The Mitsubishi AAM-2 was a Japanese prototype for a limited all aspect infrared homing air-to-air missile developed based on the American AIM-4D Falcon missile. It never reached production.

Development

In 1968,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

selected a modified version of the F-4E as the next main future fighter of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force with the possibility to employ the AIM-4D being an important factor of the decision. The development of the XAAM-2 was started in 1970 as an

air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...

for the newly acquired F-4EJ. It was developed by the Technical Research and Development Institute and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, aiming to exceed the performance of the original AIM-4D. The guidance system used infrared homing like the AIM-4D, but improved to a limited all-aspect infrared homing with the ability to attack from the front and side of the enemy aircraft with the reliability of electronic devices also improved. The missile employed a higher performance rocket motor expanding its range. In addition, the warhead power was increased compared to the AIM-4D, and it was equipped with a proximity fuze, solving major issues of the AIM-4D, such as the small warhead and the lack of a proximity fuze. Therefore, although the AAM-2 is very similar in appearance to the model AIM-4, it employed a different motor, warhead and guidance system. While being successfully tested, the AAM-2 never entered production due to higher cost compared to the American-made AIM-4D, with a high surplus stock after the Vietnam War. Japan rather imported the AIM-4D to equip the its F-4EJ aircraft. The development of XAAM-2 was discontinued in 1975.

Development

See also