Aim 9-P: What am I missing with these things?

The Academy - Players helping Players
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1

So - I’ve decided to grind the Japanese tech tree after putting in the work to get the R2Y2’s removed to at least get to the F-16AJ before that potentially gets removed. Especially because I have my bonus from having all but the newest stuff in the US tree researched and/or bought.

I knew the F-104 would be pain again cause the thing is over BR’ed in Air AB, but at least it got more and better missiles (and no nerf to the guns fire rate) than it’s US counterpart. Or at least that’s what I thought until after I unlocked the AIM-9P’s on it and the T-2 (in progress on the F-1). And I could understand if maybe I just didn’t see the flares that got set off to spoof it, or maybe were in a high G turn so even with a lead it’s still just not enough to land it close enough to do anything. Or even if I just scored a hit that didn’t do critical, severe, or destructive damage. But I have literally been tailing a US F-104 A or C, that I know all too well has no countermeasures, and is clean other than their 9B’s, holding around 1.5-2km out, maybe losing or gaining slightly depending, flying in a straight line, fired the missile, and ended up sitting there like Marvin the Martian going ‘where’s the kaboom, there’s supposed to be a plane shattering kaboom’.

And I’ve fired follow up missiles, at closer ranges - and still somehow not scored hits on players who seem oblivious to the fact missiles are being hurled at them as they just fly in a straight line, and they still just don’t seem to track or something. It’s even more confusing and infuriating when someone is flying a lower BR sub-sonic plane, that’s sometimes practically stalled but rear aspect so I can get a lock - and the missile never hits them. I thought ‘maybe it’s just pure skill issue, I’ve been playing tanks for a bit due to the EFV event’, went to my US planes around the same BR with similar or worse missiles - no problems nailing planes flying in straight lines or even turns.

So - what is it I’m missing here? Is there some hidden thing that doesn’t show up on the stat card like it doesn’t have a proximity fuse, or some other warhead detail, or some quirk of it’s IR homing? The only other IR missile I’ve had this much trouble with is the F-106’s AIM-4’s. But at this point - I need some advice or something on these missiles cause I can’t see anything about them that I should be missing a plane with no CM who’s just outside guns range (since apparently nothing seems to have working radar gunsights anymore, least in Arcade, so harder to make shots beyond .7km) that’s flying in a straight line.

2

Were you at same alt when you launched them?

3

Aim9p and just an aim9j

They are not very long range and have a somewhat short burn time.

Hitting things going mach at low alt will not be very easy. At high alt, you can get some decent range on them.

I suggest only using them on sub-sonic targets or close, high alt shots on mach targets

4

He probably just out ran the missile, the P only has about 2 seconds of burn time and a stock F-104A easily gets over 1400kph on the deck (I think it redlines at about 1480kph). A 1.5km is cutting it close, a 2km shot, no chance. I usually fire them from between 800 to 1200m.

5

It varies - sometimes it’s the same altitude, others above by some amount, usually try to avoid anything from below.

Thing is - even when closer to Mach targets and/or at altitude, the missile still does I don’t know what. And like I said - I’ve fired at nearly stalled sub-sonic planes and the missile just doesn’t track, even with no flares. I’m making some of the same shots with 9E’s - which is what they developed in to the 9J/9P that this thing is missing. Unless maybe there’s something buggy going on which is why sometimes I think I figured it out cause I’m scoring hits and then the next couple matches it’s back to missing shots even the 9B will hit. I’ve also used the J’s on my US aircraft and never had these issues.

6

If you could post a replay link or two, that would help a lot.

7

They might struggle if you dont have high closure rate. But thats not problem unique to 9Ps.

Again, more optimal launch condition, but that holds true for most missiles, if not all of them.

That sounds like an issue/bug more than 9Ps underperforming.