Recently I just got my first jet that has missiles, specifcally the A-4 skyhawk (squadron vehicle) and it comes with aim-9B missiles
everytime i try to lock onto something it doesnt lock until im like a kilometer and a half away from the enemy and the 4/10 times i lock on and i launch the missiles it doesnt even hit the target 80% of the time
how do i actually use these air to air missiles???
Aim-9B’s are crap - what you describe is perfectly normal.
their only use is against someone who is utterly unaware you are there (I myself am often such a victim!) or AI planes…
Suggest you play them in Air Assault a few times to get more familiar with them. It uses AB rules, but will make you more intuitive with how they work in a more forgiving environment!!!
9B’s are rear-aspect IR missiles so you’ll need to be making sure you’re between the enemy’s 4 and 8 essentially, so behind them; beyond that, you don’t typically want to be using them outside of 1.5km anyway as the further away you are the more likely the missile loses too much energy, and they’re only 10g missiles so a hard turn in most jets will outpull the missile and it won’t be able to track. Missiles are strong but until you get better ones you really need good positioning and surprise to get them to land.
9Bs are rear aspect, so they’ll only lock if you are behind the enemy, and they have a pretty pathetic seeker head and have very little pull.
They’ll only hit if the enemy isnt aware you are there, and is flying in a straight line. 1.5km is pretty close to the limit of their range as well. If the enemy turns at all to evade the missile wont be able to follow.
The later missiles get much better at this obviously, but can still be spoofed.