The Kaliningrad K-8 (R-8) ( NATO reporting name AA-3 '

Anab Anab (, ''Anav'') is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. It is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as one of the cities in the Judaean Mountains from which Joshua expelled the Anakim. In the Hebrew Bible Anab is mentioned in Joshua 11:21 -- :"And ...

') was a medium-range 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, ...

for

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are c ...

use.Gordon, Yefim. ''Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons''. Midland. 2004. The missile was developed by OKB-339/NII-339 (currently Phazotron NIIR). The infrared seeker was developed by TsKB-589 GKOT (currently TsKB Geofizika), who also developed the seeker for 9M31 missile of

9K31 Strela-1 The 9K31 ''Strela-1'' (russian: 9К31 «Стрела-1»; en, arrow) is a highly mobile, short-range, low altitude infra-red guided surface-to-air missile system. Originally developed by the Soviet Union under the GRAU designation 9K31, it is ...

History

The K-8's development began in 1955, known as R-8 in service. Like most Soviet air-to-air missiles, it was made with a choice of semi-active radar homing or

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

seeker heads. The original missile was compatible with the Uragan-5B

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

used on the

Sukhoi Su-11 The Sukhoi Su-11 (NATO reporting name: Fishpot-C) was an interceptor aircraft used by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Design and development The Su-11 was an upgraded version of the Sukhoi Su-9 ('Fishpot') interceptor, which had been developed ...

and several developmental aircraft from Mikoyan-Gurevich. It was upgraded to R-8M (better known as R-98) standard in 1961, giving the SARH weapon the capability for head-on intercepts. In 1963 it was further upgraded to the R-8M1, making it compatible with the RP-11 Oriol-D radar of the Sukhoi Su-15 and Yakovlev Yak-28P. Subsequent development led in 1965 to R-8M2, more commonly called R-98, with longer range and improved seekers, compatible with the upgraded RP-11 Oryol-M ("Eagle") radar. The final variant, introduced from 1973, was the R-98M1 (NATO 'Advanced Anab') with better countermeasures resistance and longer range, matched to the Taifun-M radar of the Su-15TM and Yak-28PM interceptors. The R-98M1 remained in service through the 1980s, being withdrawn with the last Su-15 'Flagon' interceptors. A variant using the seeker heads of the K-13, giving better dogfight capability, was developed in 1960 as the K-88, but it did not enter service. An inert training version was also developed, designated UR-8M. The R-98 brought down

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)The flight number KAL 007 was used by air traffic control, while the public flight booking system used KE 007 was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alas ...

on September 1, 1983.

Operators

;: Soviet Air Defence Forces

Specifications (R-98MT / R-98MR)

* Length: (R-98MT) 4 m (13 ft 1 in); (R-98MR) 4.27 m (14 ft) * Wingspan: 1300 mm (4 ft 3 in) * Diameter: 280 mm (11 in) * Launch weight: (R-98MT) 272 kg (600 lb); (R-98MR) 292 kg (642 lb) * Speed: Mach 2 * Range: 23 km (14.4 mi) * Guidance: (R-98MT) infrared homing; (R-98MR) semi-active radar homing * Warhead: 40 kg (88 lb) blast fragmentation

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *

External links

*
R-8
on the site of aviation encyclopaedia «Sky corner» ( airwar.ru) *
R-98
on the site of aviation encyclopaedia «Sky corner» ( airwar.ru) {{DEFAULTSORT:K008 Air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union Cold War air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union Phazotron products Military equipment introduced in the 1960s