The R.511 was a French

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 ...

, developed by Matra, based on their work with the Matra M.04 (R.042) and R.05. The first version of the missile, the R.510, was infra-red guided, and while accurate had very limited operating parameters. The missile was superseded by the far more capable R.530 in French service, although continued to be used in training units until 1976.

Description

The R.510 was optically guided by a PbS infra-red photocell with a 20° field of view. Testing of the R.510 began at the CIEES missile range near Colomb-Béchar and

Hammaguir Hammaguir (also written Hamaguir and Hammaguira) ( ar, حماقير) is a village in Abadla District, Béchar Province, Algeria, south-west of Béchar. It lies on the N50 national highway between Béchar and Tindouf. The location is notable for ...

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, in October 1952, and a limited production run of 100 missiles was ordered. However the PbS seeker was insensitive and could only effectively track targets at night. The R.511 entered service in 1957, replacing the R.510. The R.511 used a Thompson-CSF

semi-active radar homing Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range Air-to-air missile, air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is ...

head which was tuned to home on to reflections of the launch aircraft's radar; its antenna scanned conically 8° off the boresight of the missile at a rate of 225 revolutions per second. For longer range firing, guidance commands were transmitted directly to the missile via an antenna on the trailing edge of the missile's wing. Limitations of the launch aircraft's radar restricted operation to above . The missile could pull 12g while travelling at Mach 1 at .Flight, 6 November 1959
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Variants

;R.510: An

infra-red Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

homing missile with a PbS (lead sulphide) seeker head. The R.510 was produced in limited numbers for research only. ;R.511: A passive radar guided missile, homing on to reflections of the launch aircraft's radar. The R.511 was used operationally on the

Sud Aviation Vautour IIN The Sud-Ouest Aviation (SNCASO) S.O. 4050 Vautour II (French for ''vulture'') was a French jet-powered bomber, interceptor, and attack aircraft developed and manufactured by aircraft company Sud Aviation. The Vautour was operated by France's '' ...

and Dassault Mirage IIIC.

References

;Bibliography * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017

R.511 The R.511 was a French air-to-air missile, developed by Matra, based on their work with the Matra M.04 (R.042) and R.05. The first version of the missile, the R.510, was infra-red guided, and while accurate had very limited operating parameters. ...

Matra Military equipment introduced in the 1950s