How the Warhead Works on the AIM-9 Sidewinder - Smarter Every Day 282
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- čas přidán 1. 10. 2023
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The Navy has a long history of Weapons Development at China Lake
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_A...
Sidewinder Wikipedia Page
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_S...
Continuous Rod Warhead
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continu...
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Destin - Věda a technologie
Fun fact: From the moment I started working on this video the US Military has fired 4 or so AIM-9X's over the continental US. Thanks to everyone who supports on Patreon and lets me do things like buy surplus missile parts! HAHA! I have plans to build a neat demonstration with them.
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love from india punjab❤❤❤
Were those used to shoot down the encroaching balloons?
War of the worlds 2 can't wait to see it!
@Stephen Torrey Yes, specifically the newer AIM-9X model he showed!
Looking forward to whatever demonstration you come up with!
That mystery pivot on the rollerons is the secret sauce that makes them so effective. The rolleron is actually a little aileron-like fin, and that pivot point is its hinge. When the missile tries to roll, the little windmill-wheel precesses and causes the rolleron fin to pivot out against the direction of roll. All four rollerons pivot like that in the same way, and so all four act against the roll.
That took a "that's clever" bit to "Oh dang that's brilliant"
So that's a passive system to keep the body stable?
@Daniel Cooper it is, purely mechanic system, no fancy electronics :D
be great to see the amateur rocket enthusiasts adopt this.
Well explained. Smart 🍪
Destin, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE feel free to make short videos like this one ANY TIME you discover something that excites you! This format is really fun. God Bless.
I'm an F-15C pilot. The seeker in the front of the AIM-9 is gimbaled. There is a magnet in the yellow protective cover and there is a pre-flight check to pull the cover off and ensure that the seeker head moves inside the translucent seeker. The seeker is cooled by a little Argon canister that the AMMO guys install and keep pressurized, the heat buildup of air friction would blind the seeker if it did not have active cooling.
F-15C is my favorite aircraft. It’s always great to meet those that operated that beautiful bird.
I've found the argon thing cool ever since I read about the FIM-92 Stinger. Never occurred to me that the seekers would need cooling.
Yup. Worked at Hill at the missile shop and this was our job whenever a trailer of these came through. Most of the heads were the concrete filled ones and not the seeker heads. But when we did get the seeker heads there was a TO on checking it off for use
IYAAYAS!
@J.R. Woolyif you ain't ammo....you're waiting on them..
"I'm in front of a building that does things" might be the most amazing thing Destin has every said.
Those buildings ... always doin' things ...
"I fly on planes that do things"
The most bureaucratically correct descriptor of a place that is somewhere
Dustin, your 'random discussions' are more sensible and informative to the public than many CZcamsrs PLANNED and RESEARCHED talks. Thank you for your efforts. You are appreciated.
dustin
@Anon Anon Dustin' makes me feel good *ghost busters theme*
Is he Destin-ed to be “Dustin”? 😁
From what you said, the rollerons might not stabilise the rocket, but they only stabilise the little fin they are embedded in. But when the little fin is stabilised and the rocket rolls, it creates a surface to deflect air and that in turn stabilises the rocket. Looking at the outtro: excited engineers are always a little scary to the people around them... I am one myself, I would know xD
Yes, because the rotating elements are in counter-rotating pairs, they have no net direct mechanical/gyroscopic effect on the missile as a whole. Individually, in response to the missile orientation changing they will deflect the pivoting element, resulting in an aerodynamic correction.
@Chris L I'm out of practice with the right hand rule, but I feel like this is a similar effect that causes a bicycle to correct itself. Though that could just be due to the caster angle...
That last sentence is so very very true. It's crazy how intense I can get when I get excited and go down the rabbit hole.
And yes if I remember my lectures in Uni on guidance correctly you are right.
The rolling effect is why the missile is called the Sidewinder, since it looks similar to the "rolling" motion of a sidewinding rattlesnake whilst flying through the air.
@Chris L I'm glad you said this because I was thinking, "Wait a minute, wouldn't they be spinning opposite to the opposing fin??". The net effect is a bit over my head but this makes a lot more sense!
I've been working with the 3 missiles shown for the past 2 years and Thursday was my last day. It was cool to hear you talk about it. It's cool you got parts too! 😎
The guidance system was really clever. You should do a video on how that worked in the early versions of the AIM-9.
IIRC, the seeker head did not track well if the missle was rolling. To have the fins up front steer the missle and dampen the roll was more difficult.........might as well us those big fins at the back,
My dad was an engineer on the Sidewinder and other missiles at China Lake NAWS (formerly NWC). One of my earliest memories at age 4 was going to the Sensors and Platforms section of Michaelson Lab to see how the guidance system within that dome at the front of the missile works. It was incredible.
My grampa was also an engineer at China lake on the sidewinder, he's gone now and this video reminds me of him
Nah bro no he aint
@Augie Ben Doggie Same here. It reminds me of playing with the instruments and "junk" parts he had at home, like the ridiculously strong guidance magnet that I couldn't ever get off the fridge without prying it off with both hands.
Having worked with AIM-9 systems before, I think one of the most fascinating things about this missile is the way in which the system gets "Armed", its a purely mechanical system and is amazingly brilliant.
Imagine how much amazing high speed footage is held by defense contractors that we will never see because it's never getting declassified
I would love to see things like the expanding rods in motion
Got you fam “The missile knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the missile from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't.”
Makes perfect sense! I had understanding about this, but now I don't. So my understanding is subtracted from what I don't understand, and now I understand what I don't understand!!
Perfect sense!
This needs to be pinned
I came here for this!🤣
So you’re telling me sometimes it knows where it is because that’s where it is?
@Noobmaster69 because it knows where it isn’t
Destin, it looks like those flywheel gyro things on the tail of the missile are controlling aileron controls in a mechanical capacity.
Really cool to see these things up close. Thank you for all you do to make us smarter! Lord knows we need it....
That was awesome!! Thanks so much man! The design problems I try to solve in my day job are really challenging so I really love dead simple, genius mechanical solutions to incredibly complex problems! Really inspires me to keep pushing to find better answers.
I love watching your content. I got excited with you when you showed the parts at the end of the video. You really do make it feel like you’re taking me on an adventure every time I watch your videos!
This video took such a hard left turn.
Parts 1-4; here’s a pretty innocuous discussion on the engineering of this weapon.
Epilogue; we bought a missile y’all.
Love it. Thanks for what you do destin!
The passion and dedication you put into your videos has always been enough to garner my support on Patreon. Knowing that you used some of that to buy awesome missile parts, I wouldn't have it any other way!! Happy for you Destin :)
This feels like old school smarter every day and I love it. It's really cool just to hear you talk about something that you find interesting for a few minutes.
THIS. We don't need elaborate builds or stunts to tune in. I mean, it's not going to hurt, but the majority of us are here because we love finding out how things work!
YES
The random. Un- planned interactions he has and seeing the gears turn in his mind is 1 thing I miss about his old videos
I absolutely agree. This is what this channel was and we can have the 2-3 majors a year but I love this 8 minute content. It’s what we all fell in love with in the first place
@James Theis don't get me wrong, I love the newer videos. Watching Destin learn about Saturn Rockets and grain silos from others is fantastic. Destin has a wonderful and contagious curiosity and he's able to captivate me with little things like this. It's simple, but thoroughly enjoyable content.
being prior military as an aviation electronics technician, I worked on the F/A-18 platform troubleshooting the weapons systems, such as the AIM-9X on the aircraft and more. This video definitely made me learn more about the fascinating nature of the sidewinder and brought back some good memories. Thank you!
Just a fun thing to note: Those Rollerons are already spinning the moment the aircraft is in flight. Imagine how those need to be really balanced and durable to last many trips without breaking.
While flying at supersonic speed
I remember asking about those rollerons on a Falcon 4.0 forum like 20+ years ago what those were when I ended up with upgraded textures. Was told what they were and how they worked and have been mind blown over them since. Really cool and simple solution to stabilize the roll axis.
Another awesome video! Thanks for all the US Navy stuff!! Retired USN aviation mechanic and I love watching your work!!!🇺🇸
When I was in a rocket club, we considered adding hinged fins with rollers. The reason is that when the rocket rolls, the fins will move to oppose the rotation. That's what the sidewinder missile is doing too. It's just a passive way to stop roll.
I wouldn't mind just having these small 8 minute videos on stuff that destin finds on his adventures. We too find it cool.
I think it auto corrects any rotation.
When looking from behind - if it rotates clockwise - the "mini" fins holding the flywheel will try to stay in their original position so they will end up moving counter clockwise relative to the clockwise rotation of the missile, that way the "mini" fin will generate a thrust vector from the wind in the counter clockwise direction due to it's angle and then push the missile to rotate back to where it started ~~~ I think, feel and believe at this moment in time haha :D
When I first got into DCS, I only had the Aim-9B in war thunder, the shock on my face when I saw what the 9x and 120c could do. Now I have all kinds of half decent missiles in WT like 9Ls, 7Fs, Phoenixes, R24 etc but the performance of these modern sticks is always insane to me
Destin, the Sidewinder fin is awesome!
I built an actual size replica of the AIM-9 L/M for the Southern Museum of Flight, back when I worked there.
You might want to try this for a little fun…
Take an air nozzle and air compressor (maybe 100 lbs psi)
to spin-up the rolleron gyro and listen to that thing whine !!
or, seeing as that's a random bit of sold-as-paperweight military surplus, maybe don't over-rev the widget and then shatter bits of metal everywhere. Iono. At least wear sunglasses while you do it so you look cool if it asplodes!
I really enjoy your observational videos about things that others may dismiss. I have always tried to understand things around me that we take for granted. Knowing and understanding things makes me feel connected to the world and makes me feel like I can come up with solutions as an engineer by understanding as much as possible. Some people would just look at a missile and say it's a missile. You look at it and see the steering mechanisms and try to understand why. This curiosity is probably why people have gravitated to you over the years.
This is awesome because it ties everything together. As a Dutch guy I ended up in Alabama because of the space and rocket related industry. Some of my training for the Hawk Missile system was at Redstone. (many years ago). Hitting a target flying faster than the speed of sound is truly a marvel of engineering! I As a Radar specialist I loved that part of my job. Thanks for this video Destin.
Reminds me of the old school Smarter Every Day videos. Love it! 👍🏼
Also, Destin may be the only person to have both a Sidewinder Rolleron and a mildly abstract painting of a cow in the same room.
Agreed, this is amazing
good point
@Nate There was no "point". Just a statement of probabilistic facts or an observation.
I love the capacity for scientific experiments and the fact that Destin gets invited to cool places now, but I sometimes really wish we had more videos like this. Just showing off something cool, explaining how and why it works.
Can confirm that none of the (class)rooms I ever saw a sidewinder (mock-up or real) in, had a mildly abstract painting of a cow as well.
I’m actually a 2w1x1 in the Air Force, and I load aim9 l/m and aim9x missiles all the time. It’s interesting to get to know a tad bit more about them then what you’re originally taught. Not to mention when you know more about something when watching a video like this.
This stuff is cool, I always loved the name Sidewinder as a kid playing my video games.
I also have always wondered if there’s a known time in military history where two fighter jets have shot sidewinder missiles at each other that we know about.
Seems like it might be pretty rare
I love this. It was so random but super interesting. I love your excitement, keep it up. You have made me smarter about these missile than the Navy did. Thank you for that!
theres the trial footage on youtube for the 9x it is absolutely terrifying how good it is. Just rewatched the video, it was filmed at china lake too :)
I am honestly surprised that you say you don't know how they work exactly. When you did the amazing series about gyroscopic precession, I learned a whole bunch of great stuff! I tell you that is one of the most awesome videos about physics and practical mechanical application of the science that I have ever seen man. I came away from that having a feeling for how gyroscopic precession works, and I have literally watched the entire series 3 times to solidify my knowledge because it is so exciting. That said, I used to ride motorcycles and I was a cyclist for decades, and I know a basic fact. I know that when you apply pressure to a rotating wheel in one direction I know which way it wants to tilt. So if those wheels are rotating, say on the bottom fin. That is going to rotate towards the back on the bottom of the wheel, which means if you look at the wheel from the right it is going clockwise. If that wheel is tilted, top to the right, Does it not want to angle front edge to the right? Which would mean that it would push that hinged fin out to the left on the back edge, which would counter the rotational force. I don't know if I have this wrong, but it seems to make sense to me. I hope you can do a follow up video about the physics of these little wheels because I'm very interested and excited about it and I would like to know if my initial evaluation is correct. Thank you for all your videos you are amazing and you and Rich my life!
The aim-9 LM rollerons can pivot when unlocked or the term is referred to as uncaged. There's a little latch that is on the back that holds the rollerons from pivoting to prevent damage to them during take off and landing. The latch will come undone by the force of the missile launching off the aircraft. I worked on these in the air force for 7 years. Great video!
How does the pivot affect flight?
@Username the pivot allows the panel extend into the airflow and induce drag causing force to stabilize the missile to fly straight.
@SUPREME OVERLOAD Ah, that makes sense, thank you!
Came here to say this. But I would like to add that once uncaged and able to pivot, gyroscopic procession makes the Rollerons into an actively powered control surface. If the missile rolls right, the Rollerons will all pivot towards that direction and stop the roll. The National Museum of the United States Air Force has an exhibit in the modern flight gallery that explains how this works.
Thank you for your service.
Awesome video, Destin! I enjoy your channel immensely and it LITERALLY makes me smarter every time I watch it. As a military aviation aficionado I found this short video incredibly engaging. I never knew about rollerons! What a clever solution to a very difficult problem that must have really vexed those engineers back in the 1960s before we had accurate gyros and accelerometers that can fit on integrated chips. I also never knew about the expanding rod warhead. The way you described it made sense to me but the animation you provided really brought it home.
Just keep doing what you do!
Cool video as always, hopefully we see more of this type of content! I really enjoyed the discussion on the dynamic stability design.
The “side looking proximity sensor” is actually a near miss system. That gives the missile a 99% hit rate.
The reason the rollerons pivot is exactly what you said. There’s a little tab on the back that you can flip down to release the pivot, then a little pin to lock it back in place. The tab is released inertially when the missile is released.
I used to be a fighter weapons tech.
Keep up the childlike wonder you have about things and engineering! It is awesome to see great content that you are passionate about. Not sure if this was a planned video or something you just documented because you found it interesting, but it was good!
I've said this before, but I've got enormous respect for the engineers of yesteryear and their "analogue" solutions. Some of the mechanisms they came up with are truly stunning and make Babbage's (impressive) difference engine look like a child's toy. I might just be looking at things through rose tinted spectacles, but in this age of just throwing more gigahertz at things, it feels like we've lost a little of the art of engineering.
I was an AO in the Navy for 10 years. I was watching you point at everything and thinking like "is he going to hit on the rollerons? Hey that X has thrust vectoring is he gonna point that out. You came through man. Well done. Do a HARM (AGM-88) next.
You hurt the ones you love, but you harm the ones you hate.
And you Fox-3 everyone else
I've love to hear more about the AGM-122 Sidearm. It seems like an ideal munition for up close and personal SEAD/DEAD operation and I kinda wonder why it didn't see wider adoption.
Yes please?!!!!
AF Armament Tech here - Dont forget the Gas bottle for cooling the seeker!
This is why I love this channel. 100% honest learning. I love your excitement about learning new things. Thank you for taking us along on your adventures!
The AIM-9 M and AIM-9 X are 2 totally different beasts. AIM-9 X can be fired at extreme angles and still find its target. DCS World is a nice playground to test it yourself with the F-18C Hornet. Its pretty impressive how the AIM-9 X can find its target, i think its might be because vectored thrust like you mentioned.
On the AIM-9M there is a latch on the back of the rolleron that unlocks from the g-forces of launch. Then the gyro part is free to swing from side to side to stabilize the missile. The AIM-9M and X uses the same warhead, rocket motor and active optical target detector (AOTD). The guidance is totally different between them.
Last Sidewinder I loaded in my days as a Navy AO was the AIM-9L! IYAOYAS!!!
I've seen the rollerons before, but I've never sen the tiny vertical wings that channel more air directly at the roller wheel! So cool.
Back in the day when I was in the Navy I believe the use of an expanding coil like spring was deployed in the sidewinder. Also worked well splashed a lot of aircraft with it.
Can confirm, AIM-9X does have thrust vectoring. Other fun fact, the AIM-7 Sparrow missile was upgraded to the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile, or AMRAAM. The Sidewinder upgrade was originally going to be the Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile, but someone giggled too much, and they changed it to 9X.
Not quite. The US designed AMRAAM while the Brits & Germans agreed to design ASRAAM. ASRAAM exists (AIM-132) but for political reasons the US decided to withdraw and focus on AIM-9X and never adopted ASRAAM.
Yh AMRAMM 120B etc, made by raytheon
dang. I'd have loved to get an a2a confirmed hit with the ASRAAM.
@MK US designed the ASRAAM seeker (first 18" of missile) and ASRAAM was first imaging IR seeker air to air. AIM9-X built on that
I heard you can get an ASRAAM at a certain shady establishment down the road
This is amazing for so many reasons. Keep up the great work!
That´s amazing. I remember as a kid playing "F-16 Combat Pilot" in my C64 and geeking out on all the missiles and manuevers. Sidewinder, AMRAAM, Durandal, ... . Rolleron is genius.
Never paid to much attention to missiles, those are definitely details overlooked on the models Ive built. Very interesting.
Your every video increases my knowledge thrust even higher. Keep going, love from India 🇮🇳
This is the kind of video that warms my heart. Destin taking us along on one of his adventures.
As an ex-navy ordy, it was taught to me that the sidewinder carried some sort of chain as a payload. I never really understood what that meant until you explained it here. And it always bothered me. I don't know why I never looked it up until now. I think of this from time to time. At least once a year. Thank you! You taught the guy who's supposed to know a thing or two. :)
"The chain" - ah yes, that was the technical term at Millington.
Slinky shooter
High speed play pen ejector
What's interesting, they have those things marked as live. I really doubt they are live so it's just weird they are still marked as such
Brian i was A.O. On U.S.S. Coral Sea cv43 late 70,s early 80,s. We didn't know much about them either, other than breaking them out and bringing them up to the roof.
Thanks Dustin. Love fighter aircraft and their weapons systems. And learnt something new with the rollerons and the explosive steel.
Always a good day when you learn something new.
Love your channel, it’s amazing to put so much work into something just to blow it up
Interesting video as usual. I'm sure there is a lot to learn about war machines, but I can't help but to think 'I'm learning about machines that are designed to kill a lot of people'. I like your old videos.
Congrats on making the no-fly list, Destin, can't wait to see more (local) content from you.
Make sure to say bye to the homeland agent every time you hang up the phone!
That was absolutely fascinating. As a kid, I had the first issue of a jet magazine series and I studied the different configurations of the F14 and how the Sparrow, Maverick, Sidewinder, TARPS pod etc. worked.
I had no idea about the rear stabilization. You just made my day!
The most terrifying thing about the sidewinder is its ability, unparalleled in military history, to turn people into paper silhouettes without even being launched!
It's terrifying, the missile knows where it is at all times
Oh God, this one knows...
Python?
@T Est No, Sidewinder. Completely different kind of snake.
@MORENO K 🟥 Not just that, it knows where it isn't.
The reason why the roll-ons have angled instead of straight hinges is due to the discovery in the testing of the Sidewinder prototypes is that the AIM-9 airframe in addition to rolling moments also had pitching and yawing moments and angling the roll-ons hinges allowed them to respond to these pitching and yawing moments.
Very cool tec. I've learned more about air arms than I ever thought I would , flying in DCS World. Although I can't believe that you can buy surplus missile parts!
For me it's some awesome new tech and physics terms, that are hard to comprehend yet the way you describe it makes easier to understand them, glad I smashed that subscribe button years back! thanks Smarter Everyday, This is awesome, keep on!
The rollerons instantly reminded me of a movie from 1984 called "Best Defense". As far as I know this is the only movie about a defense technology engineer where a device like the rolleron was designed.It's a good example of how rushing something like a sidewinder missile design might lead to overly inventive solutions.
The rolleron reminds me of the STAPAC on the ACES II ejection seat. Works by the same principle: producing negative feed back with gyroscopic precession induced by the disturbance. The disturbance may be resulted from any known or unknown factors, but the correction force by design would be simply aerodynamic like with the rolleron, or vernier rocket propulsion like with the STAPAC.
I read last week that the AIM-9X uses the entire visible light spectrum to track it's targets, and not just infa-red like the older versions. This means that the missile is EXTREMELY good at ignoring decoy flares etc. It's a beast.
Not only that but it is a high off boresight missile, meaning it the pilot can lock on targets that are almost 90 degrees in any direction with his head mounted display and the missile can quickly turn and even turn around to track targets that have moved behind the launching aircraft.
It primarily focuses in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums. Decoys emit some ultraviolet light while the aircraft often only reflects ultraviolet light from the sun, which helps the missile to ignore decoys too. Not only that, but this new missile will also take an average spectrum analysis of the target while in the locked, pre-launch phase and continuously compare that average spectrum against background readings to also identify its target and only track that specific target. It helps to not only ignore decoys, but also prevents the missile from accidentally acquiring the wrong target. The AIM-9X doesn’t even need to see the target to be fired at it due to sensors in the pilots helmet or the plane if launched from an F-35.
What he shows is an AIM- 9X-M
The 9X doesn't use visible light as far as the public knows, but it has exceptionally good algorithms - and its seeker design can see the entire aircraft as an image rather than just a point of light. Rumor has it 9Xes can target individual components of an enemy.
Is that why they can use it to pop a balloon?
Destin, The Sidewinder mounted in the static display aircraft had its rollerons caged. Early development Sidewinder models had un caged rollerons and pilots could feel them fighting control inputs. Caged rollerons are released by launching G forces which flip back the small grey tab at the back of the wing. Earlier rollerons wer caged by tying opposing rollerons together with a nylon line under tension. top to bottom and left to right. On that model the front control surfaces are called Canards and the rear, with rollerons, are called wings. Sparrow Missiles have front wings and rear fins. The aircraft mounted Sidewinder could be detonated 2 ways. First by a contact fuse if impacting another aircraft and second by the Influence Fuse (Chinese Balloon Fuse), the silver cylinder behind the anodized control section which detonated the warhead in the event of a near miss. I’m a former USAF 31651L Missile Maintenance Technician. Love the Channel. Change of topic and Suggestion, find a working Linotype machine to be fascinated, also a Hammond Tone Wheel Generator which mechanically created musical notes covering nearly the entire human audible range. I have a spare Tonewheel generator you are welcome to, heavy and fragile so if you cruise I-95 through NC I’m at mile marker 73. Cheers.
Awesome seeing someone cover this. I've personally handled them and loaded them (inert training ones only unfortunately) but my job is awesome when I get to mess with missiles like these.
First 2 model rockets I built were the sr-71 blackbird, and the Aim-9 sidewinder when I was in elementary school. A long time ago.
The way it leads the target is actually really cool, instead of trying to point directly at the target it tries to maintain the bearing to target relative to the missile. It was a really smart way to do it back in the 50s when computers weren't an option. By doing this it can be fired perpendicularly, and by maintaining the bearing it ends up leading the target really well. This is why, unlike in movies, missiles don't "chase" right behind their target.
I appreciate you Destin.. Seriously. Never doubt that what you're doing is helping people. Thanks for everything you do brother.
I love to think that Destin just walked up to this place and started poking at rockets and stuff and the people working there were just like "what is this crazy man doing with a camera?"
Edit: since people don't seem to realize somehow... My comment was a joke.
It's even more fun to realize the truth: Destin has recent employment experience as a Missile Flight Test Engineer for military weapons, and has government clearance for certain amounts of classified military information.
All that stuff is decommissioned and just for show.
Would love to know the process Destin has to go through to pick subjects to talk about, especially on defense topics. I'm guessing he doesn't just pick whatever and hope it's ok. Does he have a DoD editor who says yes or no?
I wouldn't worry about it, since the entirety of AIM-9 information, classified or not, is already public knowledge on the War Thunder forums.
This is literally a tourist spot lol, they’re used to cameras 😂
I worked on F18s for 10 years, I always saw the rollers on the AIM9s, and wondered what they did. Nobody in the ordnance shops seemed to know... now I know. Interesting.
Nice video! Hope we will see more like this one. Thank you!
I was a missile tech years ago and the heat seekers then were the Red eye with the IR pickup similar to the aim, but I'm sure it is much improved. The guidance was the back fins that vibrated slightly and gave more or less deviation depending or the Eye sensor. Same type of guidance on the Tow and Dragon Missiles. Interesting stuff! Ty
“Sidewinder - Missile Development at China Lake” by Ron Westrum is a book about the development of the missile. One of the best engineering stories I have ever read and talks specifically how they came up with the rollerons. Goes to show what happens when you have smart people on a close knit team and give them freedom to tinker. Nobody thought it would work initially and almost scrapped multiple times.
Большое спасибо за информацию!!!
I went to the RAF Museum in London just yesterday and when I saw this missle the rollerons immediately caught my eye,I took tons of pictures of that specific area and i was determined to google and learn what this design was about. I accidentaly stumbled uppon this video and I got an answer for all my questions. Amazing
I know you’re super busy with life so you should do more of these quicker style videos! Of course the high production value of your regular video is greatly appreciated, but these quick explanation videos without major fancy graphics are super interesting and engaging!
+1
+2
+3
Personally, I enjoy the long form stuff.
+5
Well there ya go, I always thought the war head was at the front or head of the missile. And thought it was just an explosive. Didn't realise it had like an expanding ninja star of shrapnel in it. Glued quite a few of them onto model aircraft but don't think I've seen a real one up close like that. I had seen rollerons somewhere before though but not sure where exactly. So maybe I have seen the control fins of a missile on something else before.
The last clip is my favorite, I really like your enthusiasm about the rollers, I too think its interesting, looking forward for what you are going to build with it.
I was an AO in the Navy and loading one of those was tricky, but I would always spin those rollerons waiting for the load. I got to a point were I could load a 9X by myself lol
We need a LOT more of these simple 8 minute videos!
The amazing thing about this channel is that I assume that I don't have a clue how anything works, but as Destin describes these amazing things, it ends up making perfect sense.
Sidewinders are awesome missiles! Because of the way the seeker worked in the earlier missiles, it only knows the angle that it's looking, and nothing about range. The optimal way to guide a missile to a target is leading it like you mentioned, but if you don't know the range, you need the seeker to stay at the same orientation in roll (so the guidance can use the angular rates of the seeker). Instead of having a whole inertial navigation system or any complex electronics in there the rollerons let the missile fly lead instead of pure pursuits using only a couple passive parts and the missile's own airspeed! I think the inertia of the flywheels wouldn't be enough compared to the mass of the missile to keep it stable, so instead they're on those hinged pieces that essentially want to stay in the same orientation, so if the missile starts to roll, they kind of stay in the same position and act as mini control surfaces on those aft fins. If I'm not mistaken, this is what gave the sidewinder its name, if you watch old videos of them it kind of wobbles side to side as the rollerons stabilize the missile. The modern AIM-9X is insanely advanced, with a digital seeker head and all kinds of electronics, that combined with the thrust vectoring you spotted and helmet mounted sights used by the pilots, let the missile engage things "high off-boresight," up to 90 degrees away from the direction the missile/plane that is firing it is pointed. There are a few test videos on CZcams of them being fired against QF-4 target drones at insane angles while completely ignoring all the countermeasures the drones deployed.
It just occurred to me that maybe the AIM-9X has vectored thrust so that it can be launched in a vacuum. That gives me a little bit of the heebie geebies.
As I understand, the USSR SA-7 Grail family of MANPADS used a similar tracking system, except, the fins spin the missile at a predictable rate, correction signal is sent to only 2 canard fins.
The fins providing correction force 90 degrees off plane, causing precession of the whole missile!
@Nym Alous The AIM-9X was given thrust vector so it was able to pull its super sus close range off bore shots
@Nym Alousnah. It’s pretty much just to increase the turn rate of the missile. Same reason many countries put thrust vectoring on jets.
I would agree with the comments before, but the trust vectoring of course helps to maintain high control authority in higher parts of the atmosphere where the fins become less effective.
One of my favorite air intercept missiles. ❤
The sidewinder missile could be considered the first "robot" under a certain definition of the term. And it is also breaks all three of Asimov's Laws of Robotics.
Guided missiles are designated "Robot" in Swedish military parlance. People often wonder why we've got this weird usage of it, but they fail to realize that the military definition in Swedish is older then the "robotic human" idea.
@TzunSu oh I always wondered why swedish built missiles are called Robotsystem (like in RBS 70, RBS 15...). Makes sense tho
@TheKnaeckebrot Yeah, it's an odd one!
Thanks for sharing this. One question, why use a missile to shoot down a balloon, especially if you want to retrieve the pieces?
Thoroughly interesting video. Love the mechanical engineering of it
The rolleron flywheel helps with unwanted rotation (roll). The pivots allow the rolleron to act as ailerons to help stabilize the pitch and yaw movement…that’s what I remember being taught in the Air Force when I was in as a weapons troop. Rollerons we’re my favorite feature that I learned about any ordinance for my job. I’m glad you get to appreciate them too!
I think you also wanted to control the roll of the missile because the guidance "computer" was not sufficiently complex to account for the missile rotating around its axis. It can only guide correctly if the missile is not twisting about its axis
Correct!
Thank you. I was part of a small business restricted prime contract for the forward fin a very long time ago. Enjoyed going to the lake and especially the annual Waswinder party. The story behind the development of the Sidewinder in the late 40s is fascinating. Take care
Those rollerons were pretty cool. I always love those sorts of simple mechanical (or electro-mechanical) solutions that don't rely on modern electronics (microcontrollers and microprocessors) to achieve a result.
Loved this video! My uncle Bud Sewell was one of the inventors of the Sidewinder right there at China Lake!
My dad actually worked on the AIM-9 (I'm not certain which variant, but I think it was probably the AIM-9X). He even worked at a building that was later bought by the University of North Texas and turned into an engineering college, where I got my degree. As an interesting little quirk, the building had some kind of signal blocking built into it for national security reasons back when they were working on missiles and such that blocks signals from going in or out, so students have to use the school's wi-fi inside the building, since they can't get cell service. Just a weird coincidence, that my dad would work out of that facility developing missiles, and then years later I would go to that same building for college.
About that signal blocking ... look up information about a Faraday Cage. That building (and all modern government/military buildings where electromagnetic security is a concern) is built with a faraday cage integrated into the exterior structure.
Hey Destin, coool video. On 3:16 you touches the stainless steel looking clamp with your left hand pointing finger that flips back under inertia during launch. That way the Rolleron is free to move around the forward hinge during flight allowing to work as described by you…..anyway thanks again aand keep up the good work!
The gleeful giggle at having a missile fin. Wonderful. From one engineer to another: I love your channel, Destin. Keep them coming!
That giggle is why I subscribed, honestly. What insane glee! Completely irresistible!
Who but an engineer would literally giggle upon receiving their own rocket fin complete with a rolleron? I love it. I have a few steering parts from the '50s in my basement that result in the same giggle.😊
Are you able to make a series about different war heads or weapons? My grandfather worked on different weapons for the DoD and i would love to learn more!
That's so cool! The Warhead is like one of those little plastic toy spheres, the ones that you pull on opposite sides and it expands into a huge spherical scissor type of frame thingy, I don't know what they're called so yes I'm choosing to call it a thingy!😂 really cool video though, I had no idea they worked like that, so simple yet complicated.
Lots of reasons to love this channel but here's my favorite....I'm watching and about 6:17 I'm thinking "a graphic would be good here" and next thing I know....I'm seeing a graphic. Amazing stuff Destin.
Thank you for explaining the expanding rod warhead for me better than I could to my friends.