Matra R550 Magic 1 vs AIM-9P?

[Eustruria]

Which missile is better? I heard that the AIM-9P is similar to the AIM-9J. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each missile, or is the Magic straight up better?

[Jaes]

The R550 is more equivalent to the R-60 than the AIM-9P. The AIM-9P Is an AIM-9J except it's an export version. There is no functional difference between them.

The R550 sacrifices range for maneuverability, much like the R-60. However, the R550 range is even shorter. Firing it outside of 1.5km is a great way to not score a kill, especially if the target is moving away at Mach. It also has a low payload so there will be instances where you score a hit, but not a kill. A big bonus of the R550 is they're very difficult to defeat with Flares so outside of the noted defects, that's its primary strength.

Think of R550s as solid MiG-21 killers. They'll try to out maneuver you, bleed energy, then you send an R550 up their tail pipe.