AAM-2 father of AAM-3

[Would you like to see this in-game?]
  • Yes
  • No
0 voters
[For which aircraft it is to be added?]
  • F-4EJ
  • F-104J
  • F-4EJ and F-104J
  • No
0 voters

AAM-2 Missle
The AAM-2 was a Japanese missile based on the AIM-4D rocket. It was not accepted for operational use, it was manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Corporation.
History
This missile was supposed to be a domestic replacement for the AIM-4D missile, which the Americans did not want to sell to Japan, which was used by the newly acquired F-4EJ aircraft. In 1970, development work began on it by the Technical Research Division and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The prototype was ready in 1971 and tests began at the Niijima proving ground, which revealed a number of problems, this caused the need for additional tests, which lasted from December 1972 to June 1975.The AAM-2 passed the final tests and was accepted by the Self-Defense Forces. Unfortunately, two things happened at this point that caused production not to start. The first was the end of the Vietnam War, which caused the market to be flooded with surplus from US Army inventories.The second was to negotiate the purchase of a license for the AIM-9L guided missile, which was successful, and the production of missiles in Japan from 1976 onwards.
Structure description
The guidance system uses infrared guidance, similar to the AIM-4D, but although it is limited, it uses omnidirectional infrared guidance that can attack from the front and side of enemy aircraft, and the use of high-performance rocket engines improves maneuverability and range. It also had an increased warhead power compared to the AIM-4D and was equipped with a proximity fuze, which solved the problem of a small warhead and the lack of a proximity fuze. In addition, the reliability of electronic devices has been improved. Therefore, although the AAM-2 was very similar in appearance to the AIM-4 model, it can be said that it was completely different.Unfortunately, the exact speed, range and power of the warhead is not known, it can be assumed that they were very similar to what the AIM-4D

Sketch

AAM-2 in Gifu Air Base Publication Center


























Photo

AAM-2

General characteristics

  • Length: 220cm
  • Span: 49cm
  • Diameter: 16cm
  • Weight: 74kg
  • Guidance Method: guided by infrared (IR)
  • Range: 5 km
  • Additional info: it is resistant to lure flares

Now for the estimates

  • Warhead: Explosive charge probably between 3.4 and 10 kg
  • Speed: Mach 3 ?
  • engine:Liquid fuel engine, no additional data available.

Summary
The AAM-2 would be a great addition to the F-104j and F-4EJ. All sources report an increased range of attack (attack from the side or from behind), not which say that it is a rocket to attack from all directions. Adding it will increase the number of unique rockets for Japan, so it should be remembered that the work on it helped to make the AAM-3 rocket in the future. As for me, this is a great idea compared to adding AIM-4D missiles, which only have a bump fuse and not a proximity fuze like the AAM-2.
Finally, I apologize for the linguistic and logical errors because unfortunately English is not my main language and I had to use google translator.

Source

AIM-4 – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia
Lista wyposażenia Powietrznych Sił Samoobrony – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia
Encyklopedia missile_Baidu “Mitsubishi” AAM-2
Category:Mitsubishi AAM-2 - Wikimedia Commons
1976 | 2321 | Flight Archive
Wayback Machine (archive.org)
Sidewinder – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia
AAM-2 – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia
AAM-2 – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia
誘導武器1967-1999 (mod.go.jp)

14 Likes

I like the idea of the missile, and definitely favor its addition for the F-4EJ (and ADTW naturally) but what proof is there that it was capable of being used by the F-104J? It would be quite cool on the F-104 but I’ve never heard of a Starfighter using any derivative of the Falcon

2 Likes

There is no photographic evidence due to the secrecy of this missile. Additionally, it is not an AIM-4 missile, but a very similar missile. The only thing that confirms that this missile was intended to be used/tested by the F-104J are the sources provided

4 Likes

+1

1 Like

+1 - Hopefully soon, could also be a nice unique addition for the F-4EJ ADTW

grafik

grafik

4 Likes

+1, I genuinely want to see more domestic weaponry (even if it never made it past the prototype stage) added. Also, it could potentially serve as a gateway for other similar weapons (such as the AIM-4 Falcon) to be added/looked at.

3 Likes