Drafted — not technically validated
Record revision 1 · The Soviet dogfight missile that a pilot could aim with a helmet sight at targets up to 40° off the nose.
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.
Vympel R-73 short-range air-to-air missile, NATO AA-11 "Archer" · R-73, AA-11 Archer
- Type
- Short-range, all-aspect infrared-homing air-to-air missile [1]
- Origin
- Soviet Union; Vympel [1]
- In service
- Operational in 1982 and formally in service from 1984 [1]
- Weight
- 105 kg (231 lb) [1]
- Dimensions
- Length 2.93 m; diameter 165 mm; wingspan 510 mm [1]
- Guidance
- All-aspect 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 a cryogenically cooled seeker that sees targets up to 40° off the missile's centreline; it can be cued by a helmet-mounted sight [1]
- Motor
- Solid-fuel rocket [1]
- Range
- Minimum about 300 m; maximum aerodynamic range nearly 31 km at altitude, far less at low level or against a target running away [1]
- Carried by
- 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-27Su-27 Flanker AircraftA large, long-range Soviet air superiority fighter with ten missile stations., Su-33Su-33 Flanker-D AircraftThe carrier-based Flanker: canards, folding wings and a ski-jump launch from Admiral Kuznetsov., Su-25Su-25 Frogfoot AircraftAn armoured Soviet close air support jet; the Su-25T adds Vikhr anti-tank missiles. and the J-11J-11A AircraftChina's licence-assembled Su-27SK, with new displays and the R-77 missile. [1]
- MiG-31, Su-30, Su-35 and other Russian fighters [1]
Looking off the nose
The R-73 replaced the R-60R-60 "Aphid" OrdnanceA tiny 44 kg Soviet dogfight missile, among the lightest and most agile in the world when it appeared in the 1970s.. Work began in 1973, the missile was operational in 1982 and it formally entered service in 1984. [1] Its cooled infrared seeker can detect targets up to 40° off the missile’s centreline, and the pilot can point it with a helmet-mounted sight, designating a target just by looking at it. [1] That combination let a Soviet pilot shoot at an aircraft well off his nose without first pointing his fighter at it. Minimum engagement range is about 300 m and maximum aerodynamic range nearly 31 km at altitude. [1]
In service
The R-73 arms the 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. and the Su-27Su-27 Flanker AircraftA large, long-range Soviet air superiority fighter with ten missile stations. family. [1] In February 1996 a Cuban MiG-29UB shot down two Brothers to the Rescue Cessna 337s over international waters with R-73s. [1] In the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 both Ethiopian Su-27s and Eritrean MiG-29s fired it, and in 2008 a Russian MiG-29 destroyed a Georgian Hermes 450 drone over Abkhazia with one. [1] Later versions, the R-74 family, look up to 75° off the nose. [1]
Sources
- 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.