MBDA AIM-132 ASRAAM

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The MBDA AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM for short), also known by its United States identifier AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing ("heat seeking") air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA. It is currently in service in the British Armed Forces (BAF), Australian Defence Force (ADF) and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), replacing the AIM-9 Sidewinder. The project started as a Anglo-German collaboration in the 1980s; eventually the Germans left the project due to concerns over the missile's performance. The British proceeded on their own, and the missile was introduced into RAF service in 1998. ASRAAM was developed to have longer range and higher speed than the Sidewinder at the expense of some maneuverability.

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