The Python is a family of air-to-air missile

Air-to-air missile

An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...

s (AAMs) built by the Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i weapons manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The first was the Shafrir 1 missile developed in 1959, followed by the Shafrir 2 in early 1970s. Subsequently, the missiles were given the western name of "Python", starting with Python-3 in 1978.
In the 1950s, the Israeli Air Force

Israeli Air Force

The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...

 (IAF) submitted requirements for a domestically-made air-to-air missile, to promote domestic defense industry and reduce reliance on imports.