R-73 (missile)

Vympel R-73
R-73 mock-up on a Hungarian Air Force MiG-29 at Kecskeméti Repülőnap 2008
Type	short-range air-to-air missile
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1982-present
Production history
Manufacturer	Vympel
Specifications
Weight	105 kilograms (230 lb)
Length	2.93 metres (9 ft 7 in)
Diameter	165 millimetres (6.5 in)
Warhead	7.4 kilograms (16 lb)
Engine	solid-fuel rocket engine
Wingspan	510 millimetres (20 in)
Operational range	R-73E: 20 kilometres (12 mi) R-73M1: 30 kilometres (19 mi) R-73M2: 40km (24.7 miles)
Speed	Mach 2.5
Guidance system	All-aspect infrared homing
Launch platform	MiG-21(Upgraded), MiG-23-98, MiG-29, MiG-31, MiG-35 Sukhoi Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, Su-35, Su-34, Su-47 Mil Mi-24, Mil Mi-28, Kamov Ka-50, Yak-141 HAL Tejas, J-10

The Vympel R-73 (NATO reporting name AA-11 Archer) developed by Vympel machine-building design bureau.

Development

The R-73 was developed to replace the earlier R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') weapon for short-range use by Soviet fighter aircraft. Work began in 1973, and the first missiles entered service in 1982.

The R-73 is an infrared-guided (heat-seeking) missile with a sensitive, cryogenic cooled seeker with a substantial "off-boresight" capability: the seeker can "see" targets up to 60° off the missile's centerline. It can be targeted by a helmet-mounted sight (HMS) allowing pilots to designate targets by looking at them. Minimum engagement range is about 300 meters, with maximum aerodynamic range of nearly 30 km (19 mi) at altitude.

The R-73 is a highly maneuverable missile and mock dogfights have indicated that the high degree of "off-boresight" capability of the R-73 would make a significant difference in combat. The missile also has a mechanically simple but effective system for thrust-vectoring. Altogether this prompted the development of the Sidewinder and other SRM successors like AIM-132 ASRAAM, IRIS-T, MICA IR, Python IV and the latest Sidewinder variant, AIM-9X, that entered squadron service in 2003.

From 1994 the R-73 has been upgraded in production to the R-73M standard, which entered CIS service in 1997. The R-73M has greater range and a wider seeker angle (to 60° off-boresight), as well as improved IRCCM (Infra-Red Counter-Counter-Measures).

An improved version of the R-73M, the R-74M features fully digital and re-programmable systems, and is intended for use on the MiG-35 or MiG-29K/M/M2 and Su-27SM, Su-30MK and Su-35BM.

The weapon is used by the MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-27, Su-34 and Su-35, and can be carried by newer versions of the MiG-21, MiG-23, Sukhoi Su-24, and Su-25 aircraft. India is looking to use the missile on their HAL Tejas. It can also be carried by Russian attack helicopters, including the Mil Mi-24, Mil Mi-28, and Kamov Ka-50.

Operational history

On 24 February 1996, two Cessna 337 of the Brothers to the Rescue were shot down by a Cuban Air Force MiG-29UB. Each of the aircraft was downed by a R-73 missile.

During Eritrean-Ethiopian War from May 1998 to June 2000, R-73 missiles were used in combat by both Ethiopian Su-27s and Eritrean MiG-29s. It was the IR-homing R-60 and the R-73 that were used in all but two of the kills (one having been scored with 30mm cannon fire, while one of the no less than 24 R-27 medium-range missiles resulted in the other).

On 21 April 2008, a Russian MIG-29 shot down a Georgian UAV with an IR guided missile, most likely an R-73. The downing was recorded by the shot down UAV itself.

Operators

• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• North Korea
• Bangladesh
• Bulgaria
• Cuba
• Georgia Used on SU-25KM Scorpion
• Ukraine
• People's Republic of China
• Russia
• India
• Indonesia
• Hungary
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Serbia
• Venezuela
• Iran
• Vietnam
• Egypt
• Peru
• Poland
• Malaysia
• Brunei
• Slovakia

Former Operators

• Soviet Union- Passed to successor states.

Gallery

• 

  R-73 in front of an R-77

• 

  R-73Ae, R-27R1(AeR1), R-27T1(AeT1) and Kh-59MAe at 1999 MAKS Airshow.

• 

  Tejas PV-1 firing an R-73 missile during weapons trials in Goa

References

• Gordon, Yefim (2004). Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-188-1. 

External links

• warfare.ru
• astronautix.com
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