Editing R.550 Magic (section)

== Development ==
Developed originally as a short-range [[Infrared homing|infrared]] [[air-to-air missile]], the R.550 was meant to be France's lighter short-range missile, replacing the previous heavy [[R.530]]. During a trial on 11 January 1965, a [[Gloster Meteor]] of the centre for in-flight trials fired an R.550 Magic and shot down a [[Nord CT20]] target drone. 

The Magic was then mass-produced from 1967, the Magic was adopted by the [[French Air Force]] and [[French Navy|Navy]] for active service.

An upgraded version, the ''Magic 2'', replaced the original model in 1986. In total, 11,300 Magics (7,000 Magic 1s and 4,000 Magic 2s)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matra R.550 Magic |url=https://weaponsystems.net/system/516-Matra+R.550+Magic |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Weaponsystems.net |language=en}}</ref> were produced; they were exported, notably to Iraq and Greece, who used them in combat.

The Magic has been used by the [[Dassault Rafale]], [[Dassault Mirage 2000]], [[F-16]], [[Sea Harrier]] (FRS51), [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]], [[Super Étendard]], [[Mirage F1]], [[Mirage 5]], and [[Mirage III]]. However, the R.550 is gradually being replaced by the [[MBDA MICA]]. 480 Magics were sold to Taiwan and is used by the [[Republic of China Air Force]]'s [[Dassault Mirage 2000|Mirage 2000s]].

The [[PL-7]] is the [[China|Chinese]] [[Reverse engineering|reversed-engineered]] version of the R.550 Magic 1.