The Novator KS-172 was a Russian air-to-air missile project designed as an "
AWACS killer"
at ranges up to 400 km. The missile had various names during its history, including K-100, Izdeliye 172 ('project 172'), AAM-L (RVV-L), KS–172, KS-1, 172S-1 and R-172. The airframe appears to have been derived from the
9K37 Buk
The Buk (russian: link=no, "Бук"; "beech" (tree), ) is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter cruise mis ...
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
(SAM) but development stalled in the mid-1990s for lack of funds.
It appears to have restarted in 2004 after a deal with India, who wants to produce the missile in India for their
Su-30MKI
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant ...
fighters. Nowadays the development is stopped and the project is closed.
Development
Modern airforces have become dependent on airborne radars typically carried by converted airliners and transport aircraft such as the
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weath ...
and
A-50 'Mainstay'. They also depend on similar aircraft for inflight refuelling (e.g.
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown at Brooklands, Surrey, in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance route ...
), maritime patrol (e.g.
CP-140 Aurora
The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a patrol aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. Aurora ( ...
), reconnaissance and electronic warfare (e.g.
Tu-16 'Badger' E & J) and
C4ISTAR
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physi