The Python 5 is the latest generation of RAFAEL's short range air-to-air missiles. It employs the most recent cutting-edge technologies in the field of air-to-air missiles.. The missile is a result of intensive research and long experience, to ensure high levels of air superiority. The work on the Python 5 air-to-air missile began in 1997, although first thoughts had been raised in the early 90's. One of the most significant decisions about the new missile was choosing the Python 4's aero dynamical configuration. The designers had realized that the Python 4's unique configuration had yet to exploit its full potential. Both missiles rely on aero dynamics rather than on vector steering - a technology which suffers from several problems such as relying on the rocket's fuel that can run out and leave the missile ineffective. The Python 5 missile's aero dynamical configuration contributes a lot to its performance even when its rocket stops working. Moreover, using the same configuration saves millions of dollars in the R&D process.

Another key element of the super advanced Python 5 is its computer system. In order to support its sophisticated head-seeker, the engineers had to fit a great amount of computing power into the missile. In fact, the computer of the Python 5 requires a hundred times more computing power than the one installed in the Python 4. One of the fears of the designers was systems overheating, which could halt all the development process. In order to maintain the temperatures low, the algorithms were simplified so that the calculations would be easier to perform. The designers took in consideration the fact that in a few years the computers would be more powerful than those existed during the development, and indeed during that period the computers in the missile had been replaced twice. The result was amazing - an on board computer which is more powerful than the aircrafts computers of the Israeli air force altogether.

When the time came to start conducting test sessions of the missile, the designers were pretty much confident with their missile. Normally, the testing part of a missile is one of the most expensive parts of the development. Each launch costs millions of dollars, and only few superpowers can afford such costs without thinking twice. The Americans conduct dozens of launches when developing a new missile and RAFAEL does not have these amounts of money to perform endless launches. In a regular test session, the missile is tested progressively, thru several phases which start from simple ones and end with the toughest. The Python 5 was ready to deal with a tough challenge – being tested in a complicated scenario right from the beginning. Instead of going thru all the regular test phases, the Python 5 was ready to take a test which seemed to be impossible to several people at the Israeli air force. The target was a low-signature UAV which was flying at low altitude in a hot desert area. Not like the previous test of the Python 4, the UAV was not equipped with a flare to make it easier on the missile. When looking at the video of the head-seeker, it is very hard to see the target in a human eye. The missile was about to be launched from an F-16, flying 15,000 feet above the UAV. According to plan, the Python 5 was launched from the F-16, and started to fly sharply downwards, chasing the target. In the video, the UAV can be identified only few seconds before the missile reaches it, but the Python 5 locked on the target long before that. The test was crowned to be a complete success, and the Python 5 proved itself to be the best air-to-air missile in the world. Until then, no missile in the world could perform such shot down. But that was just the beginning. The second missile was the most amazing one. For security reasons the second test cannot be described, but what can be said is that for the first time in the world, a heat-seeking air-to-air missile managed to lock on a target – after the launch (LOAL). The missile showed its performance in the extreme corners of its flight envelope. There may be more that this missile could do, but what the Python 5 did there, will probably not be done by other missiles in some years.