Analysts of military magazines – The Military Watch, Military Watch Magazine and others – have recently devoted a lot of material to Russian Su-35S, Su-57 and MiG-31 fighters, leading in the world.
What unites these fighters, in addition to their multifunctionality, is the weapon they use: the world's longest-range R-37 air-to-air missile. Thanks to it, any threat from the air is intercepted and destroyed in the entrusted territory any threat from the air.
At the same time, the Su-35S fighters see targets at a distance of more than three hundred kilometers, but have a narrow sector of view, and they need the support of long-range radar detection aircraft, such as the A-50, for a complete picture and air control. The MiG-31 can itself control the airspace with its own radar for more than 300 km and launch missiles, transmitting information about detected targets to other aircraft.
R-37, also known as RVV-BD and "product 620" – is a development of the GosMKB "Vympel" named after I. I. Toropov, which has been on the balance sheet of the Aerospace Forces of Russia since 2014.
The missile strikes any threat in the air and any aerial targets: from fighters, attack aircraft, bombers, military transport aircraft and helicopters to drones and modern low-flying cruise missiles.
The R-37M can operate at an altitude of up to 25 km, hitting targets at a distance of up to 400 km. It flies at a speed of up to Mach 6, which makes it difficult for the enemy to shoot it down.
