R-27ET
Contents
Description
In the late 80s, as part of the second generation upgrade program for the R-27 family of missiles, a new motor with almost twice the speed and range replaced the older one, as per the modular design of the R-27 family. The resulting heat-seeking variant, the dubbed the R-27ET, also recieved upgraded electronics, resulting in better tracking and slight weight savings. This missile would go on to fill the role of a fire-and-forget medium-long range missile for not only the Soviet air force, but its successor nations and all the export operators who flew the MiG-29 and Su-27.
The R-27ET is a top-rank IR guided missile, introduced in Update "Sons of Attila", returns to the hands of top tier pilots who are already familiar with the R-27T, but also bringing with it the upgraded motor from the R-27ER, almost doubling the speed and range of the missile. These featuers, along with the increased flare resistance, allow the R-27ET to wreak havoc on unsuspecting enemy aircraft, and is particularly dangerous against distracted targets at longer ranges due to its passive seeker, which does not give the enemy aircraft any warning, unlike its SARH brother the R-27ER.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the missile.
Effective damage
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Comparison with analogues
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Usage in battles
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Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great seeker filtration, practically immune to flares in rear aspect at most ranges, and any aspect at very close ranges
- Strong acceleration, speed, and range
- Great manoeuvrability (35G overload)
- Powerful warhead, almost no aircraft can survive a direct hit from one
Cons:
- Large fins bleed energy very quickly
- Limited quantity on carrier aircraft (only two)
- Can be very easily flared at range
History
Following the incredible advancement and success of the R-24 missile, which was on par (if not ahead) of its adversaries at the time of introduction, OKB Vympel set out to further upgrade the missile, as the R-24 still had a few shortcomings. Mainly, it had sub-par range compared to new contemporary missiles entering the battlefield, such as the AIM-7F, due to the lack of a second stage booster and optimized control surfaces for the glide phase of the flight. The missile also was limited by the radar of its launcher aircraft, the third generation variants of the MiG-23 fitted with the Saphir 23ML radar or newer, had subpar radar capability compared to their adversaries. Learning from these errors, OKB Vympel set out create a new, modular medium-long range missile on the basis of the older R-24, for the new generation of soviet fighters on the horizon. This new missile would arm the future "Project 9" from Mikoyan, which would become the MiG-29, and the T-10 Prototype from Sukhoi, which would become the Su-27. The missile design requirements were very ambitious, but nonetheless, the modular design of the R-27 helped ease these hurdles, and allowed the missile to be fielded in many different variants.
The R-27ET variant, is a second generation R-27 family missile. By its modular design, the "E" stands for "Energovo-oroozhonaya", which translates into "High-powered", meaning that the solid fuel rocket motor was replaced with a larger one, almost doubling the speed and range of the missile. The "T", as is in soviet missile nomeclature, means that the missile was heat-seeking, in contrary to the "R" designation (as found on the R-27ER) which stands for semi-active radar guided. The R-27ET was primarily created to fill the gap of a medium range IR missile in GCI scenarios where the first generation R-27T's range would be insufficient to engage enemy fighters from a safe distance.
The role of the R-27ET as the medium-long range "fire and forget" missile would eventually be supplemented by the R-27EA (the "A" suffix standing for "Active", as this variant was active-radar guided, similarly to an AIM-120 AMRAAM) and eventually replaced altogether by the R-77. The missile still finds use today with many countries still flying various models of the MiG-29 or Su-27 family. Extra leftover stockpiles of the R-27ET have also been adapted into a surface-to-air missile role by Israel and Yemen, in the form of the Samar 1 and the Thaqeb systems respectively, with the latter being credited with heavily damaging a Saudi F-15E in March 2018 during a strike on the Saada Province.
Media
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See also
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- 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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