R550 Magic
1320944
213056770
2008-05-17T15:48:06Z
Milstuffxyz
6531278
{{unreferenced|date=December 2007}}
{{Infobox Weapon
|is_missile=yes
|name=Magic
|image=[[Image:Magic-and-Super550.jpg|300px]]
|caption=A R550 Magic (left) and [[Super 530]] (right) under the wing of a Mirage 2000
|origin=
|type=short-range air-to-air missile
|used_by=
|manufacturer=[[Matra]], [[MBDA]]
|unit_cost=
|propellant=
|production_date=
|service=1975 (Magic) and 1986 (Magic 2)
|engine=solid
|engine_power=
|weight=89 kg
|length=2.72 m
|height=
|diameter=157 mm
|wingspan=
|speed=Mach 3
|vehicle_range=0.3 to 15 km
|ceiling=
|altitude=up to 11000 m
|filling=13 kg fragmentation
|guidance=IR
|detonation=IR
|launch_platform=[[Dassault Rafale]], [[Dassault Mirage 2000]]
}}
The '''R550 Magic''' is a short-range [[missile]] designed in 1968 by [[Military of France|French]] company [[Matra]] to compete with the American [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]]. On [[11 January]] 1972, a [[Gloster Meteor]] of the centre for in-flight trials fired the R550 Magic and shot down a [[Nord CT20]] target drone ([[unmanned aerial vehicle]]).
Mass-produced from 1976, the Magic was adopted by the [[French Air Force]] and the [[French Navy|Navy]].
The [[Argentine Navy]] received Magics for its [[Super Etendard]]s. However, they were procured after the [[1982]] [[Falklands War]].
An upgraded version, the "Magic 2", replaced the original model in [[1986]]. Now obsolete, 11,300 Magic 2 were produced and it was exported; notably to [[Iraq]], which used them in actual combat.
The Magic has 8 fixed fins, and 4 movable fins. It has a [[solid rocket|solid-fuel engine]], and can engage the target independently from the firing aircraft with its passive [[Infra-red guidance]] system. The Magic 2 replaced the AD3601 seeking head by the AD3633, allowing frontal fire on the target (the Magic 1 could 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.
The Magic is still carried by the [[Super Étendard]], the [[Mirage 2000]] and the [[Dassault Rafale]]. It is gradually being replaced by the [[MBDA MICA]].
Some 480 were sold to [[Taiwan]] and used by the [[Republic of China Air Force]].
==See also==
*[[ASRAAM]]
*[[IRIS-T]]
*[[AIM-9 Sidewinder]]
*[[MBDA MICA]]
*[[Shafrir]]
*[[List of missiles]]
{{missile-stub}}
[[Category:Air-to-air missiles of France|R550 Magic]]
[[Category:French Air Force guided missiles|R550 Magic]]
[[de:R.550 Magic]]
[[fr:Matra R550 Magic II]]
[[ko:마트라 R550 매직]]
[[it:Matra R550 Magic]]
[[hu:R550 Magic]]
[[ms:Magic II]]
[[ja:R.550 (ミサイル)]]
[[pl:R550 Magic]]
[[zh:魔術一型空對空飛彈]]