The appearance of AIM-174B missiles on American F/A-18E/F Super Hornet interceptors and their declared range of 450 km forces us to look towards the revival of the KS-172 missile project, according to the Telegram channel "Military Chronicle."
The authors recalled that the development by the Novator bureau was frozen after the success of the R-37 missile, although its combat potential even exceeds the capabilities of standard long-range ammunition.
The KS-172 was originally created as a two-stage bicaliber missile, and the combat stage was based on the 9M83 product from the S-300V anti-aircraft complex.
The two-stage bicaliber design, the maximum range of 400 km, and the maximum speed of 4 to 5 Mach even today make the KS-172 almost a leader in its class. The latest component base for the inertial navigation system and more efficient fuel will allow the range to be increased to 500 km.
The main trump card is the new active-passive homing head (GOS). It will allow intercepting targets, including long-range radar reconnaissance aircraft, beyond the detection range of the fighter's radars themselves.
But most importantly, the KS-172 can be integrated into the Su-30SM2 combat kits without a radical restructuring of the platform.
If the project is revived, the Russian Su-30SM2 will receive weapons capable of intercepting the enemy before they even realize they have been detected. In this scenario, even the American Super Hornets with AIM-174B will be in the role of catch-up. In addition, the ammunition is also suitable for Indian Su-30MKI.
It also became known that Russia and India are exploring the possibility of jointly developing a new air-to-air missile with a range of about 500 kilometers for the modernized Su-30MKI.