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\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eIn 1993 Russia completed development and state trials of its first active radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile (AAM). It would take a further two decades for it finally to enter service, in about 2015. However, only a few years later, Moscow has now placed an order for a considerably improved variant of the missile intended for the Sukhoi Su-57 multi-role combat aircraft.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eThe Russian Ministry of Defence and missile designer Vympel signed the order for Item (Izdeliye or Izd.) 180 during the Armiya 2019 defence exhibition, held near Moscow on 25–30 June 2019. Izd. 180 is the index number associated with a substantial upgrade of the basic R-77 (AA-12A \u003cem\u003eAdder\u003c/em\u003e) medium-range missile. The R-77 (Izd. 170) never entered service with the Russian Air Force, as the service did not have the funding to acquire it during the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s. By the time this situation had been redressed, a first-stage upgrade of the design was in the pipeline. However, the basic missile was widely exported as the RVV-AE (Izd. 190).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eActive radar-guided medium-range missile\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eIt was only with the entry into service of the R-77-1 (AA-12B, Izd. 170-1; for export RVV-SD) in about 2015 that the air force finally had an active radar-guided medium-range missile in its inventory. The United States’ AIM-120 AMRAAM, the missile that the R-77 was designed to counter, entered service in 1991, while the Chinese equivalent, the PL-12, entered service in about 2005. The R-77-1 was fielded on the Su-35S \u003cem\u003eFlanker\u003c/em\u003e M multi-role fighters deployed as part of Russia’s intervention in Syria. This marked a notable performance improvement in the AAM armament carried by the Su-35.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eIzd. 180 – also known as the K-77M – represents a further and almost certainly more significant upgrade to the missile family. Given that this version of the missile remains in development, it is most likely designated the ‘AA-X-12C’ in the West.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eVympel, part of Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corp (KTRV) guided-weapons conglomerate, has so far not been permitted to provide any detail publicly on the nature of the upgrades included in the latest version of the R-77 family. Possible enhancements include improved seeker performance, perhaps even a new seeker, and extended range with better kinematics. Furthermore, there have been indications that the R-77’s signature lattice tail-control surfaces could be replaced by a conventional fin design. These are simpler in design and likely produce less drag.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eImaging infrared seekers\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eAlong with developing a more capable medium-to-long range missile, Russian defence industry is trying to fill a further long-standing gap in the country’s AAM offering – a dogfight missile fitted with an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker. The Moscow-based Duks company, also part of KTRV, used Armiya 2019 to reveal that it is developing an IIR seeker, initially for an upgrade of the R-73/74 (AA-11A/B \u003cem\u003eArcher\u003c/em\u003e).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eAccording to Duks, its development is being funded internally and there is as yet no order. How far development on the seeker has progressed \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eis unknown. Previous Russian efforts to develop an IIR dogfight missile – the K-30 – were shelved in favour of upgrading the R-73.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eThe lack of IIR-guided missile will, if unaddressed, increasingly handicap Russia in its struggle to retain its position in the export market built on the success of the R-73. Indeed, Indian interest in integrating MBDA’s ASRAAM on its Russian-designed Su-30MKI \u003cem\u003eFlanker\u003c/em\u003e is likely to have been prompted in part because the R-73 lacks an IIR seeker. It uses an older generation of infrared seeker that is more vulnerable to countermeasures and cannot offer targeting techniques such as aim-point selection. The higher IIR seeker sensitivity also means a target can be acquired at greater ranges.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eThe Duks IIR-seeker design includes a target image library that enables the missile to recognise at least the class of target being engaged. It is also much more capable of rejecting flare-based decoys. The R-73’s warhead may also be replaced with a new directed warhead that will use information on the type of target and the geometry of the intercept to focus the explosive blast.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eIn addition, Duks has considered the inclusion of inertial guidance that would allow the missile to be used in a lock-after-launch mode. The present R-73 generation requires that the seeker lock on to the target prior to launch. Lock after launch allows for a larger engagement envelope, with high off-bore-sight shots outside the seeker’s acquisition angle.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: black;\u0022\u003eBoth the Duks IIR project and the K-77M development reflect renewed emphasis on and, in the case of the latter at least, investment in air-to-air weaponry on the part of the Russian defence ministry. This is being driven in part by the Russian Air Force’s requirement to keep pace with developments in the West and in part by the export arena, where Russia needs to remain competitive.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: left;\u0022\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis analysis originally featured on the IISS Military Balance+, the online database that provides indispensable information and analysis for users in government, the armed forces, the private sector, academia, the media and more. Customise, view, compare and download data instantly, anywhere, anytime. The Military Balance+ includes data on air-launched missiles by type and operator worldwide.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_iiYcvZpl0uuClfdVEcycw"))});
Upgrades to Russia’s active radar-guided medium-range missiles reflect a renewed emphasis on air-to-air weaponry on the part of the Russian defence ministry, write Piotr Butowski and Douglas Barrie after the Armiya 2019 defence exhibition.
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