Matra R.530 French Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile

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. 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.