New Russian air-to-air missile has advantage in speed and reach

[GhostZ06]

KIEV, Ukraine—Russia's Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced that a new weapon is very near completion of its test validation trials and will soon be placed into service.

If reports of its operational performance are accurate, it will threaten the survivability of every U.S. combat aircraft currently in service—particularly the newest U.S. fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-35.

The weapon is the Vympel R-37M air-to-air missile. Launched from a fighter aircraft, it is designed to hit targets at ranges of up to 188 miles, its warhead section contains 132 lbs of explosive material, and it is reported to be capable of speeds of up to Mach 6.

This missile gives Russian aircraft an advantage over U.S. combat aircraft in both speed and reach. The most advanced versions of the US-made Raytheon AIM-120 air-to-air missile top out at about Mach 4 and have a range of only about 110 miles.

Defense planners are alarmed at the number of fighters Russia plans to fit with this weapon.

The missiles that preceded the R-37M had been exclusive to the weapons fit for the Mikoyan MiG-31 aircraft. The MiG-31 mission was almost entirely dedicated to shooting down U.S. strategic bombers and other large aircraft that might pose a threat to Russian air space, so these missiles were typically not often seen outside of Russian territory.

However, according to MoD sources, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKO) are planning for Sukhoi model aircraft Su-30, Su-35, and Su-57 to all operate with the R-37M, in addition to the MiG-31. The missile will therefore be capable of being fired at almost any U.S. military aircraft in numerous theaters of operation worldwide and not just within Moscow's territorial airspace.

The announcement has elicited nervous reactions from defense ministries and air staff commands from Poland to America's allies in Asia. The only missile in the western arsenal that comes close to matching the Russian R-37M in speed and range is the ramjet motor-powered Meteor produced by the European consortium MBDA, which is not deployed on any U.S. aircraft.

There are also no missiles currently in the U.S. arsenal that match this Russian weapon's performance. This has several nations asking if they should look at a purchase of the Swedish Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighter, which has Meteor already integrated into its fire control system.

Su-30SM and Su-35 model aircraft are operated by Russia's military along the borders with NATO. Su-30 aircraft have buzzed U.S. warships and aircraft in both the Black Sea and in the Baltics, both aircraft were sold and are operated by the People's Liberation Army Air Force in China, and the VKO have also based them at the Russian military aerodrome in Latakia, Syria—where they are frequently in close proximity to U.S. forces. There have been rumors for years of an impending sale of either Su-30SM or Su-35 or both to Iran in large numbers.

Defense experts are concerned about how soon the R-37M will be in service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force. Chinese Su-35 aircraft have been seen recently transiting Novosibirsk while flying back to Russian flight test facilities further to the West. Speculation is that some of the aircraft are returning to evaluate having this new weapon added to their Su-35s.

Russian sources describe the guidance system on the R-37Ms as being equipped with a high technology "brain" that is "immune to jamming from electronic warfare systems."

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-china-soon-outmatch-u-s-combat-aviation/


im gonna take this with a grain of salt, there new "hypersonic weapon" isnt hyper-sonic......

 

[tramendous]

AKA look scary russians! Need moar defence spending!

 

[Fawlty]

I'll take with a Morton's Mountain of salt. This is typical of Russian propaganda.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Good thing we outspend the ten biggest countries combined.

 

[GhostZ06]

AKA look scary russians! Need moar defence spending!

we already have a long range missile program

 

[GhostZ06]

Good thing we outspend the ten biggest countries combined.

To bad we dont spend it on R&D and more on upkeep. We should close bases and cut down the military size an use the money for Science.

 

[HomerThompson]

To bad we dont spend it on R&D and more on upkeep. We should close bases and cut down the military size an use the money for Science.

 

[tramendous]

we already have a long range missile program

Dont you hear? North korean rock throwers might harm our aircraft carriers. We need moar money. Whatre you some kinda communist?

 

[BrotherClaudio]

Would you prefer gender studies?

 

[flashNsmash]

aim-54 phoenix was mach 5, the iranians might still have a few operational on their tomcats

 

[GhostZ06]

^i support you for president @HomerThompson

 

[GhostZ06]

Dont you hear? North korean rock throwers might harm our aircraft carriers. We need moar money. Whatre you some kinda communist?

i think another 100B will do the trick...just in case! naa lets make it 200B

 

[HomerThompson]

^i support you for president @HomerThompson

 

[GhostZ06]

aim-54 phoenix was mach 5, the iranians might still have a few operational on their tomcats

So those were for bombers, not really ment for fighters. They were aimed at taking down Backfires and Bear bombers, fighters, not so much.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-152_AAAM

this one i believe was gonna be more tailored for that roll, i think the T-3 (Triple Target Terminator) program is gonna have something like that in store..a ultra long range hit2kill missile

 

[Boagrius]

A dangerous weapon to be sure, but hardly new. R37 has been around for many years. As is often the case with the Russians, the real question is how many they can afford to field. Silver bullet missiles like this can be pricey.

The Chinese probably have a lot more wealth with which to turn their own VLRAAM into a widespread and meaningful overall capability.

 

[flashNsmash]

So those were for bombers, not really ment for fighters. They were aimed at taking down Backfires and Bear bombers, fighters, not so much.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-152_AAAM

this one i believe was gonna be more tailored for that roll, i think the T-3 (Triple Target Terminator) program is gonna have something like that in store..a ultra long range hit2kill missile

yeah, the article made it sound like american rocket tech topped out at mach 4 so i was reaching back for a historical example. funny how the usn outpaced the usaf in developing agile, versatile AAMs (sidewinder & sparrow vs. falcon) and then they pin their hopes on a glorified falcon in the phoenix

 

[Cuauhtemoc]

Lol, what a click baity article. Fighters like the F-35 are LESS vulnerable to this kind of missile then any other fighter currently deployed excluding the F-22. It's stealth, even if stealth is not perfect it is usually much harder to detect and you need to be closer, so having a missile with the ability to hit things very far away is useless as you will be already in range for a medium range missile anyway.
These long range missiles are good on paper but they are more likely to miss if fired at the end of their envelope as radar signal will be weaker then. If you wait to get closer to get a better aim at your target then you're wasting its range anyway and you're carrying a much heavier weapon.

 

[GhostZ06]

Lol, what a click baity article. Fighters like the F-35 are LESS vulnerable to this kind of missile then any other fighter currently deployed excluding the F-22. It's stealth, even if stealth is not perfect it is usually much harder to detect and you need to be closer, so having a missile with the ability to hit things very far away is useless as you will be already in range for a medium range missile anyway.
These long range missiles are good on paper but they are more likely to miss if fired at the end of their envelope as radar signal will be weaker then. If you wait to get closer to get a better aim at your target then you're wasting its range anyway and you're carrying a much heavier weapon.

This is true, personally these seem to be better for bombers more then fighters. Other problem, i dont imagine the F35 radar is as powerful as the F14?

 

[GhostZ06]

A dangerous weapon to be sure, but hardly new. R37 has been around for many years. As is often the case with the Russians, the real question is how many they can afford to field. Silver bullet missiles like this can be pricey.

The Chinese probably have a lot more wealth with which to turn their own VLRAAM into a widespread and meaningful overall capability.

yea, but i doubt youd put your faith in Chinese made systems, they always say this shit, but we never see any proof that they achieved these capabilities . i always question their stuff always, we're developing a long range A2A system very quietly....

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...next-generation-long-range-air-to-air-missile

our is 2 stage, i think thats the way to go when it comes to long range A2a, i think thats how the navy does it



@flashNsmash this response is ment for you too.

 

[WizardLizard]

I wouldn't care of Russia took over Europe tbh I'm a foreigner in my own country why then should I be patriotic and fight them?

Call me a traitor but since we've only had anti-White politicians in power who believe it's right to replace us with other people rather than encourage natural population growth then I don't see this a country worth fighting for anymore.