Drafted — not technically validated
Record revision 1 · A tiny 44 kg Soviet dogfight missile, among the lightest and most agile in the world when it appeared in the 1970s.
Real-world weapon as described in public sources. Weights and dimensions change with the fins, fuzes and variant fitted; the data plate names the variants its figures describe, and differences are noted beside the number they affect. The record describes the weapon; it is not a guide to employing it.
Molniya (now Vympel) R-60 short-range air-to-air missile, NATO AA-8 "Aphid" · R-60, AA-8 Aphid
- Type
- Lightweight short-range infrared-homing air-to-air missile [1]
- Origin
- Soviet Union; developed for the MiG-23 [1]
- In service
- Series production from 1973 [1]
- Weight
- 44 kg (97 lb) [1]
- Dimensions
- Length 2.09 m; diameter 120 mm; wingspan 390 mm [1]
- Warhead or payload
- 3 kg (6.6 lb) tungsten expanding-rod warhead [1]
- Guidance
- Infrared homingHoming GlossaryNavigation: Flying to a station by keeping the bearing pointer at the top of the instrument without correcting for wind. In a crosswind it flies a curved path.Weapons: The technique whereby a mobile station directs itself, or is directed, towards a source of primary or reflected energy, or to a specified point. with an uncooled Komar seeker [1]
- Motor
- Solid-fuel rocket [1]
- Fuzing
- Proximity fuzeProximity fuze GlossaryWeapons: A fuze that detonates before impact when any substantial object is detected at a predetermined distance from it. [1]
- Range
- About 8 km (5 mi) at best [1]
- Carried by
- MiG-21MiG-21 AircraftThe small delta-wing Mach 2 fighter: the most-produced supersonic jet in history., MiG-29MiG-29 Fulcrum AircraftA twin-engine Soviet fighter with a helmet sight and R-73 missiles, built to counter the F-15 and F-16., Su-25Su-25 Frogfoot AircraftAn armoured Soviet close air support jet; the Su-25T adds Vikhr anti-tank missiles. and L-39ZAL-39 Albatros AircraftThe Warsaw Pact's standard jet trainer, with armed light-attack versions. [1]
- MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27, MiG-31, Su-24 and the Mi-24 helicopter, among others [1]
Small and agile
The R-60 was developed for the MiG-23 from the late 1960s and went into series production in 1973. At 44 kg it was one of the lightest and most agile air-to-air missiles in the world when it appeared. [1] It steers with rudders at the nose; a second set of small canards ahead of them, called destabilisers, makes the rudders work better at high angles of attack. The price of the small size is a small warhead: 3 kg of tungsten expanding rod. [1] Its seeker is an uncooled infrared design. [1]
Use
The R-60 has been widely exported and is still in service. [1] On 20 April 1978 two were fired at Korean Air Lines Flight 902, which had strayed into Soviet airspace; one hit and tore off part of the left wing, and the airliner made an emergency landing on a frozen lake. [1] In the 1998–2000 Eritrean–Ethiopian War, the R-60 and the R-73R-73 "Archer" OrdnanceThe Soviet dogfight missile that a pilot could aim with a helmet sight at targets up to 40° off the nose. accounted for all but two of the air-to-air kills. [2]
Sources
- R-60 (missile). Wikipedia (secondary source). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-60_(missile) (accessed 2026-10-27).
- R-73 (missile). Wikipedia (secondary source). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-73_(missile) (accessed 2026-10-27).
Wikipedia articles are secondary sources and can change; they are cited with the date they were read. NAVEDTRA training manuals and budget justification exhibits are official US publications, but each describes the weapons in service when it was written.