Mectron MAA-1 Piranha

The MAA-1 Piranha (Missil Ar-Ar-1, Air-Air Missile) is a Air to air missile short-range category Sidewinder developed by CTA and Mectron at Brazil. Today is produced by the company Mectron - Engenharia, Indústria e Comércio Ltda. The project was funded by CTA of Air Ministry. Taking the unit value of $ 29,000 (relatively low). Development began in 1976 and took more than two decades to complete.

The Piranha was the first rocket designed and built in Latin America, And is used in fighter aircraft Brazilian Air Force (ALX Super Tucano, AMX, F5BR and Mirage). The highlight is its use in project SIVAM, And the ALX Super Tucano use them to shoot down aircraft performance.

Description
Brazil had a powerful arms industry in the '80s, which ended up being victimized by the stunning lack of political nous and even a certain inertia on the part of the military who made many companies break and many "heads" to move to countries where the development of technology military was taken seriously. So few companies survived, and even then with limited resources provided by government to study the development and production of weapons systems. One case is the Mectron that was allowed to finish the design of missile 3rd generation MAA-1 Piranha, that performs similar to an AIM-9L Sidewinder.

Currently a much improved version of the Piranha, known as MAA-1 B is in the final stages of development. This new version of the Piranha, falls as a missile 4th generation with excellent off boresigh, about 90, and a range improved by 50% as well as greater maneuverability achieved by changing the aerodynamics of the flight controls of the missile original. The MAA-1B is capable of being appointed by the aircraft radar or HMD helmet. In April 2006 a golden opportunity arose and the Brazilian government undertook to finance part of the final development of the A-Darter in South Africa, a legitimate missile 5th generation. Brazilian companies and employees of the CTA (Aerospace Technical Center) will be involved in the development and manufacture of modern missile due to enter service in 2012. Brazil must pay $ 52 million for this project which means a third of what would need to invest if we were starting from scratch.

Specifications

 * Weight: 89 kg
 * Warheads: 20 kg of explosive to blast and fragmentation
 * Scope: 10 km
 * Guiding: IR with 37-degree angle scanning.
 * Load Factor: 50 g