R-27 (air-to-air missile)

The Vympel R-27 (Russian: Вымпел Р-27; NATO reporting nameAA-10 Alamo) is a family of air-to-air missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the late Cold War-era. It remains in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces, air forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States and air forces of many other countries as the standard medium-range air-to-air missile despite the development of the more advanced R-77.

The R-27 is manufactured in infrared-homing/IR (R-27T, R-27ET) and semi-active radar homing/ SARH (R-27R, R-27ER) versions. The R-27 family missiles are produced by both Russian and Ukrainian manufacturers. The R-27 missile is carried by the Mikoyan MiG-29 and the Sukhoi Su-27, Su-30 and Su-35 family fighters. The R-27 missile is also license-produced in China, though the production license was bought from Ukraine instead of Russia. Plans to produce an active radar homing/ ARH version called the R-27EA were cancelled in 1989.