Ukraine To Sell R-27 Air-To-Air Missiles To India

An article by DSA Team    1 Comment

The Indo-Ukrainian Defence ties are expected to get a tremendous boost as Ukraine inches closer towards selling its R-27 air-to-air missiles to India. The deal for R-27 missiles is in the final phase and is expected to be approved shortly by Ukraine. The IAF’s fighter planes such as MiG-29 and Su-30 MKI will be capable of launching the R-27 missile.

The R-27 is a medium to long range air-to-air missile which can be used to intercept and combat all types of fighter aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. The latest model features a range of over 100 kilometers and upgraded seekers. The new infra-red seeker for the R-27 extends its detection range from 18 to 30 kilometers. The R-27 missile, produced by Ukrainian firm Artem, comes in infrared-homing (R-27T), semi-active-radar-homing (R-27R), and active-radar-homing (R-27AE) versions and is similar to the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile. The R-27 air-to-air missile was originally designed by Vympel, a Russian missile design bureau, in the 1980s which is now part of Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corporation that produces successor weapons to R-27 missiles. Russian firms still supply some components for R-27 missile. Ukraine, on the other hand, had inherited nearly a third of the old Soviet Union’s armament plants when USSR was split up. The R-27 is a medium-to-long range missile implying that it can play in both WVR and BVR ranges, like the MICA missile variants. The range of the various versions of the R-27 missile is different. The R-27R has a range of 50-60 kilometers while R-27EM, which is likely to be used on MiG-29K, is a naval variant with a range of up to 170 kilometers under optimal conditions.