You don’t see photos like this too often.
Most of the images you can find online showing an F-22 stealth fighter firing a missile either depict a Raptor prototype or the air-to-air missile being launched is an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile).
That’s why the image on top is interesting: shot in 2009, it shows a F-22 Raptor 4007 launching an AIM-9L Sidewinder missile during a test at Edwards AFB, California.
The photo shows the open side bay door that the F-22 Raptors use to launch the AIM-9 Sidewinder into the air.
Although the missile in the picture is an AIM-9L, in the future, U.S. Air Force Raptors should be able to carry the AIM-9X Block II which features the Lock On After Launch capability. This would allow the bay doors to remain open just long enough to fire a missile.
The image below shows an F-22 launching an AIM-9M missile.
Interestingly, the second prototype of China’s J-20 Stealth Jet was spotted testing a missile deployment device on its side weapons bay. This extracts the selected air-to-air missile and then closes the door, helping the plane to avoid detection on enemy radar.
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