I know it seems pretty obvious but does an air to air missile physically impact the target and explode? Do they explode near a target? Do they have some sort of projectiles inside?

Im new to modern warfare type sims and Im hungry for info.

I have just purchased JFA-18 and F4:AF to try out so i can pick one to get serious about learning.

Hello brownba, your question actually has two answers: Yes, and Yes.
That is, missiles have capabilities to kill by either direct impact or
indirect means. If the missile is set to detonate on impact it will do just that. A
good example of this is a simple A-A Missile fired from another aircraft.
However, if the missile is set-up with a proximity fuse it will
detonate when it is within a set distance to the target. A SAM would be
a good example of this type of missile.

Have fun with both of those sims. They will each give you a simulated experience with
evading both types of missiles. You may also want to try LOMAC.

Do a search on continuous rod warheads for one example of how a missile just has to be close but just throwing around a bunch of pieces of metal works well too.

Also remember with planes you don't have to blow it to pieces like you see in the movies, you just have to do enough damage to its systems or flight surfaces that it can't continue to fly. Most things in the air aren't heavily armored. The more stuff you put on it the slower it will be and its range will be decreased.

Elf

Thanks for the info guys. I've been reading up on the continuous rod warhead - very interesting!

There are multiple strategies, and a sim rarely models more than one or two.

A missile can, first and foremost, destroy the target by direct impact and detonation within/on the target.

There exist SOME missiles (SAMs specifically) which will get in the way of the target and explode in front of it, creating a shrapnel cloud for the target to fly through. This is what the NIKE missile used to do, but this is no longer employed in modern systems, AFAIK - at least for the most part.

Most AAMs and SAMs (but not all) feature a proximity fuze. IF the missile misses, it can still sense that it is close enough to the target with a Target Detection Device (also called the proximity Fuze, and it is a separate sensor from the missile's seeker) and detonate its warhead. Modern missiles can time the detonation to get the best effect out of it.

Some prox fuzes are laser, some radio, and there have been magnetic influence ones as well.

Notable and interesting exceptions are the StarStreak, which launches several projectiles after boosting.

Missiles like the Stinger are typicall hit-to-kill, and they don't have a proximity fuze (they are small, cheap missiles with no space for all the toys).

Most games will model hit-to-kill and a simple proximity fuze, nothing else.

Also, the shrapnel is specially engineered. For example, I have an article from AW&ST about how the later model Sparrows (AIM-7) had their metal rods specifically engineered to ideal size and shape to take out a MiG-23's engine blades, since they were the most prolific threat back in the 70s and 80s.

The ultimate proximity warhead has to be the AIM-26 and AIM-47 Falcon guided missiles, and the AIR-2 Genie unguided rocket, all of which were armed with nuclear warheads, designed to destroy or damage (EMP and blast) all aircraft in a large formation.

Ultimate?

I think not. Those may have been the ultimate air-air proximity warheads...

But the Nike SAM was armed with up to a 400kt warhead (Nike Zeus B).

Then there was the Spartan ABM with a 5MT crowdpleaser. (SAM with an H-bomb on the nose)