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All-aspect

All-aspect capability in guided missiles refers to the ability of a missile's seeker—whether infrared or radar-guided—to detect, lock onto, and track targets from any angle relative to the target's flight path, including head-on, side-on, or rear approaches, without being restricted to a specific aspect like the target's exhaust plume from behind.^[1] This advancement significantly enhances engagement flexibility in aerial and ground-based air defense scenarios, enabling pilots or operators to fire at threats in diverse tactical situations rather than waiting for optimal rear-aspect positioning.^[2] The concept emerged prominently in the evolution of short-range infrared-homing air-to-air missiles during the late 20th century, with the AIM-9L Sidewinder, introduced in the 1970s, marking a pivotal shift by incorporating an all-aspect seeker that could target the entire heat signature of an aircraft, not just its engines.^[1] Subsequent variants like the AIM-9M further refined this capability with improved infrared counter-countermeasures (IRCCM) to resist flares and other decoys, maintaining high performance across all aspects while boosting overall kill probability.^[1] In surface-to-air systems, such as the Stinger missile's upgrades, all-aspect engagement reduced dependency on rear heat signatures, allowing intercepts of approaching aircraft with greater reliability.^[3] For radar-guided missiles, all-aspect functionality relies on active or semi-active radar seekers that can illuminate and track targets irrespective of their radar cross-section variations from different angles, as exemplified by the AIM-120 AMRAAM, which uses an active radar seeker to engage beyond-visual-range threats from multiple aspects.^[2] This capability has become standard in modern missile designs, influencing systems like the Chinese QW-2 man-portable air defense missile, which supports all-aspect attacks against maneuvering targets up to 4g forces.^[4] Overall, all-aspect technology has transformed air combat dynamics by expanding no-escape zones and reducing pilot workload, though it demands advanced sensors to handle aspect-dependent signatures like varying infrared emissions or radar returns.^[5]

Definition and Principles

Definition

An all-aspect missile is a guided weapon system, primarily employed in air-to-air combat, capable of detecting, tracking, and engaging aerial targets irrespective of the target's orientation relative to the missile. This distinguishes it from rear-aspect missiles, which require the target to approach tail-on, limiting engagements to scenarios where the target's engine exhaust or rear profile is visible to the seeker.^[2]^[6] Key characteristics of all-aspect missiles include the ability to lock onto heat signatures or radar cross-sections from frontal, side, or rear perspectives, thereby enabling a comprehensive 360-degree engagement capability without positional restrictions.^[2] This versatility stems from enhanced sensor technologies that broaden the detection envelope beyond narrow infrared exhaust plumes or aspect-dependent radar returns.^[7] The terminology "all-aspect" originated in military contexts during the 1970s, as advancements in air-to-air missile (AAM) guidance systems expanded operational flexibility in dynamic aerial engagements.^[8]

Guidance Principles

All-aspect guidance in missiles relies on the principle of off-boresight targeting, which enables detection and tracking of targets from a wide range of angles relative to the missile's flight path, independent of the target's orientation. This is achieved through advanced sensor technologies, such as cooled infrared detectors operating in the mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) band (3-5 μm) or active radar transceivers, that capture emissions from the target's airframe, hot parts, or radar cross-section (RCS) rather than solely relying on high-temperature engine exhaust plumes. For infrared systems, indium antimonide (InSb) detector arrays provide the necessary sensitivity to resolve lower-intensity signatures like fuselage heating from aerodynamic friction, allowing lock-on from frontal or beam aspects where plume visibility is minimal. Similarly, active radar homing uses onboard emitters to illuminate targets, leveraging varying RCS profiles across aspects for omnidirectional engagement.^[9]^[10] Central to all-aspect operation is sophisticated signal processing, which employs algorithms to discriminate the target's signature from background clutter, such as atmospheric interference, ground reflections, or solar glare. In infrared seekers, spectral filters restrict detection to specific wavelength bands that enhance target contrast, while spatial filters analyze size, shape, or position to isolate the target; for instance, reticle-based systems modulate incoming radiation to reject uniform backgrounds. Conical-scan techniques, involving spinning optics or antennas that create a modulated signal pattern, further refine angular error signals for precise tracking, enabling aspect-independent lock-on by determining the target's offset from the seeker's boresight. Modern imaging infrared systems utilize focal plane arrays to generate pseudo-images, applying digital processing for clutter rejection and improved resolution of complex signatures. In radar-guided missiles, high-speed digital processors handle Doppler shifts and multipath echoes to distinguish moving targets from stationary clutter, supporting all-aspect homing through monopulse or phased-array methods that superseded earlier conical scans.^[9]^[10] The engagement envelope in all-aspect missiles is significantly expanded compared to rear-aspect systems, primarily by enlarging the no-escape zone—the volume around the launching platform where a target cannot evade interception through maneuvering alone. This is facilitated by the ability to acquire and track from diverse aspect angles, defined relative to the target's nose: 0° for a head-on approach (maximizing relative closure speed and detection range), 90° for beam or side-on profiles (capturing lateral emissions or RCS peaks), and up to 180° for rear pursuits (though less common due to reduced signatures). Conceptually, the envelope forms a spherical or ellipsoidal region centered on the launcher, with boundaries determined by sensor acquisition range, missile kinematics, and target dynamics; all-aspect capability broadens this zone laterally and frontally, reducing safe maneuvering space for the target across the full 360° azimuth. Gimbaled seekers with off-boresight limits exceeding 45° further extend effective coverage, allowing midcourse corrections that align the terminal homing phase for intercepts from non-tail-chase geometries.^[9]^[11]

Historical Development

Early Rear-Aspect Limitations

Early rear-aspect infrared-guided missiles, such as the initial variants of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, were fundamentally limited to tail-chase engagements because their uncooled lead sulfide (PbS) seekers could only detect the intense thermal signature of a target's engine exhaust plume from behind.^[12] This dependency on rear-hemisphere geometry restricted the missiles' off-boresight capability to a narrow cone of approximately 30 degrees, preventing effective locks from frontal or broadside aspects.^[13] For instance, the AIM-9B featured a 25-degree seeker field of view, further constraining its utility in dynamic aerial combat scenarios.^[12] These missiles exhibited significant vulnerabilities to countermeasures and evasion tactics prevalent in combat. Early seekers, like those in the AIM-9B and AIM-9E, were susceptible to false locks from solar glare, clouds, or background infrared sources, and they struggled against flares due to poor discrimination between the decoy's heat and the target's exhaust.^[12] Additionally, targets could employ beam maneuvers—flying perpendicular to the incoming missile—to minimize their apparent heat signature and exploit the missile's limited tracking rate, often as low as 11 degrees per second for the AIM-9B, making it difficult to maintain guidance against agile fighters.^[12]^[13] Combat performance in the Vietnam War underscored these shortcomings, with overall AIM-9 hit rates hovering around 10-15%. Specific data shows the AIM-9 achieving an 11% success rate in engagements from 1972-1973, while the AIM-9B variant recorded a 16% kill probability from 175 launches resulting in 28 MiG kills between 1965 and 1968.^[14]^[12] Such limitations profoundly influenced dogfight tactics, compelling U.S. pilots to prioritize achieving a positional advantage for tail-on shots, often from surprise angles like below and behind the enemy, while enemy aircraft could evade by simply turning into the threat to deny the rear aspect.^[13] This dynamic favored attackers with superior situational awareness and reduced the missiles' role in fluid, close-range maneuvers, contributing to reliance on guns for many victories despite the shift toward missile-armed fighters.^[13]

Transition to All-Aspect Technology

The transition to all-aspect infrared-guided missiles was driven by operational shortcomings revealed during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, where dense surface-to-air missile environments and intense close-range dogfights limited pilots' ability to maneuver into rear-aspect firing positions for existing heat-seeking weapons like the AIM-9B and AIM-9D Sidewinder.^[15] Israeli Air Force after-action analyses highlighted that rear-only engagement constraints limited flexibility in head-on or neutral engagements, prompting accelerated research into seekers capable of locking onto cooler aerodynamic heat signatures from any angle.^[13] These lessons, combined with Vietnam War experiences, underscored the need for missiles that could engage targets without requiring a tail-chase, influencing U.S. and Soviet programs alike.^[16] A pivotal advancement in the 1970s was the development of cryogenically cooled infrared seekers using indium antimonide detectors, which enabled detection of lower-temperature emissions such as friction heat from an aircraft's airframe rather than relying solely on high-temperature engine exhaust.^[12] Cooled by argon gas to enhance sensitivity in the 3-5 micrometer mid-wave infrared band, these seekers expanded the engagement envelope to all aspects, including frontal shots where exhaust plumes were obscured or minimal. This technology addressed prior rear-aspect limitations by improving signal-to-noise ratios against background clutter and decoys. Complementing the hardware, early integration of advanced signal processing—transitioning from purely analog to hybrid systems with digital elements—allowed for better aspect discrimination through reticle modulation techniques like frequency-modulated conical scanning, reducing false locks and enhancing tracking stability.^[12] Key milestones marked this shift during the late Cold War. The United States introduced the AIM-9L "Super Sidewinder" in 1977 as the first operational all-aspect IR missile, entering service with the U.S. Navy and Air Force after production began in 1976; its seeker achieved frontal acquisition ranges of up to 3 km under optimal conditions, dramatically improving close-combat effectiveness.^[1] In parallel, the Soviet R-60 (AA-8 "Aphid"), introduced in 1973 as a rear-aspect missile, was upgraded to the R-60M variant with all-aspect capability in 1982, providing a more sensitive uncaged seeker with expanded gimbal limits and entering service with MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighters to counter NATO's evolving threats. These innovations collectively transformed short-range air-to-air combat from tail-chase dominance to omnidirectional lethality.

Technological Components

Infrared Seekers

Infrared seekers for all-aspect missiles are designed to detect and track thermal signatures from aircraft across all angles, emphasizing sensitivity to cooler airframe emissions rather than solely engine exhaust. These systems typically employ indium antimonide (InSb) or mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) photovoltaic detectors, cryogenically cooled to approximately 77 K using miniature Stirling or Joule-Thomson cryocoolers to suppress dark current and enhance signal-to-noise ratio. Operating in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) band of 3-5 μm, such detectors can sense blackbody radiation from airframe surfaces at temperatures of 200-300 K, allowing engagement beyond the rear-aspect limitation of hotter plume sources (typically >600 K).^[17]^[18] Traditional reticle-based seekers, which use a spinning disk or prism to chop and scan the infrared field for angular error signals, proved inadequate for all-aspect targeting due to their reliance on unresolved point sources and vulnerability to off-axis clutter. The shift to imaging infrared (IIR) technology marked a key advancement, with focal plane arrays (FPAs)—often 64x64 or larger grids of InSb or HgCdTe pixels—enabling the capture of two-dimensional thermal images. This imaging approach supports robust target discrimination by processing silhouette shapes, aspect ratios, and motion cues, permitting reliable locks from frontal, side, or oblique angles where plume signatures are minimal or absent.^[17]^[19] Countermeasure resistance is integral to all-aspect infrared seeker design, particularly against pyrotechnic flares that mimic high-temperature sources. Spectral filtering via narrowband optics or dichroic coatings restricts sensitivity to wavelength sub-bands (e.g., 4.0-4.5 μm for aircraft skins versus 2.5-3.5 μm for flares), while integrated tracking algorithms employ centroiding, edge detection, and predictive filtering to prioritize structured, persistent targets over transient decoys. Dual-band or multispectral configurations, combining MWIR with long-wave infrared (LWIR) or ultraviolet channels, further improve flare rejection by cross-verifying signatures.^[17]^[20]

Radar Homing Systems

Radar homing systems enable all-aspect engagement in missiles by using radio waves to detect and track targets from any angle, relying on reflected signals rather than thermal signatures. These systems operate in the microwave frequency range, typically employing pulse-Doppler processing to distinguish closing targets from clutter or stationary objects. In all-aspect configurations, radar seekers leverage advanced signal processing to maintain lock-on during head-on, beam, or tail-chase intercepts, providing greater flexibility than rear-aspect-only guidance.^[10]^[21] Active radar homing (ARH) equips the missile with an onboard radar transmitter and receiver, allowing independent illumination and tracking of the target in the terminal phase after mid-course guidance via inertial navigation or data link. This fire-and-forget capability facilitates all-aspect attacks by using Doppler shift to measure the relative closing velocity, filtering out non-threats based on radial motion toward the missile. For instance, the AIM-120 AMRAAM employs an X-band active seeker with a high-power solid-state transmitter, enabling precise terminal guidance over ranges exceeding 48 km at Mach 4. Similarly, the Russian R-77 (AA-12 Adder) integrates monopulse direction finding and digital panoramic detection for robust all-aspect engagement up to 100 km, resistant to electronic countermeasures through space-time signal processing.^[10]^[22]^[23] Semi-active radar homing (SARH) relies on continuous illumination from an external radar, such as the launching aircraft's, while the missile's seeker receives and processes the reflected energy to home in on the target. Monopulse techniques in SARH seekers provide high angular accuracy by comparing signal amplitudes or phases across multiple antenna lobes, allowing lock-on from any aspect without requiring direct line-of-sight from the missile's nose. This method uses differential Doppler processing between front and rear receivers to isolate the target's velocity signature, enhancing discrimination in cluttered environments. The AIM-7 Sparrow exemplifies SARH with its X-band operation, supporting head-on intercepts at ranges up to 70 km under optimal conditions.^[10]^[21]^[24]^[25] Modern radar homing systems predominantly utilize the X-band (8-12 GHz) for its short wavelength, which offers high resolution and beam precision essential for all-aspect targeting. This frequency band supports look-down/shoot-down capability by enabling effective ground clutter rejection through high pulse repetition frequency (PRF) modes and digital filtering, allowing engagements of low-altitude targets without horizon masking. In ARH missiles like the AIM-120, X-band seekers achieve narrow beamwidths for minimal sidelobes, improving jamming resistance during terminal homing. SARH systems similarly benefit, as monopulse processing at X-band frequencies maintains accuracy across aspect angles, though they require sustained external illumination.^[22]^[10]^[24]

Advantages and Challenges

Tactical Advantages

All-aspect capability in air-to-air missiles significantly expands engagement options by allowing launches from head-on, beam, or any angular approach, rather than restricting shots to the target's rear hemisphere. This versatility increases the probability of a first-shot opportunity in beyond-visual-range (BVR) scenarios, where pilots can fire without needing to maneuver into a specific firing position.^[13] In dynamic combat environments, such as during the Cold War era's push toward advanced missile technologies, this shift enabled more flexible offensive tactics against maneuvering targets.^[13] The deterrence effect of all-aspect missiles profoundly alters dogfight dynamics by compelling pilots to avoid maneuvers that expose their rear aspect, such as aggressive pursuits or vertical loops, which previously allowed evasion through tail-chasing. Instead, adversaries must prioritize energy management and out-of-plane positioning to deny favorable launch angles, reducing reliance on high-G turns or climbs that leave aircraft vulnerable from multiple directions. This forces a more cautious approach in close-range engagements, often turning potential pursuits into mutual standoffs where both sides risk counterfire.^[26] Integration with advanced avionics, particularly helmet-mounted cueing systems (HMCS), further amplifies these advantages by enabling high off-boresight launches up to 90 degrees or more, allowing pilots to designate and fire missiles by simply looking at a target without aligning the aircraft's nose. This compatibility preserves the launcher's positional advantage during within-visual-range (WVR) combat, as the pilot can maintain optimal flight paths while cueing the missile seeker via head movement. In tactical evaluations, this has demonstrated the ability to disrupt enemy attacks without sacrificing basic fighter maneuvers, enhancing overall combat effectiveness.^[27]

Engineering Challenges

Developing all-aspect missiles presents significant engineering challenges, particularly in achieving the sensitivity required to detect faint infrared signatures from non-exhaust sources such as airframe surfaces, which emit much lower thermal radiation compared to engine plumes. Traditional rear-aspect seekers relied on the intense heat of exhaust, but all-aspect designs necessitate ultra-sensitive detectors capable of distinguishing subtle temperature differences in cluttered environments, often leading to increased false alarms from background clutter. To address this, engineers employ low-noise amplifiers to minimize electronic noise and enhance signal-to-noise ratios, but these components demand higher power consumption to maintain performance during high-speed flights. Additionally, the need for cryogenic cooling in early cooled focal plane arrays exacerbates power requirements and adds complexity, as aerothermal heating from supersonic travel can degrade seeker optics unless mitigated by active cooling systems or ejectable protective covers.^[28]^[29] Size and weight constraints further complicate seeker design, as air-to-air missiles must integrate compact infrared heads within the limited volume of fighter aircraft bays while preserving aerodynamic efficiency. The seeker must balance high-resolution optics and gimbaled mechanisms for wide-angle acquisition—essential for all-aspect targeting—with the missile's overall dimensions, often resulting in fineness ratios of 5–25 for the body and around 2 for the nose to minimize drag. Early gimbaled designs suffered from mechanical limitations, such as restricted fields of regard (e.g., ±30° in some systems) and vulnerability to tip-off errors during launch, which could obstruct target tracking or increase miss distances. Transitioning to strapdown seekers reduces parts count and weight by eliminating gimbals, but requires precise electronic stabilization via inertial navigation systems, trading mechanical simplicity for integration challenges with aircraft avionics. Lightweight materials like graphite epoxy help offset seeker mass, yet multi-spectral domes necessary for robust all-aspect detection can reduce fuel capacity and range.^[30] Cost and reliability issues arise from the intricate electronics in all-aspect seekers, which integrate advanced signal processing and dual-mode capabilities, leading to high failure rates during testing—often 1–12% defective hardware detected in surveillance programs. Complex avionics, including vacuum tube or early solid-state components, proved unreliable against maneuvering targets in real-world conditions, with Vietnam-era success rates as low as 8–19% for systems like the AIM-7 and AIM-9, far below controlled test results. These failures stem from sensitivity to environmental stresses like temperature extremes, vibration, and corrosion, inflating development costs through extensive fly-to-buy testing (e.g., $188K–$564K per lot). Mitigation strategies include redundant systems, such as integrated safeing and arming circuits in fuzing electronics, which enhance fault tolerance and extend shelf life (e.g., from 5 to 22 years for certain missiles), achieving cost savings ratios up to 22:1 via stockpile reliability programs. Advances in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) further support redundancy without excessive weight penalties.^[13]^[31]^[32]

Notable Examples

Western Missiles

The development of all-aspect air-to-air missiles in Western nations marked a significant evolution in short-range infrared-guided weaponry, emphasizing enhanced seeker sensitivity and maneuverability to counter rear-aspect limitations of earlier designs. The AIM-9L and AIM-9M variants of the Sidewinder, produced by Raytheon for the U.S. military and allies, represented this shift, introducing capabilities for head-on and lateral engagements that dramatically improved combat effectiveness.^[8] The AIM-9L Sidewinder entered production in 1976, achieving operational service by 1977, and was the first variant with true all-aspect infrared homing, allowing lock-on from any angle, including frontal aspects, without requiring a tail-chase position.^[8] This upgrade stemmed from advanced cryogenically cooled seekers that detected heat signatures across multiple engine and airframe aspects. Its combat debut came during the 1982 Falklands War, where British Sea Harriers fired approximately 24 AIM-9L missiles, achieving around 20 confirmed kills for an estimated 82-87% success rate, far surpassing prior Sidewinder variants' performance in Vietnam.^[33]^[34] The AIM-9M, introduced in 1983, built on this foundation with a reduced-smoke rocket motor to minimize visual signature and improve post-launch survivability, while retaining all-aspect engagement and adding countermeasures resistance through improved electronics.^[8] These variants remain in widespread NATO service, influencing subsequent designs by prioritizing fire-and-forget autonomy in beyond-visual-range transitions. The UK's Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), developed by MBDA (formerly Matra BAE Dynamics) starting in the 1980s, further advanced all-aspect technology with an imaging infrared seeker enabling 90° off-boresight targeting for rapid helmet-cued shots.^[35] First delivered to the Royal Air Force in 1998 for integration on platforms like the Tornado F3 and Eurofighter Typhoon, ASRAAM's seeker uses a focal plane array for high-resolution heat signature discrimination, allowing lock-on to cold aspects and resistance to flares.^[35] Its agility derives from optimized aerodynamics and a dual-thrust solid-propellant motor achieving Mach 3+ speeds, supporting within-visual-range dominance without reliance on thrust-vectoring, though later upgrade proposals explored such enhancements for even greater maneuverability.^[36] Exported to nations including Australia and India, ASRAAM exemplifies Western emphasis on modular, exportable systems with extended no-escape zones. The IRIS-T, a multinational effort led by Germany's Diehl Defence since 1995, entered service in 2005 across partner nations including Sweden, Italy, and Norway, replacing older Sidewinder stocks on aircraft like the Eurofighter and Gripen.^[37] This short-range missile features a high-resolution imaging infrared seeker with a scanning focal plane array and advanced signal processing, enabling all-aspect lock-on, including rear-hemisphere targets, via lock-on before or after launch.^[37]^[38] Thrust-vector control enhances its post-launch agility, allowing high-angle-of-attack maneuvers up to 60g, while the design prioritizes countermeasures rejection through advanced imaging infrared seeker and signal processing.^[37] IRIS-T's collaborative development underscores NATO's focus on interoperable, high-performance all-aspect capabilities for close-combat scenarios.

Soviet and Russian Missiles

The Soviet Union pioneered significant advancements in all-aspect air-to-air missile technology during the Cold War, emphasizing high maneuverability and integration with fighter aircraft tactics to counter Western numerical advantages in close-quarters combat. This approach prioritized missiles capable of engaging targets from any angle, including head-on and beam aspects, through innovative seeker designs and control systems, reflecting a doctrine that favored aggressive dogfighting supplemented by massed launches.^[39] The R-73, known to NATO as AA-11 Archer, entered service in 1984 and represented a breakthrough in short-range infrared-homing missiles with all-aspect capability. It featured thrust-vector control in its solid-fuel rocket motor, enabling extreme maneuverability up to 60 degrees off-boresight, which allowed pilots to engage targets without aligning the aircraft directly. Integrated with the MiG-29's helmet-mounted sight, the R-73 facilitated rapid cueing and firing, enhancing its effectiveness in beyond-visual-range transitions to dogfights, with a reported engagement envelope of up to 30 kilometers.^[40]^[41] Building on this foundation, the R-77, designated AA-12 Adder, introduced active radar homing for true all-aspect medium-range engagements in the 1990s, marking Russia's shift toward fire-and-forget autonomy. Operational from 1994 onward, it combined an active radar seeker with inertial mid-course navigation updated via data link, allowing launches from any aspect without continuous aircraft illumination, and achieving speeds of Mach 4 over a 100-kilometer range. This design supported Soviet-influenced tactics of salvo fires from multiple platforms, prioritizing volume over individual precision to saturate enemy defenses.^[23]^[39] In the post-2010s era, the R-74M emerged as an advanced infrared variant under development to extend all-aspect capabilities into more challenging environments. An evolution of the R-73 lineage, it incorporates enhanced imaging infrared seekers for improved target discrimination and resistance to countermeasures, enabling beyond-visual-range shots up to 40 kilometers with ±60-degree off-boresight angles. Designed for integration with modernized Su-35 and Su-57 fighters, the R-74M reflects ongoing Russian efforts to maintain dogfight superiority through upgraded kinematics and sensor fusion, though full deployment remains pending state testing. As of November 2025, the R-74M2 variant was displayed in the internal weapons bays of the Su-57 fighter during public exhibitions, indicating continued advancement toward operational integration.^[42]^[43]^[44]

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The World's Most Effective Air-to-Air Missiles | Airforce Technology
Jun 1, 2019 · The IRIS-T (Infrared Imaging System – Tail/Thrust Vector Controlled) is a new generation short-range AAM produced by Diehl BGT Defence. The ...<|separator|>
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Russian AAM Air-to-Air Missiles - GlobalSecurity.org
Jun 8, 2024 · The Russian air force possesses active-radar homing missile technology, it only has a small number of those weapons in service.
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AA-11 ARCHER R-73 - GlobalSecurity.org
Sep 13, 2021 · Currently the R-73 is the best Russian short range air-to-air missile. Apart from an exceptional maneverability, this missile is also ...
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AA-11 ARCHER R-73 - GlobalSecurity.org
Sep 13, 2021 · The R-73 is one of the world's first all-aspect short-range missiles, capable of striking targets not only on catch-up, but also on colliding ...Missing: Soviet | Show results with:Soviet
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R-74M (RVV-MD) / K-74 / Izdeliye 760 - GlobalSecurity.org
Sep 13, 2021 · RVV-MD - Export model of the R-74 with ±60° off-boresight. The missile has a maximum range of 40 kilometres (25 mi) with 8 kg warhead. K-74M ...
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[PDF] Russian and Chinese Combat Air Trends - RUSI
Oct 1, 2020 · The R-74M is an upgraded variant of the R-73 with slightly better kinematics but still without a modern imaging IR/UV seeker head like those ...<|separator|>