Wympel R-23
| Wympel R-23 | |
|---|---|
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| General Information | |
| Type | Air-to-air missile |
| Local name | R-23 |
| NATO designation | AA-7 apex |
| Country of origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Pennant |
| development | 1960s |
| Commissioning | 1974 |
| Working time | 1974-1998 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 4.5 m (R-23R, R-24R) |
| diameter | 223 mm |
| Combat weight | 222 kg (R-23R), 243 kg (R-24R) |
| span | 1 m |
| drive | Solid |
| speed | Do 3 |
| Range | 35 km (R-23R), 50 km (R-24R) |
| Service ceiling | 25 km |
| Furnishing | |
| Target location | Infrared (R-23T, R-24T), semi-active radar (R-23R, R-24R) SARH |
| Warhead | 25 kg highly explosive fragmentation warhead |
| Detonator | Radar proximity and impact fuze |
| Weapon platforms | MiG-23 |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Wympel R-23 ( DIA code : AA-7 , NATO code name : Apex ) is a Soviet air-to-air guided missile for medium combat ranges. This missile is considered the primary armament for the MiG-23 in the main use as a fighter aircraft.
development
In the mid-1960s, the development of a new air-to-air missile for the MiG-23 in the OKB-134 Wympel ( Russian Вымпел ), which is also under development, began . The missile developed under the designation K-23 was originally supposed to have a dual-mode seeker head, which was to have both infrared and semi-active radar control. However, this proved impractical, and so two variants of the same guided weapon were developed; one with an infrared and one with a radar seeker head ( isdelije 340 and 360), later known as the R-23T and R-23R, respectively. The first test starts took place in 1967, whereby the semi-active viewfinder of the R-23R proved to be very problematic.
In 1968 the Soviet Union got access to an AIM-7 Sparrow and Wympel built it under the designation K-25 in order to be able to compare the performance data of both guided missiles. From this comparison, the K-23 emerged as the winner because of its greater range and greater resistance to defensive measures. In 1971 the K-25 project was discontinued.
The R-23 entered service from January 1974. Both versions differed only in the seeker head and were designated as AA-7A and AA-7B in the West. Externally, the IR version can be recognized by the rounded nose and the radar version by the conical and longer nose. A training missile without a warhead was called the R-23UT .
The R-23 has four delta wings, which are mounted slightly behind the center of the missile body, four smaller control surfaces on the tail and small triangular control surfaces on the nose. All of these surfaces are attached one behind the other so that the R-23 looks like a cross when viewed from the front.
The R-23R has an effective range of approximately 14 km when fired at low altitude or 25 km at high altitude. The infrared controlled R-23T is limited by the range of the seeker head to about 11 km, which gives it more maneuver reserves by using the same drive. The R-23 can be used up to a load factor of 4 g against targets that maneuver with up to 5 g . The minimum range of the R-23T is 1,300 m and 2 km for the R-23R.
Versions
- R-23T - infrared guided
- R-23R - radar controlled (semi-active)
- R-23UT - school rocket (UT - Uchebno-Trenirowotschnaja, school training )
License version
- A-911 ( Romania )
R-24
From 1975 onwards, the R-24 was developed for the MiG-23ML / MLD, an enhanced version of the R-23. Both versions had a larger engine, an improved warhead and a greatly reduced minimum deployment distance of 500 m. The range could be increased to up to 50 km, the summit height up to 25,000 m, in addition it had the "lock-on after launch" - ("activation after the start") - capability. The R-24T's viewfinder has been improved and now has a higher resolution. Both variants could now be used against targets maneuvering with 7 g . The factory names were isdelije 140 and 160, respectively, in the west they were called AA-7C and AA-7D.
The R-24 remained in the WWS until at least the end of service life of the last Russian MiG-23 in 1997 .
photos
R-23R
R-23T
R-24R
R-24T under a Ukrainian MiG-23MLD
MiG-23 with two R-24R (white, long) and R-60 (white, short) each
