Russia unveils scary new air to air missile that "can't miss"

Russia has unveiled a new Air to Air missile based on the R-77 (AA-12 Adder), which is the Russian equivalent to the AIM-120 AMRAAM used by the West.

What makes this one scary is that the chances of a miss have just dropped to almost 0. The K-77M replaces the mechanically scanned array with a miniature AESA antenna, with "large number" of digital array cells, which allows the radar to be adjusted several thousand times a second.

A traditional antenna can be defeated by making a hard turn just before the missile gets to the target, so the target leaves the radar beam scanning area. This antenna would be able to keep lock on a target no matter how hard it maneuvers, and can theoretically keep lock on a target 40+ miles away.

Another scary thing about this is that the US has nothing even close to this. US missile development has dropped off to almost non-existent, while just upgrading the missiles we have. The largest part of the R&D budget goes to fixing the F-35, and the LRS-b program.

By combining two existing technologies, Russian engineers have devised what could be the world’s deadliest air-to-air missile. And the U.S. military doesn’t have anything like it … or adequate defenses.

Designers at the Detal bureau, part of the state-owned Tactical Missile Munitions Corporation, added an active electronically-scanned array radar—a so-called “AESA”—to the nose of a long-range R-77 missile to produce the K-77M model. Thanks to its new guidance sensors, the K-77M is way more accurate than other missiles.

How accurate? Flying 40 miles or more, the K-77M should be able “to maintain lock on even the most agile maneuvering target,” according to one scientist and defense specialist in the Pacific region whose country’s laws prohibit him from speaking on the record about weaponry. In light of the scientist’s expertise, War is Boring agreed not to publish his name.

medium.com...

reply to post by Zaphod58


So.... This would mean that numbers in Air power just became important again, right? Numbers we've chosen to pass on, in the quest for ever higher technology. Billion dollar airplanes you say this missile can have a near zero chance of missing under some conditions? (surely not a God mode missile...but even high kill rates put us in a world of hurt)

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


The biggest part of the US inventory is non-stealthy aircraft like the F-15/F-16, and will be for a very long time at this rate. While the F-22 and F-35 will have a decent survival rate against these, just because of the detection ranges, the non-stealthy fleet is dead. It's just going to be a matter of if they can get their missiles off before they die or not, and if they can get them off in a high enough Pk for them to hit (BVR typically has a very low hit rate).

But yes, it is going to come down to having enough numbers to survive long enough to get into kill range before they get shot down. Until they can come up with a new EW platform and defenses for this, if a fight happens, it's going to be ugly, and not in our favor.

reply to post by Zaphod58


...and of course, we all keep in mind that Syria, Iran and others are client states of Russia. So...if these just HAPPENED to find their way into battlefields as a 'Surprise!!'...it shouldn't be THAT big a surprise. That would have the potential of turning a 'given' for outcome on something like Syria into a bloody rout and embarassing nose bashing.

Remember how I've speculated there may be pieces in play from other nations we'd only learn about in ugly ways? Pure speculation...but thank goodness this didn't pop as a surprise with a whole US action in progress and real aircraft in the air.......or not in the air, as it happened.

Zaphod58
Russia has unveiled a new Air to Air missile based on the R-77 (AA-12 Adder), which is the Russian equivalent to the AIM-120 AMRAAM used by the West.

What makes this one scary is that the chances of a miss have just dropped to almost 0. The K-77M replaces the mechanically scanned array with a miniature AESA antenna, with "large number" of digital array cells, which allows the radar to be adjusted several thousand times a second.

A traditional antenna can be defeated by making a hard turn just before the missile gets to the target, so the target leaves the radar beam scanning area. This antenna would be able to keep lock on a target no matter how hard it maneuvers, and can theoretically keep lock on a target 40+ miles away.

Another scary thing about this is that the US has nothing even close to this. US missile development has dropped off to almost non-existent, while just upgrading the missiles we have. The largest part of the R&D budget goes to fixing the F-35, and the LRS-b program.

By combining two existing technologies, Russian engineers have devised what could be the world’s deadliest air-to-air missile. And the U.S. military doesn’t have anything like it … or adequate defenses.

Designers at the Detal bureau, part of the state-owned Tactical Missile Munitions Corporation, added an active electronically-scanned array radar—a so-called “AESA”—to the nose of a long-range R-77 missile to produce the K-77M model. Thanks to its new guidance sensors, the K-77M is way more accurate than other missiles.

How accurate? Flying 40 miles or more, the K-77M should be able “to maintain lock on even the most agile maneuvering target,” according to one scientist and defense specialist in the Pacific region whose country’s laws prohibit him from speaking on the record about weaponry. In light of the scientist’s expertise, War is Boring agreed not to publish his name.

medium.com...

This because the US is focusing on laser technology weapons for the past few years.
Laser precision is more dangerous than missile precision.

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by Zaphod58

 

So.... This would mean that numbers in Air power just became important again, right? Numbers we've chosen to pass on, in the quest for ever higher technology. Billion dollar airplanes you say this missile can have a near zero chance of missing under some conditions? (surely not a God mode missile...but even high kill rates put us in a world of hurt)

I aleardy said this months back. NATO will spend 100 of billions on impressive super tec and Russia in the real world will make a chaep cheery weapon to render them useless.

reply to post by junglimogli


And lasers are much harder, and surprisingly less effective than people realize at long range.

I have known many fighter pilots as I'm sure most people posting in this thread do. They always say what's the first four letters of Missile spell??

MISS!!!

Guess that old saying is going right out the window. Great story S&F.

reply to post by GuidedKill


Yeah, this is definitely a game changer. Especially with it both coming out in time for the T-50 to use, and probably being sold to China.

The K-77M air-to-air missile with this advanced guidance system will be fitted on to the fifth-generation fighter jet PAK-FA (advanced frontline aircraft system, also codenamed T-50) and it will start to be delivered to the Russian Air Force by 2017.

Source

Why advertise this so early and give the competition time to think about it? Wouldn't it be better to keep a secret until it's ready to go?

reply to post by Zarniwoop


Because a system like this, it doesn't matter honestly. They're going to have a years advantage on us until we come up with a way to jam an AESA system. They can be operated in LPI mode, like on the F-22, so you won't even know it's coming.

The US screwed up beyond belief when they killed their EW platforms after Desert Storm. For years now USAF pilots have been flying Navy EA-6B Prowlers, because the AF doesn't have a jamming platform of its own. Every time they start to develop something, they end up cancelling it because of monetary issues.

reply to post by Zarniwoop


Advertising. The only way that Russia can afford this missile for itself is if they sell a bunch of them to other countries.

Still makes me wonder if you could let the missile close range some and perform ACM like the Herbst maneuver which requires thrust vectoring, to evade the missile. Basically performing a J turn to evade the missile.

Hypothetically speaking of course.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Thank you for earlier educating me when I asked why Stealth aircraft across the world are all starting to look the same. I would say that the same applies to air-to-air missiles. Upgrading the ones we have is still “development”.

I would think that developing a lifting body type gimble based laser that could be mounted upon any aircraft would be the next phase of things. Or maybe even integrate it into the aircraft itself, though that would be expensive.

A laser doesn’t have to kill the AA missile, all it has to do is fry the tracking mechanism.

JIMC5499
reply to post by Zarniwoop

 

Advertising. The only way that Russia can afford this missile for itself is if they sell a bunch of them to other countries.

Maybe be a nasty suprise for the USA and Japan if China suddenly wanted to enforce there new air zone.

reply to post by Zaphod58



I read awhile back that the Chines had developed a shoulder held AA missile that can distinguish heat temperatures and thus not be fooled by flares. Some were shipped into Afghanistan and used against american jets. They were reported to be vey hard to shake but shakable. If the Chines fine tune that thing there could be problems. However adjusting flare temps to be closer to assorted engine trust temps could solve the problem.

reply to post by GuidedKill


No that won't work against an AESA antenna. It would work against a mechanical antenna because it has to move itself. An AESA antenna is fixed, but the beam is steerable. With a few hundred antennas, it's looking in all directions at the same time, and building a picture of what's around it.

reply to post by crazyewok


If they still have it in 4 years when it goes operational.

reply to post by TDawgRex


Laser jamming is being developed now. It's a lot more effective against an IR guided missile than a radar guided missile, as they're easier to blind.

reply to post by Logarock


Most new SAMs have an optical guidance system that "sees" the aircraft, and won't be fooled by flares or decoys. That's the first one I've heard of that a shoulder fired missile is starting to use the same technology.