An air-to-air rocket or air interception rocket is an unguided projectile used in and after World War II to engage enemy bombers. Fighters are too maneuvrable to be effectively engaged with rockets.

History

---

The rise

Air-to-air rockets were invented in World War II to engage bombers because cannon fire proved ineffective at high closing speeds. On top of that, getting in the range to fire one's guns also meant getting in the range of the bomber's tail gun. The German R4M rocket was the first practical rocket. It was highly successful, but came too late to win the war for Germany. After experiencing the effectivity of the German rockets, both the Soviet Union and the United States started developing their own.

And fall

The invention of the air-to-air missile spelled the end for their unguided counterparts in the 1950s. The capability of steering during the flight trajectory significally increased the hit percentage over rockets. The United States built one last air-to-air rocket, the AIR-2 Genie. It used a nuclear warhead with a blast radius of 300m to compensate for its inaccuracy.

List of air-to-air rockets by country

---

Germany

• R4M rocket

USA

• Fin-Folding Aerial Rocket (FFAR)
• AIR-2 Genie

USSR

• RS-82 and RS-132

Air-to-air rockets