The multirole, super-maneuverable Su-35S fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces have received air-to-air missiles with an active radar homing head, the R-77M. The latest weapon is "considered a direct analogue of the Chinese PL-15 and the American AIM-120D", writes The Military Watch Magazine.
The missile entered service a decade later than its foreign counterparts, which is largely a consequence of the limited investment by the Russian Ministry of Defense in tactical combat aviation after the end of the Cold War.
The previous R-77-1 missile has a launch range of 110 km and is comparable to the American AIM-120C-5 (adopted after 2000) and the Chinese PL-12 (adopted in 2005). Since the R-77-1 entered the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2015, Russian missile manufacturers lagged behind foreign competitors by about 10-15 years.
Russia is behind the United States and China in replenishing its fleet of fifth-generation fighters. At the same time, fourth-generation aircraft were more inferior due to the lack of highly effective radar-guided missiles.
Thanks to the latest R-77M missile, the Su-35S and Su-30SM fighters, which form the basis of the Russian Aerospace Forces fleet, will be able to challenge the air forces of NATO and its allies.
The scale of the Russian Ministry of Defense's purchases of R-77M missiles for fighters is not yet known.
Read more on the topic:
The National Interest: The An-24 turboprop aircraft does not have a ground proximity warning system
Su-33 and MiG-29K carrier-based fighters fired guided missiles at aerial targets in the Barents Sea
Su-33, MiG-29K and Su-30SM fighters intercepted a mock enemy aircraft over the Kola Peninsula
