Aim-9Ls are woefully underpowered these days and are way too easy to flare compared to IRL performance.
Aim-9Ms are in need of a good overhaul, they have a number of issues ranging for ahistorical attributes such as lock ranges to buggy behaviour. Some reports have been accepted, others are being worked on as we speak.
Aim-120 A/B are underperforming considerably and are some of the weaker ARH missiles at the moment. They only have the advantage of range, which is the least important attirbute at the moment given how easy they are to defeat. There a dozen reports outstanding for the A/B model but none have yet been even looked at by the devs.
Aim-120C5s should be a meaningful and significant upgrade over the A/Bs but honestly… they are barely a sidegrade. Few bother even equipping them over the A/Bs
Aim-54s main issue at hte moment, is the fact that Gaijin doesnt model dual plane steering, and so far less pull than they should, but they do get the advantage of being at 12.7 to make up for this fact
the amraam is definitely under performing ingame and i believe the r-77-1 is over performing. my main gripe is the aim9m, i have had multiple times where it just stops tracking, gets one flared and then just flys past the target ive only had this with 9M’s not 9L’s or r27et’s. the amraam was nerfed soon after released, that nerf being fin aoa so its not as maneuverable as it should be and its HOB capability is significantly reduced. the same goes for the C-5 as that not only got a control section upgrade in the mid body but also after the dev server got its fin AOA nerfed which made its HOB performance worse than the A/B. also the C-5 is too heavy slowing it down nerfing its range and HOB performance. All amraams should have lower turning drag as it should be able to hit certain moving targets IRL but ingame this simply isnt possible. another thing is the aim120C-5 got a lofting nerf which hurts its max range and actual usable range aswell as energy retention + TTK. i know other missiles ingame have some of the same problems like the normal r77 not having enough fin aoa, but no other missile has all of these issues combined like the amraam does. also another one of my experiences with amraams is sometimes using datalink with the amraam it will completely miss the target if its IOG circle is on target at time of impact i dont know why this happens but its only on the amraam for me
I’ve never had real issues with american missiles and think most people are massively exaggerating the issues they have. 9Ms have some goofyness and sparrows occasional do goofy stuff but its occasional, no other usa missile really has any issues at all
i think the issue isn’t that they are bad but that as other countries missiles get upgraded or better newer models the US missiles keep their artificial nerf and the new model we get is a downgrade in every meaningful way. the mica the missile least in need of a buff got a seeker upgrade but why no upgrade in seeker for the 120b or c-5/7 the USSR got the 77-1 making the gap from worst to best fox 3 in the game much smaller so why not revert the fin AOA nerfs to make most countries performance better as it is the most used model of fox 3 in the game, it makes no damn sense.
the aim-120 on launch was the most versatile missile in the game having the best range and ok maneuvering so they nerfed it witch was fair but there is no need for that anymore. it is the blatant ignorance from gaijin that everyone who wants more balanced game or US, GBR, German, Swedish, Israeli, and Italian top tier aircraft to not be DOA should hate at this point, it is ultimately the missile that makes the biggest difference in a planes competitiveness at top tier.
P.S i have played every major airframe and every missile in the game.
People just see no HOBS=Bad and don’t change anything about how they play. While Aim-120s aren’t the best, they are still good, and have their uses. 9Ms also have the best IRCCM I have used because it actually seems to work above 3km unlike every other missile. Meanwhile I have had R-73s get 1 flared many times because I wasn’t at a perfect rear aspect angle.
I’ve had Aim-9Ms be 1 flare defeated more times than I can count. Ive actually got a report submitted for the IRCCM not working in front aspect at all.
And whilst yes, they work sometimes above 2-3km (if they will lock) they dont work within 2km most of the time. Usually the theatre where you want an SRAAM
I personally consider Aim-9M the weakest top tier IR missile in game at the moment. Especially after the recent nerfs and bugs
but it’s not just no HOBS it is that the 120c-5 is closer in pull to a facor-90 than a aim-7 when all of the 120’s should pull mor that a missile from the early 70’s that it was designed from it is comical how the WT community has just let this slide.
I’ve only had that happen once, and IRCCM being weak front aspect isn’t unique to Aim-9Ms. I’ve had R-73s and R-27ETs flared sub 1km front aspect when they had already been locked onto the plane for a few seconds before launch.
They will lock sub 3km, unless you are locking a non-afterburning plane that doesn’t rhyme with barrier. However, I do want a longer lock range so I can pull of 5km+ shots more easily and safely.
My ranking would be PL-8B, Aim-9M, PL-5EII, and then the R-73 out of everything I have used.
tbh i find IRCCM missiles are janky in general
i had some 9Ms able to kill a non afterburning and flaring opponent without issue but the next match they dont track and crash after 1-2 flares
i also had a few occasion where im flaring a r-73 thats like 2km while pulling and cut afterburner and still get clipped
however 9Ms is the weakest irccm in the game, it has the worst turning and kinematic performance compare to other missiles on the same level and very basic irccm
the amraam being worse than the aim7 in terms of HOB maneuverability is peak comedy. the amraam should be about as maneuverable as the pl12 since the PL12 was built off of amraam internals, even the person who concepted the PL12 said that the aim120 is atleast a 38G missile
