Russia, decades later, resumed work on an air-launched short-range missile.
Moscow shakes off dust from a belated rocket, designed for close air combat […] There are signs that, that Russia is taking steps, designed to fill this gap in their air defense arsenal
– writes Western columnist Douglas Barry for the IISS think tank.
In his words, after almost 20 years of downtime Concern "KTRV", looks like, resumed work on a project to create a successor to the R-73 SAM.
The lack of advanced short-range missiles is a notable omission in the VKS missile arsenal., as well as a gap and a weak point in the export portfolio of KTRV
– thinks Douglas Barry, pointing, that the successor to the R-73 under the designation K-30 began to be created back in the mid-1980s as part of the development program for the MFI multipurpose front-line fighter. after 10 years of work were stopped.
Instead, the Air Force continues to rely on more modest improvements to the R-73 to meet growing demands for short-range missiles., and even they began to appear relatively recently
– author writes, explaining, that the modernization of the R-74M (or M1), having improved destruction capabilities and an increased detection range in the GOS, was presented only in 2016 year. Further version of the R-74M2, involving the replacement of infrared seeker, is in the final stages of testing.
A completely new creation should be the 300M product. However, already now the current R-74M1 missile in its export form RVV-MD "faces growing problems in traditional markets". China is armed with a much more powerful infrared-guided missile, PL-10, while India purchased [british rocket] ASRAAM for some of its non-Russian-made aircraft and is exploring the possibility of integrating it with the Su-30MKI.
Surely only a successor rocket will avoid a further reduction in market share
– concludes browser.
used photos:IISS website