R.530
The Matra R.530 is a French medium to short range air-to-air missile. It was available in infrared homing and semi active radar homing as the main armament of the Mirage III which was able to carry a single missile in the centerline, the Mirage F1, which carried two (one of each type) under the wings, and the F-8 Crusader in French Navy service.
Matra R.530 | |
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![]() An R530 exhibited at the South African Air Force Museum, Swartkop | |
Type | short-range air-to-air missile |
Place of origin | France |
Service history | |
In service | 1962 [1] |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Matra |
Specifications | |
Mass | 192 kg [1] |
Length | 3.28 m [1] |
Diameter | 263 mm [1] |
Engine | two stage solid rocket,[1] Hotchkiss-Brandt/SNPE Antoinette rocket [2] 83.3 kN for 2.7 s + 6.5 s cruise[2] |
Wingspan | 1.1 m[2] |
Operational range | 1.5 to 20 km [1] |
Maximum speed | Mach 2.7 [1] |
Guidance system | Semi active radar homing and Infrared homing[3] |
Launch platform | Dassault Mirage F1 Dassault Mirage III [1] F-8 Crusader |
Operational history
On 29 November 1966, an Israeli Air Force Dassault Mirage III shot down two Egyptian MiG-19s which were trying to intercept an Israeli reconnaissance Piper J-3 Cub in Israeli airspace. The first MiG was destroyed with a R.530 fired from less than a mile away, marking the first aerial kill for the French made missile. The second MiG-19 was destroyed with cannon fire.[4]
Gallery
- Matra R.530 missile
- Matra R.530 missile
- Matra R.530 missile
- Matra R.530 missile
- Matra R.530 missile
- Matra R.530 missile
- Matra R.530 missile
- Matra R.530 missile
- Map with former R.530 operators in red
- Mirage IIIC de l'Escadron de Chasse 2/10 Seine in 1980 armed with Matra R.530
- Mirage F-1 of Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen and Escadron de Chasse 3/30 Lorraine in 1986 armed with Matra R.530
Former operators
Argentina Australia Brazil Cameroon Colombia France Egypt Iraq Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco Pakistan South Africa Spain Venezuela Qatar
See also
Related Development:
Similar weapons
- AIM-4 Falcon
- AIM-26 Falcon
- AIM-7 Sparrow (initial variants)
- K-8 (missile)
References
- "R.530 Missile". South African Air Force Association. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- Misiles Aéreos Modernos (Editorial San Martín)
- "Matra R530". Speedy look. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- https://www.jta.org/1966/11/30/archive/israeli-pilot-shoots-down-two-egyptian-soviet-made-mig-jets