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Article: Is seeing believing? (countermeasure systems against infrared guided missiles)
- Article from:
- Journal of Electronic Defense
- Article date:
- April 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Horizon House Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Make no mistake, infrared (IR)-guided missiles are killers. From 1979 to 1985, aircraft combat losses to all weapon systems are estimated to total in excess of 160. Of these, 90% were attributable to IR missiles.(1) In action over the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon in 1982, Israeli aircraft using AIM-9G/L air-to-air, heat-seeking missiles downed 89 Syrian MiG aircraft in one day. Later generation "smart" weapons, those that sense their targets' evasive actions and change direction in flight, are particularly capable. By the spring of 1986, Soviet military action in Afghanistan took a decided turn for the worse with the introduction of US Stinger IR missiles to the Mujahedeen ...