Magic 2, entered development in the late 1970s and entered service in 1985. Magic 2 has many improvements over Magic 1, but principally has an all-aspect engagement capability and it takes far less time to prepare the missiles for launch. A possible Magic 3 development programme was reported in 1993, but not confirmed, and it is assumed that following the merger between Matra and BAe Dynamics in 1996 the ASRAAM missile will be offered as a Magic 2 replacement. The Magic missiles were designed to use AIM-9 Sidewinder interfaces and have been cleared for carriage on Mirage 3, Mirage 5, Mirage F1, Mirage 2000, Hawk, Jaguar, Super Etendard, A-4 Skyhawk, F-8E(FN) Crusader, MiG-21, MiG-23, Alpha Jet, Sea Harrier, and F-16 Fighting Falcon. In addition, the following aircraft are being cleared for carriage: Rafale, Tornado, AMX, F-5E and F/A-18 Hornet. Description The R550 Magic 1 is an infrared homing missile powered by a solid propellant motor and armed with a fragmentation warhead. The missile has a distinctive appearance in that it has a double canard configuration near the nose and cruciform tailfins that freely rotate around the rocket motor exhaust nozzle. The front four delta fins are fixed and the four moving control fins that are directly behind them, have a rectangular forward section followed by a delta rear section. The four control fins are all moving and electrically actuated to provide pitch, yaw and roll control. This double canard configuration allows the moving fins to maintain control at higher angles of incidence. Another feature of the missile is its breakdown into two sections, which are packaged separately. The forward section contains all the electromechanical components including the AD550 IR homing head produced by SAT, the autopilot system, the IR proximity fuze and the self-activated silver-zinc battery. The nitrogen cooling system for the IR head is installed in the launcher. The rear section contains the warhead and the butylane solid propellant rocket motor. The Magic 1 is 2.72 m long, has a body diameter of 157 mm, wing span of 0.66 m and weighs 89 kg. It is fitted with a 13 kg HE fragmentation warhead that contains 6 kg of explosive and is credited with a lethal radius of 5 m. Guidance is by IR homing and target acquisition is visual, with the nitrogen cooled seeker head warning the pilot when lock on has been achieved. The warhead is armed 1.8 seconds after launch, giving a minimum engagement distance of 0.30 km, and a maximum range of around 3 km. Magic 1 is limited to tail aspect engagements due to the seeker design. The Magic 2 retains the same general aerodynamic and external characteristics as the Magic 1, with double cruciform canards (the aft set acting as control surfaces) and free rotating rear fins. Magic 2 is 2.75 m long, has a body diameter of 157 mm, a wing span of 0.66 m and a weight of 90 kg. Changes made to Magic 2, with regard to Magic 1, include a more sensitive IR seeker with head-on capability and improved IR counter-countermeasures including flare rejection. The Magic 1 IR proximity fuze has been replaced with an active Doppler radar fuze in Magic 2. The motor thrust has been increased by some 10 per cent, but the safety and arming unit and warhead remain the same, with the warhead weighing 13 kg and having an effective radius of about 5 m. However, a special warhead for Magic 2 was developed and tested in 1993, to provide a less sensitive munition for use on aircraft carriers. The Magic 2 can be slaved to the aircraft radar or a helmet-mounted sight and designated a target, or it can be used in the autonomous mode to scan in either the vertical or horizontal planes and lock onto a target without help from the aircraft radar. Magic 2 can be prepared for launch in a few seconds and the seeker is cooled by gaseous nitrogen carried in the launcher. A Magic 2 missile was launched from a Mirage 2000 aircraft in a tight turn at 9.0 g, during release trials in 1992. Magic 2 has an all-aspect capability and a maximum range of about 5 km head-on. Operational Status Magic 1 entered service in 1975, and production ceased in 1984 after delivery of over 7,000 missiles, including exports to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, Greece, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UAE, Venezuela and Zaire. Magic 1s were used by the Argentine Air Force in the Falklands (Malvinas) conflict in 1982, by Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War between 1981 and 1988, and by Kuwait in 1990. Magic 2 production deliveries started in 1985 and the missiles entered service in the same year with the French Air Force and Navy. It is believed that export orders for the Magic 2 have been placed by Belgium, India, Qatar and Taiwan and, including those for France, a total of about 4,000 Magic 2 missiles has been ordered. Magic 2 were used in the 1991 Gulf War, and in Bosnia in 1995. SPECIFICATIONS :
COMPANY NAME : Matra BAe Dynamics
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