AirForces Monthly – June 2018

112 // JUNE 2018 #363 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Short-range air-to-air missiles

Russian reporters in June 2016 that since the

previous year his company had been delivering

a new missile developed from the R-73;

undoubtedly, he meant the R-74. However,

other Russian media reports suggest production

of the R-74M is at a standstill because of the

lack of components produced in Ukraine.

The current conflict between Russia and

Ukraine has severed military co-operation

between the countries, including deliveries

of Mayak and Impuls infrared seekers from

the Arsenal Company. Despite their efforts,

the Russians have not managed to replace

the Ukrainian seekers with an indigenous

development; the Karfagen seeker from the

AOMZ company (see below) is not yet ready

for production. In April 2014, the Russian

Radiozavod factory in Kyshtym was charged

with mastering production of the Impuls-90

seeker for the R-74M (the Ukrainians had

handed over the missile documentation to

Russia in the early 2000s). The first 12 test

seekers were to be completed by October 2014.

However, reports suggest that Duks did not

deliver a single R-74M missile by at least

October 2016, because of the dearth of Impuls

seeker deliveries from Radiozavod. Reportedly,

in 2015 the Radiozavod factory mastered

production of the older Mayak seekers only.

Internal requirements

The Russian Air Force still required a short-range

missile – aside from failing to fully develop an

R-73 successor – for internal carriage needs as

part of the AAM weapons inventory for the PAK

FA fifth-generation fighter. The Sukhoi Su-57

(T-50) design has two small supplementary

bays each capable of carrying a single AAM.

The K-74M2 (izdeliye 760) is intended for

release from these two ‘quick launch’ weapons

bays on the Su-57 (the R-73 and R-74M can

only be carried externally). To meet the internal

carriage specifications, the missile’s cross-

section dimensions are reduced to 12.6 x

12.6in (320 x 320mm). Moreover, the K-74M2

has the new Karfagen-760 (Carthage) seeker

made by the Russian Azov AOMZ company

and an improved 516-1M rocket motor from

the Kartukov Iskra company with increased

specific impulse and a longer burn time.

Thanks to an inertial flight control system

with radio data link for mid-course correction

(absent on the previous missiles) the

K-74M2 can be fired in a lock-

on-after-launch (LOAL)

mode, initially flying under

inertial control before

achieving in-flight

lock-on. The

Mitsubishi Type 04 (AAM-5)

While generally reliant on the US for combat aircraft,

the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has

pursued an independent path in terms of AAMs.

The Mitsubishi Type 04 (AAM-5) adopts a similar

aerodynamic layout to the IRIS-T, with narrow mid-

body wings combined with all-moving tails and

thrust-vector control. Development work on a

weapon to replace the AAM-3 short-range missile

began in the early 1990s and flight-testing was

under way by the turn of the century. The AAM-5 is

likely to have entered service in 2007. An improved

variant, the AAM-5B, is also thought to be in service.

Right: An Israeli Air Force F-16I carries a Python

5 on the outer underwing pylon with a medium-

range AIM-120 AMRAAM on the wingtip rail.

The Python 5 reportedly gained its fi rst kills

when downing two Hezbollah drones off

the Israeli coast during the 2006

Lebanon War. Yissachar Ruas

Above: Departing for a training mission, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15J carries an inert Type 04

(AAM-5) round. The AAM-5 was developed as a successor to Mitsubishi’s Type 90 (AAM-3). Rich Cooper

Below: A display model of the R-74M, which has the export designation RVV-MD. Behind the R-74M is

the medium-range R-77-1 active-radar missile – also known as the RVV-SD. Piotr Butowski