Ukraine partners with the West to produce improved Russian missiles
Despite hardware assistance from the West, Ukrainian aviation and air defence systems are still dominated by Soviet and Russian weaponry. Consequently, companies from Europe and the United States are helping Ukraine develop new versions of the R-27 missiles, used by the MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft, and the S-300 missiles for air defence systems.
The US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd J. Austin, revealed the work on the potential production of these Russian missiles in American and European factories. This move comes in response to the situation where – despite incurred losses and recent deliveries of F-16 aircraft – the backbone of Ukraine's military aviation still comprises planes designed in the Soviet Union.
These planes' primary armament consists of R-27 air-to-air missiles. Although aerial combat between opposing aircraft is rare in Ukrainian skies, these missiles are used, among other things, to destroy cruise missiles and drones. As a result, their stockpile is being depleted.
R-27 missiles from Western factories
According to the Defence 24 service, there have already been suggestions to integrate Western missiles with Ukrainian aircraft. However, initiating the production of Russian aviation missiles was considered a better solution.
They will be fully compatible with Ukrainian aircraft, and thanks to modern improvements (the R-27 was originally designed in the 1970s), they may prove to be better than the original.
The R-27 is a medium-range air-to-air missile (its Western equivalent is the AIM-120 AMRAAM). The two main variants of the missile, R-27R and R-27T, differ in their guidance methods – radar and thermal, respectively.
The missile measures just over 4 metres and weighs 255 kilograms, of which 39 kilograms is the warhead. The R-27 travels up to Mach 4 and has a range of 70 to 80 kilometres. To extend its range, the missile can follow a ballistic curve rather than a straight trajectory toward the target.
Western version of the S-300 missiles
In addition to aviation missiles, the West will also initiate the production of air defence missiles for the S-300 systems. Currently, despite losses, after more than two years of war, Ukraine still operates around 170 launchers of this system, but the problem is the depleting stock of missiles.
The solution to this problem – similar to the R-27 missiles – is to start their production in the West, possibly in an improved version.
