I have no idea when to shoot the AIM-9L or from where to shoot it best, mine always miss with them.
You don’t they suck your better off using your plane as ammo. But if you really want to use them then go into setting go to weapons and make whatever key bind you want to use missiles
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Its very easy to flare and dodge modt missles in the game until top tier. It takes a long time to figure out the situations where you can use them to effect.
Ie people not paying attention, cheeky headon close enough to only have a split second to flare or to trade with another launch. Someone is too low energy etc.
Remember its just as easy for you dodge as well
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Depends on the BR, if you’re at a lower BR like the A-10s then shoot from < 3 km at flareless planes/unaware opponents depending on your closure, if they’re flying away and you’re subsonic launch from < 2.4 km, recommended < 2 km.
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Even tho they are 30G all aspect sidewinders, they still have their limitations.
As you gain more experience, you will be able to “feel” whenever the missile will connect and when not, because you need to consider like 10 different things at the very least in extremely narrow window.
Where is the target heading? Where i am heading?
Whats his speed? Whats mine?
Whats his altitude? Whats mine?
Is he already turning or flying straight?
Where is my nose pointing?
Does he have flares?
Does he know im engaging him?
Basically, if the enemy is flying straight, you want to keep him in the middle of the gimball limit of your missile.
If the enemy is turning, you want to lead your missile as much as you can.
If you are firing in the headon, you actually want to launch at like 700- 800m, depending on the missile, so that it has time to track.
If you are firing in a tail chase, you either want to be higher than the enemy, or faster than the enemy, or ideally both, because missile will run out of energy in the tailchase the most.
If you are firing from a side, once again you want to “lead” the missile as much as possible so it doesnt have to pull as much.
Also remember the faster you are the more initial speed the missile has.
If you fire from near stall speed, the missile will be lot slower than if you fire them from mach 1, and you want to keep your missiles fast.
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Like with any missile, it works best against unaware opponents. It’s more flare resistant against the hot afterburner of a rear-aspect shot, but rear-aspect also means more time for the enemy to see your missile and act against it. The 9L has a great seeker range compared to missiles like the R-60 or other AIM-9s, so it can be tempting to lob missiles from longer ranges. But try to avoid doing so as the enemy will usually see it coming and avoid it. I find that around 2km is ideal for the 9L, both in front and rear aspect. Front-aspect shots are surprisingly effective because the enemy doesn’t have time to react, just make sure that you lead your launch heavily because the missile also has very little time to react and begin steering towards the target. Also remember that it drops “down” away from your aircraft at launch before guidance initiates, so at very close ranges you have to aim “above” the enemy, relative to your aircraft’s orientation.
Overall it just takes some practice to find the optimal launch conditions. I’d recommend using Sparrows if you’ve got them or even your cannon as your initial weapon in a dogfight, then switching to 9Ls when you have gotten the enemy into a good position to use them.
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