Bisnowat R-4

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Tu-128 in the Museum Monino , Russia, with four R-4. Inside are R-4T and outside are R-4R.

Bisnowat R-4 ( Russian Бисноват Р-4 ) is the name of the Soviet air-to-air missile with the NATO designation AA-5 "Ash" . Other Soviet names are K-80 or R-80, the name of the experimental design office Bisnowat was later changed to "Molnija" ( Russian молния , "lightning").

History and commitment

The development of the missile began in 1959 and was ready for use in 1963. The main and originally designed purpose was the use on the heavy Tupolew Tu-128 interceptor (NATO code name "Fiddler"), which could carry four of these missiles and was used for long-range patrols . Operations from MiG-21 and MiG-25 took place only for trial purposes.

variants

Two basic versions were built, the R-4R with semi-active radar steering and the R-4T with infrared steering. Intended targets were particularly high-flying bombers , as the missile could hit targets at heights of 8 to 21 km. In 1973 the newer variants R-4MT and R-4MR were introduced, which could also fight lower-flying targets (up to approx. 500 m altitude). When the Tu-128 was decommissioned towards the end of the Cold War , the R-4 also disappeared from the scene.

  • Bisnowat R-4R (K-80 or AA-5 "Ash") semi-active radar-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile
  • Bisnowat R-4T (K-80 or AA-5 "Ash") infrared controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile
  • Bisnowat R-4MR (K-80 or AA-5 "Ash") semi-active radar-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile
  • Bisnowat R-4MT (K-80 or AA-5 "Ash") infrared controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
Manufacturer Molnija (formerly Bisnowat)
length 5.2 m (R-4T) or 5.45 m (R-4R)
span 1.3 m
diameter 0.31 m
Takeoff mass 480 kg (R-4T) or 492.5 kg (R-4R)
Top speed 1710 km / h
Range 15 km (R-4T) or 30 km (R-4R)
Warhead 53 kg explosives

Web links