R-77
R-77
The Vympel NPO R-77 missile (NATO reporting name: AA-12 Adder) is a Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. It is also known by its export designation RVV-AE. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.
R-77
The R-77 was marked by a severely protracted development. Work began in the 1980s, but was not completed before the Soviet Union fell. For many years, only the RVV-AE model was produced for export customers. Production was further disrupted when the Russo-Ukrainian War resulted in a Ukrainian arms embargo against Russia, severing supply chains. The Russian Aerospace Forces finally entered the R-77-1 (AA-12B) into service in 2015. It was subsequently deployed by Su-35S fighters in Syria on combat air patrols. The export model of the R-77-1 is called RVV-SD.
Development
Work on the R-77 began in 1982 by „Molnija OKB“ in Ukrainian SSR. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the R-77 (Izdelie 170) missiles were produced in Kyiv's "Artem" plant. It represented Ukraine's and later also Russia's first multi-purpose missile for tactical and strategic aircraft for fire-and-forget use against aircraft ranging from hovering helicopters to high-speed, low-altitude aircraft. Gennadiy Sokolovski, general designer of the Vympel Design Bureau, said that the R-77 missile can be used against medium and long range air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-54 Phoenix, as well as SAMs such as the Patriot. The munition has a laser-triggered proximity fuze and an expanding rod warhead that can destroy targets of various sizes. It can be used against cruise missiles and precision-guided munitions (PGMs). First seen in 1992 at the Moscow Airshow (MAKS) 1992, the R-77 was immediately nicknamed Amraamski by Western journalists. The basic R-77 is known as the izdeliye 170, while the export variant is known as the izdeliye 190 or RVV-AE. The R-77 and RVV-AE have a range of 80 km (50 mi). Vympel did not have adequate funding during the 1990s and the first part of the following decade to support further evolution of the R-77, either for the Russian Air Force or the export market. The basic version of the R-77 is not thought to have entered the Russian Aerospace Forces inventory in significant numbers.
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