Podcast Episode

The AIM-9 Sidewinder

Military Aviation History··28 May 2026·16 min

About this episode

See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY1nRMQ0m18 For nearly 70 years, the AIM-9 Sidewinder has been the West's most iconic air-to-air missile — from its humble 1940s origins at China Lake to its latest AIM-9X incarnation with helmet-cueing and thrust-vectoring agility. This documentary charts its evolution through Cold War dogfights, the Falklands, the Gulf War, and beyond — revealing how a heat-seeking "rattlesnake" changed aerial warfare forever.