The Short Range Air-to-Air Missile, or SRAAM for short, initially known as Taildog, was an experimental British infrared homing air-to-air missile, developed between 1968 and 1980 by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics. It was designed to be very manoeuvrable for use at short range in a dogfight situation. SRAAM was unusual in that it was launched from a launch tube instead of being attached to a launch rail, allowing two to be carried on a single mounting point.
SRAAM mockup at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford
SRAAM launcher at Bristol Aero Collection
Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radiated strongly by hot bodies. Many objects such as people, vehicle engines and aircraft generate and emit heat and so are especially visible in the infrared wavelengths of light compared to objects in the background.
A modern German Air Force IRIS-T infrared homing air-to-air missile
The Vampir nightscope used a photomultiplier as the sighting system and provided illumination with an IR lamp mounted above the scope.
The Madrid seeker was being developed for the Enzian surface-to-air missile.
The AIM-4 Falcon was the first IR guided missile to enter service. The translucent dome allows the IR radiation to reach the sensor.
