No, that's wrong.Detector laser illumination , LGB bomb guidance?
Yes Hazord, you have found the right answer to the first part of the question. It's "the eye of the tiger"(an optical gyroscope), the eye of an IR heat seeking missile. Just yesterday pzgr40 published, under Rockets, a very,very good description of a similar missile and it's function. More details then I ever knew before. So anybody interested, please read up his write up. But now we come to the more difficult part of the question. On which missile can this head be found ? I know this is very difficult, because nearly nobody has seen this front on view. Most cut models only show the partly cut open side view. I expect pzgr40 to know, as he has prepared (I assume) more than one of this family, as I mentioned before. To lead the way: The diameter of the gyroscope is about 70mm. It is situated under the sharp dome of a very special, expensive, milky glass, that lets mainly only IR light through. Any guess ?IR Seeker head for a missile like a FIM-92?
No, its not a ground used system.How about a Chinese FN-6 or Russian SA-24 Igla?
I should say AIM-9B Sidewinder IR seeker
Yoda
Yes, that's the one. Attached are some photos I took at the WTS (Defence technical studies collection) in Koblenz and want to use this opportunity to invite any interested member for a visit there. It's one of the best collections I have ever seen and attached to all objects is an informative legend that can be understood also by non german speakers. It mostly covers arms & munitions used in Germany in the last 55 years, but also a lot of much older material. The entrance fee is less than a pack of cigarettes and 1 day is little to get through all the exhibits. Also in Koblenz is the "Festung Ehrenbreitstein" another worthwhile, interesting place to visit with a beautiful view down the river valley. For those wanting to party, February is a good month with the carnieval there. I stayed at a very reasonably priced old "Gasthof" 10 minutes by car from the WTS. If you need any additional info I'm happy to help. Feel free to contact me. The one photo is a view similar to what the "Eye of the tiger" will see. Thank you for your patience.Russian, Molniya (now Vympel R-60 (NATO reporting name: AA-8 'Aphid')?
TimG