Wympel R-77

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Wympel R-77

R-77 at the MAKS 2009
R-77 at the MAKS 2009

General Information
Type Air-to-air missile
Local name R-77, K-77
NATO designation AA-12 adder
Country of origin Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union / RussiaRussiaRussia 
Manufacturer Pennant
development 1982
Commissioning 1991
Working time in service
Technical specifications
length 3.60 m
diameter 200 mm
Combat weight 175 kg
span 700 mm
drive Solid rocket
speed Do 3
Range 55-110 km
Service ceiling 25 km
Furnishing
steering Inertial Navigation & Data Link
Target location active radar target search , SARH or HOJ
Warhead 22.5 kg continuous rod
Detonator Impact fuze & laser proximity fuze
Lists on the subject

The Wympel R-77 ( NATO code name : AA-12 "Adder" ; export designation: RWW-AE or AAM-AE ) is a medium-range Russian air-to-air missile guided by active radar , which was developed in the Soviet Union .

development

All variants of the Wympel R-77 family

The development of the R-77 began in 1982 at "Molnija OKB" in the Ukraine and was called "Isdelje 170" there. Flight tests began in 1984. The R-77 was presented to the public for the first time in February 1991 in the Belarusian capital Minsk . The western trade press gave the weapon the nickname "AMRAAMSki" because its operational profile as a BVR air combat missile with active radar search was similar to that of the American AIM-120 AMRAAM . By the end of 1994, the Artem company in Ukraine had produced a first batch of 200 guided missiles and delivered them to the Russian Air Force . With the independence of Ukraine, R-77 production for Russia was stopped. At Artem, the R-77 was then only produced for export. In Russia, Wympel (now KTRW) did not start producing a modified version of the R-77 until the 2000s. The first of these R-77M guided missiles ("Isdelje 180") were delivered to the Russian Air Force in 2014, together with the Sukhoi Su-35 . The export name of the R-77 is RWW-AE. This means Wosduch-Wosduch, Aktivnaya, Eksportnaja (air-to-air guided missile, active radar, export version).

variants

The version history of the R-77 is relatively opaque, as many variants have only reached the draft or prototype stage. The following is a list of some known modifications and modernizations.

Series missile

  • R-77 (K-77)
1. Soviet production version of the guided missile with the designation "Isdelje 170". Developed and produced by Molnija and Artem in Ukraine. Takeoff weight 175 kg, range 55 km.
  • R-77M (K-77M)
The version also known as "Isdelje 180" has been produced by Wympel in Russia since 2014 . The R-77M has a new data link , the new 9B-1348-1 radar search head (Isdelje 50-1) and a double pulse motor . Takeoff weight 190 kg, range 110 km.
  • R-77E (RWW-AE)
Variant of the R-77 for export, also known as "Isdelje 190".
  • R-77-SD (RWW-SD)
Variant of the R-77M for export.

Projects

  • R-77-1 (K-77-1)
Execution of the R-77M with conventional stabilization and control surfaces. Project status is unknown.
  • R-77M1 (K-77ME)
Also known as the Isdelje 180-BD, it is an improved version of the R-77M. Project status is unknown.
  • R-77M-PD (RWW-AE-PD)
This variant was provided with a ramjet drive, which should enable ranges of up to 160 km. The first design studies were completed in 1989, according to the manufacturer. Since there was no state money, a joint venture with MBDA was entered into for further development . According to Wympel, the development ended in 1994. It is unknown whether the missile was ever ready for use.
  • R-77-SRK (RWW-AE-SRK)
This variant with a thickened missile cell was modified for use as an anti-aircraft missile . It has been modified with thrust vector control and enlarged solid propulsion. It was mentioned in 2005 and is started from a VLS system. The project was canceled.
  • R-77MT (RWW-AE-MT)
This variant was equipped with an infrared seeker head; the exact name and the project status are unknown.

description

The R-77's radar seeker

The R-77 is essentially constructed like a conventional guided missile: It consists of a search system, a control unit, a warhead and an engine. However, it is the first Russian guided missile to have an on-board active radar system. Therefore it is one of the fire-and-forget weapons. A special feature are the four lattice fins at the rear, which are somewhat reminiscent of a potato masher. This structure made it possible to significantly increase the steering effect compared to conventional control surfaces, which led to an increase in maneuverability. However, this construction also creates significantly greater air resistance , which inevitably reduces the range compared to missiles with normal control surfaces.

The radar system is manufactured by the Russian company Agat . It operates on the basis of the Doppler - monopulse -concept in the frequency range 10-20 GHz and can targets with a radar cross section of 5 m² detect km to a distance of 16th The connected data link for the reception of correction signals has a range of up to 50 km if the data comes from the fire control system of the MiG-29 . The system is 60.4 cm long without the radome and weighs around 16 kg without it. The radome itself cannot withstand high temperatures sufficiently, which is why the maximum speed of the missile is limited to around Mach 3 in order to reduce the frictional heat accordingly. The radar system has a so-called “look-down” mode, which means that it can also locate targets against the background of ground clutters, although these may not be more than ten kilometers below the flight altitude of the missile.

During the cruise flight phase, the R-77 navigates using its inertial navigation system , which flies to the assumed position of the target. The radar of the carrier platform can also provide the missile with continuously updated heading data if it is still locked to the target and the pilot is still flying towards it. At a predicted distance of 20 to 25 km, the missile then activates its own radar system in order to pick up on the target and fight it autonomously.

Platforms

The R-77 guided missile can be deployed from the following combat aircraft on an AKU-170E launch rail:

distribution

Technical specifications

An R-77 (right) at MAKS 1999
Parameter Data
Manufacturer Wympel NPO
length 3.6 m
Takeoff mass 175 kg
diameter 0.2 m
span 0.7 m
Maximum speed approx Mach 3
drive single-stage solid rocket motor
Maximum flight time 100 s
Range 50 to 100 km
Minimum operating distance 0.3 km
Maximum altitude 25-30 km
Minimum altitude 0.02 km
Maximum target maneuvers 9 g
steering INS , data link, active, HOJ
Warhead 22.5 kg HE-FRAG, Continuous Rod
ignition Laser proximity and impact fuze

Web links

Commons : Wympel R-77  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jefim Gordon : Soviet / Russian Aircraft Weapons since World War Two. Midland Publications, 2004
  2. ↑ a b That’s Weird - Russia's Best Fighter Jets in Syria Are Flying With Crappy Missiles. In: War is Boring. warisboring.com, August 16, 2016, accessed May 24, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Piotr Butowski: Russia is preparing a precision guidance revolution for its fast jet, strike, and bomber forces . Jane's International Defense Review, August 2014, United Kingdom, 2014.
  4. ^ Tactical Missiles Corporation (JSC): Air-to-Air Medium Range Missile RVV-SD
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons 2002
  6. ↑ Trade Register on sipri.org , accessed on March 15, 2020 (English)
  7. ↑ Annual Reports Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV), available at [1] .
  8. ^ Duncan Lennox: Jane's Air Launched Weapons Systems Edition 2003. Jane's Information Group .
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g Rosoboronexport - Aerospace Systems Export Catalog 2005
  10. ↑ AA-12 ADDER / R-77 , Federation of American Scientists , accessed May 16, 2008
  11. ↑ R-77 (AA-12) MEDIUM-RANGE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE ( Memento from February 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: sinodefence.com , accessed on May 16, 2008
  12. ↑ R-77 in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed April 16, 2008.