R-60

R-60

Information

Infrared Homing MissileType

USSR Country of Origin

General Characteristics

NoAll-aspect

800 m/sMaximum Speed

18 GMaximum Overload

3.0 SecondsMotor Burn time

21 SecondsMax flight time

6,000 mMax flight distance

~3,500 mRecommended max range

IR Seeker

5,000 mMax lock range in rear-aspect

6 secondsPower up time

15 SecondsMax acquisition time

5°Seeker FoV

YesUncaged seeker

NoCan be slaved to radar

12°Seeker gimbal limit pre-launch

35°Seeker gimbal limit

30°/sTracking rate

Warhead

3.5 kgExplosive mass

TNTExplosive type

3 mProximity fuse range

Specifications

44 kgMissile mass

2,100 mmLength

120 mmDiameter

FinsSteering system

Production History

Vympel Designer

Full ProductionProduction Status

1973 - ???Produced

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Mi-24P
• ◊Mi-24P
• ◄Mi-24P HFS 80
• Mi-24V
• ◊MiG-21MF
• MiG-21SMT

General info

The R-60, a short range infrared homing missile, is usually most effective at ranges between 800m-2200m (Sea Level). The burn time of the R-60's propellent is 3 seconds. Compared to other missiles, the R-60 accelerates slower but for longer when comparing to other missiles (The Aim-9J's fuel last for 2.2 seconds with more force, R-60s having 3 seconds but with less force ). The R-60's have better total-force-to-weight ratio when compared to the Aim-9J's. Comparing the Aim-9J's to the R-60's, R-60's have almost half the weight of the Aim-9J's, meaning the R-60's pulls better at lower speeds and higher altitudes.

It is also important to note that this missile can uncage it's seeker which allow the user to lead the target before launching.

When compared to the Aim-9J's, the R-60's have double the inner FOV of the seeker head, meaning it is easier to aquire a lock when doing turning engagements, though this comes at the cost of being able to be fooled easier by flares and other counter-measures, since these may come into the view of the missiles (This is also the reason why Aim-9J's are less likely to be fooled by flares when compared to R-60's)

Effective damage

When comparing to the Aim-9J's, Aim-9J's has almost 4x the explosive mass of the R-60s, meaning the Aim-9J's do more damage when detonating further away from a target. Though the R-60's still completely destroy a target.

Usage in battles

Important details:

Every missile greatly performs better when at higher altitudes, this should be used to your advantage as missiles becomes unavoidable when launched at a reasonable range and altitude if the target doesn't use of any countermeasures, missile's accelerate faster, pull harder and reach higher velocites at higher altitudes due to the reduced drag. This comes as a double edge sword however as your missiles perform better, the enemy's missiles does aswell which means that you shouldn't put yourself in a position where enemies can engage you with your pants down while you're engaging a target. Coming in at unexpected angles while being undetected is the best way to utilize R-60's and every other missile.

The higher the speed of which the missile is launched, the faster the missile will reach it's optimum manevurability, therefore keeping your speed high and obtaining optimal launch conditions are instrumental to a successful missile kill.

Use of slaving the missile to the radar may prove to be incredibly useful when leading a target, especially when the dogfight continually changes angles and pointing the nose towards the target may not be possible.

Launching at a target flying away from you:

This is the optimum launch angle against a target. When at sea level, the maximum range in relation of yourself to the target is around 2000m, given that the target is flying at the same speed and same direction. This changes depending on whether the target is moving slower or faster than you. The slower the target in comparison to you, the further you can launch your missile at the target. The faster the target in coparison to you, the shorter the range is of your missile. Range is also heavily influenced by the altitude of yourself and of the target. The higher the altitude, the less drag and therefore, the higher the range is.

Launching at a target, perpendicular to you:

When the target is flying perpendicular to you, the important factors are giving your missile the optimum launch conditions to be able to pull enough G's to hit your target. These optimum conditions include; launching your missile at a high speed (preferably above Mach), keeping enough distance between you and the target, aswell as leading target as much as you can to reduce the amount of energy the missile has to use to reach the target. If the target is slower, these conditions are easier to fulfill when engaging a target. However, if the target is moving at very high speeds, such attempt at hitting the target will likely result in missing the target and greater launch conditions are required to hit the target.

Once again, higher altitudes greatly improve the performance of the missile, meaning that such angles for a missile towards the target may be impossible at lower altitudes, while being easy for the missile at higher altitudes.

Remember:

Your goal when using missiles, are to obtain the optimum launching parameters for your missile to successfully hit the target. Positioning and teamwork are instrumental to be able to obtain these launch conditions for your missiles. Using missiles to force your target into an optimum position may be necessary to launch a second missile at the target.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Large Seeker FOV (Making it easier to obtain a lock without pointing the nose directly towards the target).
• Light missile (In comparison to other similar missiles, better performance at lower speeds and higher altitudes).
• Longer burn time (Useful for longer range engagements).

Cons:

• Large Seek FOV (More prone to counter-measures such as flares, due to the increased likelyhood of the counter-measures coming into view of the seeker).
• Lower propellent force (Closer targets are more likely to avoid your missile as the missile cannot reach speeds fast enough to pull into the target).

History

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Media

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See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
• other literature.