The Vympel R-27 (
NATO reporting name AA-10 Alamo) is a family of
air-to-air missile developed by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. It remains in service with the
Russian Air Force, air forces of the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
and air forces of many other countries as standard medium range air-to-air missile even though they have the more advanced
R-77
The Vympel NPO R-77 missile (NATO reporting name: AA-12 Adder) is a Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. It is also known by its export designation RVV-AE. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRA ...
.
The R-27 is manufactured in
infrared-homing
Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is rad ...
(R-27T, R-27ET),
semi-active-radar-homing (R-27R, R-27ER), and
active-radar-homing (R-27EA) versions. R-27 family missiles are produced by both Russian and Ukrainian manufacturers. The R-27 missile is carried by the
Mikoyan MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG ...
and
Sukhoi Su-27 family fighters. The R-27 missile is also license-produced in China, though the production license was bought from
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
instead of Russia.
Variants
* R-27R: ''AA-10 Alamo-A'',
semi-active radar homing. Missile can be used at 20 to 25,000 meters altitude (launch platform or target). Effective kill range for a target at same altitude: 2 to 42.5 km head-on, 0.7 to 7.5 km tail-on. Maximum range: 73 km. Maximum allowed vertical separation between target and launch platform: +/− 10 km.
* R-27R1: Export model of the R-27R. The missile has a maximum range of with 39 kg warhead.
* R-27T: ''AA-10 Alamo-B'',
infrared homing, passive homing using the Avtomatika 9B-1032 (PRGS-27) IR seeker head. Missile can be used at 20 to 25,000 meters altitude. Effective kill range for a target at same altitude: 2 to 33 km head-on, 0 to 5.5 km tail-on. Maximum range: 63 km. Maximum allowed vertical separation: +/−10 km.
* R-27T1: Export model of the R-27T. The missile has a maximum range of with 39 kg warhead.
* R-27ER: ''AA-10 Alamo-C'', the semi-active-radar homing extended-range version. Missile can be used at 20 to 27,000 meters altitude. Effective kill range for a target at same altitude: 2 to 65.5 km head-on, 0.7 to 16.5 km tail-on. Missile cannot be fired at altitude less than 3 km against a target with background earth, if launch range is less than 6 kilometers. Maximum range: 117 km. Maximum allowed vertical separation: 12 km.
* R-27ER1: Export model of the R-27ER. The missile has a maximum range of with 39 kg warhead.
* R-27ET: ''AA-10 Alamo-D'', the infrared-homing extended-range version, Weight 348 kg. Missile can be used at 20 to 27,000 meters altitude. Effective kill range: 2 to 52.5 km head-on, 0.7 to 12.5 tail-on. Maximum range: 104 km. Maximum allowed vertical separation: 12 km.
* R-27ET1: Export model of the R-27ET. The missile has a maximum range of with 39 kg warhead.
R-27R and ER variants can be used in any meteorological conditions. Launch can made at less than 5 ''g'' overload and less 50 deg/s roll rate.
It is allowed to redesignate targets during flight, or sharing target illumination with other aircraft.
R-27T and ET variants can be used out of cloudiness, at least 15 degrees away from the bearing of sun, and 4 degrees away from the bearing of moon and ground-based heat-contrasting conditions. In cases of maximum head-on range launches where lock-command cannot be utilised, missile can not be fired. Seeker must acquire target before launch.
On combat operations section of the Su-27 manual, this mode of usage is especially recommended for head-on usage for passive attacks at targets with 0 degrees approach angle (i.e. another fighter moving to intercept), leaving target unalerted to incoming missile.
Launch can be made at 0 to 7 ''g'', but limited to 6 ''g'' if roll induced slip is more than 2× diameter of the ball.
Other Variants:
* R-27P ''AA-10 Alamo-E'', passive radar homing with a range of up to 72 km.
* R-27EP ''AA-10 Alamo-F'', a longer range passive anti-radiation missile with a range of up to 70 nm (110 km)
* R-27EA, active radar homing with 9B-1103K active seeker, range of >130 km.
* R-27EM, active radar homing with 9B-1103K active seeker, range of >170 km.
Operational service
Ethiopia and Eritrea
In the 1999
Eritrean-Ethiopian War, Eritrean
MiG-29s fought Ethiopian
Su-27s both piloted by Russian mercenaries. Only one R-27 fired by an Ethiopian Su-27 at an Eritrean MiG-29 proximity-fuzed near enough the MiG that the damaged aircraft eventually crashed on landing.
Russia and Ukraine
During the
War in Donbas
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, the
Ukrainian Air Force
The Ukrainian Air Force ( uk, Пові́тряні си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its headquarters are in the city of Vinnytsia. W ...
claimed that one of its
Su-25 was shot down by a Russian Air Force MiG-29 using a R-27T on 16 July 2014.
Russian officials denied any involvement.
The R-27 was used by both sides during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
.
Yemen
During the
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen:
* Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948
* Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60
* North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70
* Aden Emergency, 1963–67
* North Yem ...
Houthis
The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...
have used R-27T missiles modified to serve as surface to air missiles. A video released on January 7, 2018, also shows a modified R-27T hitting a Saudi led coalition fighter on a
Forward looking infrared
Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation.
The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...
camera. Houthi sources claim to have downed a F-15. Rebels later released footage showing an aircraft wreck, however serial numbers on the wreckage suggested that the downed aircraft was a
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ( in ...
, also operated by Saudi forces. On January 8, the Saudi Press Agency admitted the loss of an aircraft over Yemen, though it did not clarify whether it was a Tornado or an F-15, blaming the crash to 'a technical issue' and reporting that the pilots ejected and recovered by friendly forces.
On 21 March 2018,
Houthi rebels released a video where they hit and possibly shot down a Saudi
F-15
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
in
Saada province. In the video a R-27T air to air missile adapted for surface to air use was launched, appearing to have successfully hit a jet. As in the video of the previous similar hit recorded on 8 January, the target, while clearly hit, did not appear to be downed. Saudi forces confirmed the hit, while saying the jet safely landed at a Saudi base. Saudi official sources confirmed the incident reporting that it happened at 3:48 pm local time after a surface-to-air defense missile was launched at the fighter jet from inside Saada airport.
Operators
Current operators
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– Ordered 300 missiles in 2019 & 800 in 2020 for Su-30MKI & MiG-29UPG aircraft. R-27R1/ER1 and R-27T1/ET1 variants.
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Former operators
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* (all given to West German Air Force in 1990)
* (all given to the Polish Air Force with MiG-29s in 2004)
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* (passed on to successor states except , and )
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* //Serbia and Montenegro
See also
*
List of missiles
Below is a list of missiles, sorted alphabetically into large categories and subcategories by name and purpose.
Other missile lists
Types of missiles:
* Conventional guided missiles
** Air-to-air missile
** Air-to-surface missile
** Anti-rad ...
*
R-77
The Vympel NPO R-77 missile (NATO reporting name: AA-12 Adder) is a Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. It is also known by its export designation RVV-AE. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRA ...
;Similar weapons
*
AIM-7 Sparrow
*
Aspide
Aspide (the Italian name for the asp) is an Italian medium range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile produced by Selenia (then by Alenia Aeronautica, now a part of Leonardo S.p.A.). It is provided with semi-active radar homing seeker. It is ...
*
Super 530
*
PL-11
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
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External links
Р-27ГосМКБ «Вымпел» » Управляемые авиационные ракеты «воздух-воздух»
{{DEFAULTSORT:R027 (Air-To-Air Missile)
Anti-radiation missiles of Russia
Anti-radiation missiles of the Soviet Union
Air-to-air missiles of Russia
Air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union
Cold War air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union
Vympel NPO products
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s