Heat Seeking Sidewinder Missile Found In Australian Man’s Home

A heat-seeking Sidewinder missile has been found inside the home of a 51-year-old Australian man, according to the website TNT Magazine. The police were investigating the gentleman in-question when they stumbled across the very large, very explosive weapon. Chances are this was the last thing officers expected to find inside this quaint suburban home.

Thankfully, the Sidewinder had been disarmed by the time police arrived on the scene. However, authorities are still a little perplexed as to how, precisely, such a weapon found its way into the home of a 51-year-old man. As a direct result of having such a dangerous item tucked away inside his abode, guy will face charges of possessing dangerous articles, unlawful possession of unregistered, and insecure firearms.

According to The Courier Mail, the heat-seeking Sidewinder missile is an air-to-air weapon used by such aircraft as the RAAF F/A-18 Hornet jet fighter. The supersonic missile uses an infrared guidance system that locks on to heat emissions from enemy aircraft. Not surprisingly, the discovery of such a weapon in the hands of a civilian is a little disconcerting for area police.

As of this writing, the Australian Department of Defense has yet to weigh in on the subject. However, they did explain to The Courier that the dismantled missile, as well as other potentially dangerous weapons, were recovered from the property during the investiation.

This isn’t the first time that a missile has found its way into the general population. According to The Metro, workers at a Florida scrapyard unearthed a surface-to-air missile mixed in with everything else, which they initially thought it was a torpedo. After authorities arrived on the scene to check things out, they discovered that the missile was packaged with a motor and a guidance system. Since the actual warhead was nowhere to be found, officials believe the missile could have been one used for training purposes.