R.550 Magic

The R.550 Magic (backronym for Missile Auto-Guidé Interception et Combat^[1][2]) is a short-range air-to-air missile designed in 1965 by French company Matra to compete with the American AIM-9 Sidewinder, and it was made backwards compatible with the Sidewinder launch hardware.

R.550 Magic
R.550 Magic loaded on the pylon of a ROCAF Mirage 2000-5EI
Type	Short-range air-to-air missile
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1968 (Magic) and 1986 (Magic 2)
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Manufacturer	Matra, MBDA France
Unit cost	$38 000 - $90 000 (USD)
Specifications
Mass	89 kg (196 lb)
Length	2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
Diameter	157 mm (6 in)
Wingspan	0.66 Metres
Warhead	High explosive pre-fragmented 12.7 kg (28 lb) warhead
Detonation mechanism	Contact and RF proximity fuzing
Engine	solid rocket motor
Propellant	Solid fuel
Operational range	10 km (6 mi) (Magic 1) 20 km (12 mi) (Magic 2)
Flight ceiling	18,000 m (59,000 ft)
Maximum speed	Mach 3 (Magic 1) Mach 2 (Magic 2)
Guidance system	Infrared homing
Launch platform	British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS.51, Dassault Étendard IV, Dassault Mirage III, Dassault Mirage 5, Dassault Mirage F1, Dassault Mirage 2000, Dassault Super Étendard, Dassault Rafale, General Dynamics F-16, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 LanceR, SEPECAT Jaguar, Vought F-8E(FN).

Development

Developed originally as a short-range infrared air-to-air missile, the R.550 was meant to be France's lighter short-range missile, replacing the previous heavy R.530. During a trial on 11 January 1965, a Gloster Meteor of the centre for in-flight trials fired an R.550 Magic and shot down a Nord CT20 target drone.

The Magic was then mass-produced from 1967, the Magic was adopted by the French Air Force and Navy for active service.

The Argentine Air Force also received "Magic 1" for its Mirage IIIEA during the 1982 Falklands War. The Argentine Navy received "Magic 1" for its Super Etendards after the 1982 Falklands War.

An upgraded version, the Magic 2, replaced the original model in 1986. In total, 11,300 Magics (7,000 Magic 1s and 4,000 Magic 2s)^[3] were produced; they were exported, notably to Iraq and Greece, who used them in combat.

The Magic is still used by the Dassault Rafale, Dassault Mirage 2000, F-16, Sea Harrier (FRS51), MiG-21 Lancer,^{[4][circular reference]} Super Étendard, Mirage F1, Mirage 5, and Mirage III. However, the R.550 is gradually being replaced by the MBDA MICA. 480 Magics were sold to Taiwan and is used by the Republic of China Air Force's Mirage 2000s.

The PL-7 is the Chinese reversed-engineered version of the R.550 Magic 1. The missile was obtained through Pakistani sources.

Description

 

A Mirage F1C of Escadron de chasse 1/5 Vendée with a R.550 Magic on the wingtip hardpoint, 1985

The Magic has four fixed fins, four movable fins directly behind the fixed fins, and four notched fins on the tail, which is mounted on a bearing and is free to rotate independently of the missile. This is in contrast with the AIM-9, which makes use of "rollerons," which are slipstream driven gyros mounted on the tail fins which stabilize the missile in three axes, and have no fixed fin "canards" forward of the moving fins. Its diameter is larger than the Sidewinder's, which is 5 inches (127 mm) and a legacy of the US Navy's five-inch rocket, from which the AIM-9 is derived; the larger diameter simplified engineering. It has a solid-fuel engine, and can engage the target independently from the firing aircraft with its passive infrared homing system.

The Magic 2 replaced the AD3601 seeking head by the all-aspect AD3633, allowing all-aspect capability (the Magic 1 can only be fired from the rear on the target). The Magic 1 has a transparent dome on its nose, while the Magic 2 is opaque.

Operators

 

Operators:

  Current

  Former

Current operators

•   Argentina Magic 1 on Super Étendard
•   Egypt
•   France
•   India^[5]
•   Morocco^[6]
•   Oman
•   Pakistan^[7]
•   Romania Magic 2 on MiG-21 LanceR
•   Peru Magic 1 and 2 on Mirage 2000^[8]
•   Republic of China
•   United Arab Emirates^[9]

Former operators

•   Argentina Magic 1 on the Mirage IIIEA, Dagger, and Mirage 5P Mara^[10]
•   Australia Magic 1 on the Mirage IIIO^[11]
•   Brazil Magic 2 on Mirage 2000B/C
•   Ecuador Magic 2 on Mirage F1
•   Greece Magic 2 on Mirage 2000EGM
•   Iraq Magic 1 and 2 on Mirage F1
•   Jordan
•   Kuwait Magic 1 and 2 on Mirage F1
•   Libya^[12]
•   South Africa Magic 1 on the Mirage F1^[13]
•   Venezuela on the Mirage 50^[14]

Operational history

Greece

On 8 October 1996, 7 months after the escalation over Imia/Kardak a Greek Mirage 2000 fired an R550 Magic II and shot down a Turkish F-16D^[15] over the Aegean Sea. The Turkish pilot died, while the co-pilot ejected and was rescued by Greek forces.^[16][17] In August 2012, after the downing of a Turkish RF-4E on the Syrian Coast, in response to a parliamentary question, Turkish Defence Minister İsmet Yılmaz confirmed that Turkish F-16D Block 40 (s/n 91-0023) of 192 Filo was shot down by a Greek Mirage 2000 with an R.550 Magic II on 8 October 1996 in the disputed airspace near Chios island.^[18]

South Africa

The South African Air Force (SAAF) received a number of R.550 missiles before a widespread international arms embargo took effect in 1977. SAAF Mirage F1 aircraft carried the R.550. South African Mirage F1s fired early generation R550 missiles in combat over Angola against MiG-21 and MiG-23 adversaries on a number of occasions. In all but one case, the missiles failed to damage or destroy the MiGs. In an engagement between a Mirage F1CZ and MiG-21 in October 1982, two R.550s were fired by SAAF Major Rankin and one of them damaged the FAPLA MiG-21.^[19] The limited performance envelope of early generation R.550s led South Africa to begin developing an indigenous AAM called the V-3 Kukri.

See also

• PL-7 Chinese version of R.550 Magic
• ASRAAM – (United Kingdom)
• IRIS-T – (Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece)
• MICA – (France)
• List of missiles

References

Citations

1. "armement des avions". dan1959.centerblog.net.
2. "EC 2/13 Alpes jeunesse oblige". petaf-shop.e-monsite.com.
3. "Matra R.550 Magic". Weaponsystems.net. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
4. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21#Romania
5. Som, Vishnu (26 March 2015). "The Mirage 2000 Upgrade: What Makes India's Fighter Jet Better". NDTV. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
6. Cooper, Tom; Grandolini, Albert; Fontanellaz, Adrien (2019). Showdown in Western Sahara, Volume 2: Air Warfare Over the Last African Colony, 1975-1991. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-912866-29-8.
7. Chenel, Liébert & Moreau 2014, p. 151
8. Tincopa, Amaru (May–June 2021). "Defending the skies of Peru". Revista Pucará. No. 7. p. 35.
9. Cooper, Tom (2018). Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 2: Aerial Warfare Over the Southern Arabian Peninsula, 1994-2017. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p. III. ISBN 978-1-911628-18-7.
10. Chenel, Liébert & Moreau 2014, pp. 247, 257, 261
11. Chenel, Liébert & Moreau 2014, p. 71
12. Cooper, Tom; Grandolini, Albert; Delalande, Arnaud (2016). Libyan Air Wars, Part 3: 1986-1989. Helion & Company Publishing. p. IV. ISBN 978-1-910294-54-3.
13. Fontanellaz, Adrien; Cooper, Tom; Matos, Jose Augusto (2021). War of Intervention in Angola, Volume 4: Angolan and Cuban Air Forces, 1985-1987. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-914059-25-4.
14. Chenel, Liébert & Moreau 2014, p. 285
15. . Chicago Sun-Times, October 9, 1996.
16. Anon. "F-16 Aircraft Database: F-16 Airframe Details for 91-0023". F-16.net. Retrieved: 18 May 2008.
17. Anon. "Greek & Turkish Air-to-Air Victories". Air Combat Information Group (ACIG), 18 September 2004. Retrieved: 16 May 2008.
18. "30 years later, Ankara admits Turkish Air Force jet was shot down by Iraq". 6 September 2012.
19. "Mirage F1 in SAAF Service by Paul Dubois". www.sa-transport.co.za.

Bibliography

• Chenel, Bernard; Liébert, Michel; Moreau, Eric (2014). Mirage III/5/50 en service à l'étranger. Le Vigen, France: Editions LELA Presse. ISBN 978-2-914017-76-3.