View source for R-60 (missile)

{{more footnotes|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox weapon
|is_missile      = yes
|name            = Vympel R-60<br /><small>AA-8 "Aphid"</small>
|image           = Sukhoi SU-15TM 2008 G4.jpg
|image_size      = 300
|caption         =
|origin          = Soviet Union
|type            = Lightweight [[Air-to-air missile#Short-range air-to-air missile|short-range air-to-air missile]]
|used_by         =
|manufacturer    = [[Vympel NPO|Vympel]]
|unit_cost       =
|propellant      =
|production_date =
|service         = 1970–present
|wars            = [[Iran–Iraq War]]<br />[[South African Border War]]<br />[[Lebanese Civil War]]<br />[[Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
|engine          = [[Solid-fuel rocket]] engine
|engine_power    =
|weight          = {{convert|44|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|length          = {{convert|2090|mm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|height          =
|diameter        = {{convert|120|mm|abbr=on}}
|wingspan        = {{convert|390|mm|abbr=on}}
|speed           = [[Mach number|Mach]] 2.47
|vehicle_range   = {{convert|8|km|mi|lk=on}}
|ceiling         =
|altitude        = {{convert|20000|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|filling         = {{convert|3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|guidance        = [[Infrared homing]]<ref>{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.istpravda.com.ua/articles/2012/05/4/81648/ Spring of 1978. How USSR downed over Karelia the Korean "Boeing". (The homing device was produced at the Kiev Arsenal factory.)]</ref>
|detonation      = [[Proximity fuze|proximity]]
|launch_platform = [[MiG-21]], [[MiG-23]], [[MiG-25]], [[MiG-27]], [[MiG-29]], [[MiG-31]], [[Su-15]], [[Su-17]], [[Su-20]], [[Su-22]], [[Su-24]], [[Su-25]], [[Yak-28]], [[Yak-38]], [[Yak-141]], [[Mi-24]], [[BAE Systems Hawk]], [[Aero L-39 Albatros|L39ZA]], [[J-22 Orao]]
}}
The '''Molniya''' (now '''Vympel''') '''R-60''' ([[NATO reporting name]]: '''AA-8 "Aphid"''') is a short-range lightweight [[infrared homing]] [[air-to-air missile]] designed for use by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[fighter aircraft]]. It has been widely [[export]]ed, and remains in service with the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] and many other nations.

==History==
The R-60 was initially developed for the [[MiG-23]]. Work began on the weapon, under the bureau designation '''K-60''' (''izdeliye'' 62), in the late 1960s. Series production began in 1973. It entered service with the designation '''R-60''' (NATO reporting name '''"Aphid-A"''').

When introduced, the R-60 was one of the world's lightest and most agile air-to-air missiles, with a launch weight of {{convert|44|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. It has [[infrared guidance]], with an uncooled ''Komar'' (Mosquito) seeker head. Control is by forward [[rudder]]s with large rear fins. The distinctive [[canard (aeronautics)|canards]] on the nose, known as "destabilizers," serve to improve the rudders' efficiency at high [[angle of attack|angles of attack]]. The R-60 uses a very small, {{convert|3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, [[tungsten]] [[expanding-rod warhead|expanding-rod]] warhead. 

According to Russian sources,{{which|date=October 2013}} practical engagement range is about {{convert|4000|m|yd|abbr=on}}, although "brochure range" is {{convert|8|km|mi|abbr=on}} at [[high altitude]]. The weapon was one of the most agile air-to-air missiles until the advent of thrust vectored missiles like the [[R-73 (missile)|R-73]] and [[AIM-9X]]. The R-60 can be used by aircraft maneuvering at up to 9''[[Standard gravity|g]]'' against targets maneuvering at up to 8''g''. A tactical advantage is the short minimum range of only {{convert|300|m|yd|abbr=on}}.

[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] practice was to manufacture most air-to-air missiles with interchangeable IR-homer and [[semi-active radar homing]] (SARH) seekers – however, an SARH version of the R-60 was never contemplated due to the small size of the missile which makes a radar-homing version with an antenna of reasonable size impractical.

An inert training version, alternatively designated '''UZ-62''' and '''UZR-60''', was also built.

An upgraded version, the '''R-60M''' (NATO reporting name: '''"Aphid-B"'''), using a [[nitrogen]]-cooled seeker with an expanded view angle of ±20°, was introduced around 1982. Although its seeker is more sensitive than its predecessor, the R-60M has only limited [[all-aspect]] capability. Minimum engagement range was further reduced, to only {{convert|200|m|yd|abbr=on}}.<ref>Mladenov, Alexander, "Air-to-air missiles for the fighter 'Flogger'", ''International Air Power Review'' vol. 14, 2004, pp. 90–91.</ref> The proximity fuzes had improved resistance to [[Electronic countermeasure|ECM]], although both optical and radar fuzes remained available. The export version with the ''Kolibri-M'' Radar-fuze are designated '''R-60MK''' (NATO reporting name: '''"Aphid-C"''').<ref>{{Cite web|title=R-60MK|url=http://astronautix.com/r/r-60mk.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625025825/http://astronautix.com/r/r-60mk.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 June 2017|access-date=2021-12-08|website=astronautix.com}}</ref> The R-60M is {{convert|42|mm|in|abbr=on}} longer, and has a heavier, {{convert|3.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}} [[continuous-rod warhead]], increasing launch weight to {{convert|45|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. In the R-60M the continuous rod warhead now uses {{convert|1.6|kg|lb|abbr=on}} of [[depleted uranium]] rods for enhanced fragmentation.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20011123182020/http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/du-watch/us_gov_about_du.htm "Health Risks of Using Depleted Uranium," Venik's Aviation, 2001.]</ref>

The inert training version of the R-60M was the '''R-60MU'''.

[[File:R-60.jpg|thumb|Two R-60 missiles mounted on a [[Mikoyan MiG-29K|MiG-29K]]]]

Since 1999, a modified version of the weapon has been used as a [[surface-to-air missile]] (SAM) as part of the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] [[M55A3B1]] towed [[anti-aircraft artillery]] system. It has also been seen carried on a twin rail mount on a modified [[M53/59 Praga]] armored [[Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon|SPAAG]] of (former) Czechoslovakian origin. These missiles have been modified with the addition of a first stage booster motor, with the missile's own motor becoming the sustainer. This was done in lieu of modifying the missile's motor for ground launch, as in the case of the US [[MIM-72 Chaparral]].

The current Russian dogfight missile is the [[R-73 (missile)|R-73]] (AA-11 "Archer"), but large numbers of R-60 missiles remain in service.

==Operational history==
===Soviet Union===
On 20 April 1978, two R-60 missiles were fired at [[Korean Air Lines Flight 902]] after a navigational error had caused it to fly into Soviet airspace. One missile hit, detaching 4 meters of the left wing and killing 2 passengers. The plane made an emergency landing on a frozen lake.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|title=Весна 1978-го. Як СРСР збив над Карелією корейський "боїнг". ФОТО|trans-title=Spring 1978. How the USSR shot down a Korean Boeing over Karelia. PHOTO|date=2012-05-04|language=uk|url=http://www.istpravda.com.ua/articles/2012/05/4/81648/|work=[[Ukrayinska Pravda]]|access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref>

On 21 June 1978, a PVO MiG-23M flown by Pilot Captain V. Shkinder [[1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown|shot down two Iranian Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters]] that had trespassed into Soviet airspace, one helicopter being dispatched by two R-60 missiles and the other by cannon fire.

===Syria===
Several Russian reports affirm the R-60 was widely used during the [[1982 Lebanon war]], and it was the main weapon used by the [[Syria]]ns in air-to-air combat. Some Russian reports affirm that the R-60 was the most successful air-to-air missile deployed by the Syrians in Lebanon over the [[Bekaa Valley]].<ref>[http://backfiretu-22m.tripod.com/id11.html SyAAF MiG-23 combat record.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116115958/http://backfiretu-22m.tripod.com/id11.html |date=16 January 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airwar.ru/history/locwar/bv/mig23/mig23.html|title=-23|access-date=23 December 2014}}</ref> According to Israeli reports, the vast majority of air-to-air combat consisted of visual range dogfights, and this has been also confirmed by Russian sources. The Russian reports also mentioned that several [[F-4 Phantom II|F-4s]], [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16s]], and [[IAI Kfir]]s were destroyed by R-60s among other aircraft. Israel claims some F-4s and Kfirs were lost in 1982, but lists [[surface-to-air missile]]s as responsible for all Israeli aircraft losses. However, on 9 June 1982, a Syrian MiG-21 heavily damaged an [[F-15]] using an R-60, but the Israeli aircraft was able to make it back to its base and was subsequently repaired.<ref name=":0" />

===Iraq===
On 11 August 1984, during the [[Iran–Iraq War]], an [[Iraqi Air Force]] [[MiG-23ML]] shot down an Iranian [[F-14A]] piloted by Hashem All-e-Agha using an R-60.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|2018|p=36}}</ref>

Iraqi MiG-23s damaged two EF-111A Raven by R-60 (missile)s during the Gulf War.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Iraqi Air-to-Air Victories since 1967 - acig.org | url=http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=47 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111151554/http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=47 | archive-date=2009-11-11 | access-date=2025-02-15}}</ref>

On 19 January 1991, during the [[Gulf War]], Iraqi air force pilot Jameel Sayhood claimed to have shot down a [[Royal Air Force]] [[Panavia Tornado]] with an R-60 missile. However, the Royal Air Force claimed that the aircraft crashed on 22 January 1991 on a bombing mission in Ar Rutba.

===Angola/Cuba===
On 27 September 1987, during [[Operation Moduler]], two [[Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force|Cuban FAR]] [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23|MiG-23MLs]] intercepted Captain Arthur Piercy's [[Dassault Mirage F1|Mirage F1CZ]], which was damaged by an R-60 fired head-on by Major Alberto Ley Rivas. The explosion destroyed the aircraft's [[drogue parachute|drag chute]] and damaged the hydraulics. Piercy was able to recover to AFB Rundu, but the aircraft overshot the runway. The impact with the rough terrain caused Piercy's [[ejection seat]] to fire, but he failed to separate from the seat and suffered major spinal injuries.<ref name="vlamgat">{{cite book |title=Vlamgat: The Story of the Mirage F1 in the South African Air Force |last=Lord |first=Dick |author-link=Dick Lord |year=2000 |publisher=Covos-Day |isbn=0-620-24116-0}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/urrib2000/ArticPiercy.html |archive-url= http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20140907054816/http://www.geocities.com/urrib2000/ArticPiercy.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 September 2014 |title=Piloto SAAF derribado por MiG-23 cubano |access-date=20 December 2008}}</ref>

===India===
In 1999, an [[Indian Air Force]] [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]] used an infrared-homing R-60 to bring down a Pakistani Navy [[Breguet Atlantic]] which intruded over Indian airspace. Part of the wreckage was found in contested territory, this incident is widely known as the [[1999 Pakistan Breguet 1150 Atlantic shootdown|Atlantic incident]].

===Ukraine===
In 2024, the R-60 has seen some minor use by the [[Armed Forces of Ukraine]] during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion]], being reportedly adapted for the surface-to-air role and mounted on [[Sea Baby]] naval drones. The R-60M has also been mounted on [[Su-25]]s, possibly for shooting down drones.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Newdick |first1=Thomas |title=Ukrainian Drone Boats Now Armed With Adapted Air-To-Air Missiles |url=https://www.twz.com/news-features/ukrainian-drone-boats-now-armed-with-adapted-air-to-air-missiles |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=The War Zone |date=6 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Newdick |first1=Thomas |title=Ukraine Situation Report: Russian Air Defense Systems Struck In Crimea |url=https://www.twz.com/news-features/ukraine-situation-report-russian-air-defense-systems-struck-in-crimea |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=The War Zone |date=17 April 2024}}</ref>

==Operators==
[[File:R-60 operators.png|thumb|400px|Map with R-60 operators in blue and former operators in red]]

===Current operators===
*{{ALG}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=344}}
*{{ANG}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=472}}
*{{AZE}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=181}}
*{{BLR}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=183}}
*{{CUB}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=429}}
*{{ERI}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=490}}
*{{ETH}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=492}}
*{{GEO}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geo-army.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39&Itemid=9&lang=en|title=Fighter SU-25KM (Scorpion)|access-date=23 December 2014|archive-date=27 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527062053/http://www.geo-army.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39&Itemid=9&lang=en|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{IND}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=270}}
*{{IRN}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=356}}
*{{KAZ}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=187}}
*{{LBA}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=371}}
*{{PRK}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=284}}
*{{PER}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=449}}
*{{POL}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=127}}
*{{RUS}} − Used by the Air Force and Naval Aviation{{sfn|IISS|2024|pages=198,200}}
*{{SRB}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=134}}
*{{SDN}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=522}}
*{{SYR}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=387}}
*{{TKM}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=209}}
*{{UKR}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=213}}
*{{UZB}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=216}}
*{{VIE}}{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=326}}

===Former operators===
*{{flag|Afghanistan|1980}}<ref name="Lennox">{{cite book |editor1-last=Lennox |editor1-first=Duncan |title=Jane's Air-Launched Weapons |date=1997 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |location=Surrey |edition=35th |chapter=AA-8 'Aphid' (R-60)}}</ref>
*{{BUL}}<ref name="Lennox" />
*{{CHN}}<ref name="Lennox" />
*{{CRO}} − R-60 and R-60MK{{sfn|IISS|2024|page=80}}
*{{CSK}}<ref name="SIPRI">{{cite web |title=Arms transfer database |url=https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/TransferRegister |website=SIPRI |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |access-date=3 August 2024}}</ref> − Passed on to successor states.
*{{CZE}}<ref>{{harvnb|Gordon|Komissarov|2019|page=372}}</ref>
*{{DDR}}<ref>{{harvnb|Gordon|Komissarov|2019|page=446}}</ref>
*{{FIN}} − Was used on the [[MiG-21]]bis<ref name="SIPRI" />
*{{GER}}<ref name="Lennox" />
*{{HUN}}<ref name="Lennox" />
*{{flag|Iraq|1963}}<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|2018|p=23}}</ref>
*{{MYS}}<ref name="Lennox" />
*{{ROU}}<ref name="Lennox" />
*{{SVK}}<ref name="Lennox" />
*{{USSR}}<ref>{{harvnb|Gordon|Komissarov|2019|page=193}}</ref> − Passed on to successor states.
*{{flag|South Yemen}}<ref name="SIPRI" />
*{{YEM}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |title=Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 2: Aerial Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1994-2017 |date=2018 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |location=Warwick, UK |isbn=978-1-911628-18-7 |page=67 |ref=none}}</ref>
*{{YUG}}<ref name="Lennox" /> − Passed on to successor states.
*{{ZWE}}<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Weinert|Hinz|Lepko|2011|p=214}}</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category|Molniya R-60}}
;Citations
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |title=MiG-23 Flogger in the Middle East, Mikoyan i Gurevich MiG-23 in Service in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Syria, 1973-2018 |date=2018 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |location=Warwick |isbn=978-1-912-390328}}
* {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Weinert |first2=Peter |last3=Hinz |first3=Fabian |last4=Lepko |first4=Mark |title=African MiGs, Volume 2: Madagascar to Zimbabwe |date=2011 |publisher=Harpia Publishing |location=Houston |isbn=978-0-9825539-8-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Yefim|title=Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two|year=2004|location=Hinckley, England|publisher=Midland Publishing|isbn=1-85780-188-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Yefim |last2=Komissarov |first2=Dmitriy |title=Mikoyan MiG-23 & MiG-27 |date=2019 |publisher=Crécy Publishing |location=Manchester |isbn=978-1-91080-931-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=International Institute for Strategic Studies |title=The Military Balance 2024 |date=2024 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-040-05115-3 |language=en |ref={{SfnRef|IISS|2024}} |author1-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies }}
* {{cite book |last1=Mladenov |first1=Alexander |title=Su-25 'Frogfoot' Units in Combat |date=2015 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-4728-0567-6}}
{{refend}}

{{Russian and Soviet Aircraft Ordnance}}
{{Russian and Soviet missiles|AAM}}
{{Russian and Soviet military designation sequences}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:R060}}
[[Category:Air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Cold War air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Vympel NPO products]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Short range air-to-air missiles]]