Characteristics
The main improvement, which was also made on the latest version of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, is a new focal plane array FPA (128x128 resolution imaging infrared) seeker developed by Hughes before they were acquired by Raytheon. This seeker has a long acquisition range, high countermeasures resistance, approximately 90 degrees off-boresight lock-on capability, and the possibility to designate specific parts of the targeted aircraft (like cockpit, engines, etc.). The ASRAAM also has a LOAL (Lock-On After Launch) ability which is a distinct advantage when the missile is carried in an internal bay such as in the upcoming F-35 Lightning II.
ASRAAM P3I
In 1995, Hughes and British Aerospace collaborated on the "P3I ASRAAM" - a version of ASRAAM as a candidate for the AIM-9X program. The P3I would have been very much like the AIM-132, but with the addition of thrust vectoring to provide increased agility and to carry a larger warhead to meet the requirements expressed by the US Navy led AIM-9X program. The ultimate winner was the Hughes submission using the same seeker but using the rocket motor, fuze and warhead of the AIM-9M. The latter was a US Air Force stipulation to ease the logistics burden and save by reusing as much as possible of the existing AIM-9 Sidewinder — of which 20,000 remained in the US inventory.
Potential future development
At the DSEi conference in September 2007 it was announced the UK MoD was funding a study by MBDA to investigate a replacement for the Rapier and Sea Wolf missiles. The Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), would share components with ASRAAM.
MBDA has agreed to jointly develop a new generation air-to-air missile with India.
| AIM-132 ASRAAM | |
|---|---|
| Type | Short-range air-to-air missile |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2002 |
| Used by | UK, United Arab Emirates, Australia, India |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | MBDA |
| Unit cost | > £200,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 88 kg |
| Length | 2.90 m |
| Diameter | 166 mm |
| | |
| Warhead | 10 kg blast/fragmentation |
| Detonation mechanism | laser proximity fuze and impact |
| | |
| Engine | solid rocket motor |
| Wingspan | 450 mm |
| Operational range | 300 m – 18 km |
| Flight altitude | N/A |
| Speed | Mach 3+ |
| Guidance system | Imaging infra-red, 128×128 element focal plane array, with lock-on after launch (LOAL) and strapdown inertial |
| Launch platform | Aircraft:
|
