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The R-77 is a modern
medium-range air-to-air missile. It was developed by "Vympel"
design bureau since 1980s and entered service with Russian army in 1994.
It is believed that it will be the standard Russian fighter aircraft
missile. NATO countries designated it as the AA-12 "Adder".
It has an active radarhoming seeker and alike
the R-27 medium-range missile it is guided
to a certain point with the help of a data link. But then it uses an
onboard radar to illuminate the target and steers towards it. Similar
to the AIM-120 AMRAAM it gives the pilot a certain "fire and
forget" capability. One more interesting detail is that it's NATO unofficial
designation is "AMRAAMski". Missile has a range of fire in 0.5 -
150 k ilometers.
The R-77
became a base for the R-77E featuring extended range and even more
improved R-77M. The last mentioned is completed with a different engine
and has a greater weight. Relying on official sources the R-77 has a range
of fire in 200 kilometers. This missile is expected to be in service not
earlier than 2007.
Recently
besides Russian air forces the R-77 missile were exported and are
operational in India, Malaysia and Peru.
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