Identified the type of missile used by the US Air Force to destroy a Chinese balloon

A few days ago over US territory shot down balloon from China. A video of how this happened was published on the Web, and it also became possible to determine the type of missile with which the Americans destroyed the Chinese aircraft.

The footage shows how an AIM-9X short-range air-launched missile (up to 20 km) successfully hits a special balloon in the sky. The ammunition was fired by one of the US Air Force F-22 fighters, which perform air defense functions, at an altitude of 17,7 km, when the balloon was at a distance of 18,3-19,8 km from the ground.




American guided air-to-air missile AIM-9X with optoelectronic seeker, which allows you to scan the image of the target and aim it at it. This is a modern modification (supplied since 2002) of the AIM-9A Sidewinder ammunition with an infrared homing head, which was put into service back in 1956 and became the world's first such mass-produced missile.

In total, more than 200 thousand units of various modifications of this missile were produced in the United States and allied countries. The AIM-9X version has improved noise immunity to heat traps, and thanks to thrust vector control - maneuverability, the resolution of the photodetector matrix is ​​128x128 and integration with the JHMCS helmet-mounted display is implemented.

At the same time, the Chinese reject all accusations of the Americans of spying on their strategic nuclear facilities. The Chinese Foreign Ministry informed the international community that the balloon was exclusively civilian and had only a scientific purpose, and it got into US airspace due to "force majeure." Moreover, Washington was notified of an emergency situation, which he himself inflated into a political scandal. Therefore, Beijing reserves the right to any necessary reaction for the downed vehicle.