The IAF Employs Israeli Designed Python And Derby AAMs _ Both Of These Missiles Have A Comprehensive Air-To-Air 100 % kill Accuracy From Short To Medium To Long Ranges, Leaving No Room For Error Or Escape. A Comprehensive Air-To-Air Missile Capability Allows The Indian Air Force ( IAF ) To Maintain Air Superiority In A Variety Of Scenarios. The IAF’s Relentless Pursuit Of Excellence Ensures That These Missiles Will Continue To Be The Backbone Of Their Air-To-Air Combat Capability, Now And Into The Future.
The IAF Employs Israeli Designed Python And Derby AAMs, where The Python AAM is a family of short-to-medium-range infrared-guided missiles. It was first developed in the 1970s and has gone through several iterations, with the most recent being Python 5. It is used by several air forces around the world. And the Derby AAM is a beyond-visual-range missile that uses an active radar seeker to engage targets. It was developed in the 1990s as a longer-range complement to the Python missile. It is primarily used by the Israeli and Indian Air Force.
Photo Credit: Rafael / The IAF Employs Israeli Designed Python And Derby AAMs[/caption]
Together, the Python and Derby AAMs provide the military with a comprehensive air-to-air missile capability, allowing for the engagement of targets at short, medium, and long ranges, comprising of Fox 1 & 3 brevity code. This weapon is built by the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.
Design And Development Of The Python-5 Missile:
The initial versions of this missile were known as Shafrir 1 and 2. But unfortunately, the Shafrir 1 was deemed a complete failure during actual operations. However, the Shafrir 2 proved to be a resounding success, having destroyed 89 enemy aircraft out of a total of 176 fired missiles. Following this accomplishment, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems introduced the 3rd version of the missile in 1970, which is now known as the Python.
The Python-3 boasts significant improvements, including enhanced range and all-aspect attack ability. This missile proved its efficacy prior to and during the 1982 Lebanon War, having successfully destroyed 35 enemy aircraft. Thereafter, the Python missile family includes the Python-4 in the mid-1980s added the option for helmet-sight guidance.
Photo Credit: IAF
In the 1990s Rafael started development on the Python-5 AAM, which was equipped with an advanced electro-optical imaging seeker with lock-on after-launch ability. The new missile was showcased at the 2003 Paris Air Show. It is claimed that the Python-5 is an all-aspect missile with complete sphere launch capability, which enables it to be launched at a target regardless of its location in relation to the launching aircraft’s direction. Even when targets are up to 100 degrees away from the launching aircraft’s boresight, it can lock onto them after launch.
The Python-5 missile is equipped with advanced electro-optical and infrared seeker technologies, which enable it to track and engage targets even in adverse weather and electronic warfare conditions. The missile is also designed with a high degree of manoeuvrability and is capable of executing high-G manoeuvres to engage agile targets. It’s estimated that it can take between 40 to 60 g turns and still maintain control during high-speed manoeuvres.
In addition, the Python-5 is designed to be interoperable with a wide range of fighter aircraft and air defence systems, and it can be launched from both manned and unmanned platforms. The missile has been widely exported and is in service with numerous air forces around the world.
The Latest Generation Python-5 Missile Specifications:
- Weight: 104 kg ( 231 lb )
- Length: 10 ft ( 120 in )
- Diameter: 6.3 in ( 16 cm )
- Warhead: High Explosive Fragmentation Warhead ( HE-FRAG ), weighing 11kg ( 24 lb )
- Detonation: Active radar proximity fuse
- Engine: Solid fuel rocket motor
- Range: Approximately 20–30 km
- Speed: Mach 4
- Guidance: Infrared homing and electro-optical imaging, lock on after launch, with infrared counter-counter-measures ( IRCCM )
- Manoeuvrability: High-G manoeuvring capability and all-aspect engagement
- Compatibility: Compatible with a wide range of fighter aircraft and air defence systems, and can be launched from both manned and unmanned platforms.
- Launch Platform: F-16, F-15, Su-25km, Su-30MKI, LCA Tejas, Saab Gripen, Mirage 2000–5
Photo Credit: AirPra@Aero India 2023
Design And Development Of The Derby Missile:
The development of the Derby ( also known as Alto ) missile began in the mid-1980s as a collaboration between Rafael and the British company British Aerospace. The missile was originally called the “Skyflash 2”, but the program was cancelled by the British government in 1993. Rafael continued the development of the missile independently, and it was eventually named the Derby.
The missile is designed to engage aerial targets at ranges of 50 km and beyond. It is equipped with an active radar seeker and has a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. The missile is designed to be launched from a variety of platforms, including fighter aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ). The missile has several advanced features that make it effective in air-to-air combat. These include a low smoke rocket motor, high resistance to electronic countermeasures, and the ability to engage targets at all altitudes and in all weather conditions. The missile also has a high degree of manoeuvrability and can perform evasive manoeuvres to avoid counter-countermeasures.
Variants: The Derby missile has several variants, including the Derby-ER ( Extended Range ), which has a range of up to 100 km ( 62 miles ), and the I-Derby ER, which is a further development of the Derby missile with enhanced features and a range of up to 150 km ( 93 miles ). A dual-pulse solid rocket motor is added to the missile to increase range, and the subsequent energy pulse as the missile approaches the target lengthens flight time. To make room for the new motor, it also integrates the seeker and fuses into a single integrated sensor and fusing system.
The I-Derby ER is a long-range Derby missile derivative that is now in use by a number of air forces throughout the world. It belongs to the several generations of air-to-air missile families that Rafael has created over the past 65 years, with more than 150 combat interceptions in Israel and elsewhere in the world.
Photo Credit: Rafael
The missile is in service with several air forces around the world, including Israel, India, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Philippines and Chile. It has been used in combat operations, including during the India-Pakistan conflict in 2019. But never fired due to orders from the base.
India reportedly intended to replace its R-77 missiles with I-Derby ER missiles for its Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters, according to a May 2019 report. However, for the HAL Tejas fighter of the Indian Air Force, it had already been chosen in 2018.
Furthermore, based on the successful design and development of these two AAMs, the Israeli major company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems also developed the Spyder ( Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby ) SAM ( Surface-to-Air Missile ) system.
Photo Credit: Rafael
The Latest Generation Derby-ER Missile Specifications:
- Weight: 118 kg ( 260 lb )
- Length: 11.91 ft ( 143 in )
- Diameter: 6.3 in ( 16 cm )
- Warhead: 23 kg ( 51 lb )
- Detonation: Active radar proximity fuse
- Engine: Solid fuel rocket motor
- Range: 100 km ( 62 miles ) // I-Derby-ER: 150 km ( 93 miles )
- Speed: Mach 4
- Guidance: Active radar homing
- Manoeuvrability: High-G manoeuvring capability and all-aspect engagement
- Compatibility: Compatible with a wide range of fighter aircraft and air defence systems, and can be launched from both manned and unmanned platforms.
- Launch Platform: F-16, F-15, Su-30MKI, LCA Tejas, Saab Gripen, Mirage 2000–5
Photo Credit: Rafael
In conclusion, the Derby and Python missile systems are two advanced air-to-air missile families that demonstrate the cutting-edge capabilities of modern military technology. The Derby missile, with its long-range and radar-guided seeker, is designed to engage targets beyond the visual range, while the Python missile family, with its advanced infrared seeker and high manoeuvrability, is intended for short to medium-range engagements against highly manoeuvrable targets. Both missile systems are developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a leading developer of missile systems and other advanced defence technologies. The Derby and Python missile systems, with their advanced guidance and propulsion systems, demonstrate the significant progress in missile technology and their capabilities make them precise and formidable weapons in air-to-air combat scenarios.
