Matra 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 under the wings, and the F-8 Crusader, also carrying two on the sides of the fuselage in French Navy service.
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 an R.530 fired from less than a mile away, marking the first aerial kill for the missile. The second MiG-19 was destroyed with cannon fire.
Country: France
In service: 1962—
Type: short-range air-to-air missile
Length: 3.28 m
Wingspan: 1.1 m
Diameter: 263 mm
Engine: two-stage solid rocket
Maximum speed: 3,240 km/h (Mach 2.7)
Range: 20 km
Mass: 192 kg
