R-73 (missile)

The Vympel R-73 (NATO reporting name AA-11 Archer) is a short-range air-to-air missile developed by Vympel NPO, that entered service in 1982.

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 40° 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 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. It is reported that R-73 launches were successful less than 10% of the time when fired from both Su-27 and Mig-29.

On March 18th, 2008, a MIG-29 Fulcrum of the Russian Air Force intercepted a Georgian Elbit Hermes 450 UAV over Abkhazia. The MIG-29's pilot launched a single R-73 missile at the UAV. The missile struck the UAV and destroyed it.

Operators

 * 🇩🇿 Algeria
 * 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
 * 🇧🇬 Bulgaria
 * 🇨🇳 China
 * 🇨🇺 Cuba
 * 🇪🇷 Eritrea
 * 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
 * Georgia Used on SU-25KM Scorpion
 * 🇮🇳 India
 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia
 * 🇮🇷 Iran
 * 🇲🇾 Malaysia
 * 🇰🇵 North Korea
 * 🇵🇪 Peru
 * 🇵🇱 Poland
 * 🇷🇺 Russia
 * 🇷🇸 Serbia
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine
 * 🇻🇪 Venezuela
 * Vietnam
 * 🇪🇬 Egypt

Former operators

 * East Germany
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * Soviet Union Passed to successor states.