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
An R530 exhibited at the South African Air Force Museum, Swartkop
Typeshort-range air-to-air missile
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1962 [1]
Production history
ManufacturerMatra
Specifications
Mass192 kg [1]
Length3.28 m [1]
Diameter263 mm [1]
Enginetwo stage solid rocket,[1] Hotchkiss-Brandt/SNPE Antoinette rocket [2]
83.3 kN for 2.7 s + 6.5 s cruise[2]
Wingspan1.1 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]

  • 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

References
  1. "R.530 Missile". South African Air Force Association. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  2. Misiles Aéreos Modernos (Editorial San Martín)
  3. "Matra R530". Speedy look. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  4. https://www.jta.org/1966/11/30/archive/israeli-pilot-shoots-down-two-egyptian-soviet-made-mig-jets
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