AA-1 Alkali

     Notes:  This was the first Russian air-to-air missile, and is debatable whether it was the first or second AAM to go into service in the world.  It was a rather clumsy arrangement; the early form of the missile is a beam-riding missile, with the missile homing on a coded radar beam instead of a standard radar lock-on.  The pilot must keep the missile and target in a rather narrow radar beam, and course corrections are transmitted directly to the missile by a radio link.  There were at least 6 variants of the Alkali, most can be identified by differing fin shapes; they also had different homing heads and warheads.  The last AA-1 was retired from Russian service by 1977, and most other countries soon thereafter, but they can occasionally be encountered under the wings of Third World Aircraft.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: In perhaps one of the most unexplainable engagements of the Twilight War, an Albanian MiG-17 managed to down a US F/A-22A Raptor using an AA-1E Alkali. 

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-1A

91 kg

Formidable

Beam Riding

Rear Aspect

$2248

AA-1B

91 kg

Formidable

Radar

All Aspect

$6232

AA-1C

91 kg

Formidable

IR

Rear Aspect

$4232

AA-1D

83.2 kg

Difficult

Radar

All Aspect

$6200

AA-1E

83.2 kg

Difficult

IR

Rear Aspect

$4448

AA-1F

83.2 kg

Difficult

Radar

All Aspect

$6320

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-1A

1700

2000

6000

C27  B75

22C

FRAG-HE

AA-1B

1700

1600

6800

C34  B80

22C

FRAG-HE

AA-1C

1700

1100

6800

C34  B80

22C

FRAG-HE

AA-1D

1700

1600

8000

C41  B94

22C

FRAG-HE

AA-1E

1700

1100

8000

C44  B94

22C

FRAG-HE

AA-1F

1700

1600

8000

C47  B100

22C

FRAG-HE

 

AA-2 Atoll

     Notes:  On 24 September 1958, an AIM-9B Sidewinder missile lodged in the tail of a Chinese MiG-17 without exploding.  This missile was taken to the then-Soviet Union and, based on this missile, the Russian's first successful air-to-air missile was developed, the AA-2 Atoll.  The missile was also developed into an early radar-homing weapon for all angle attacks.  

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Atoll was still in common use in Warsaw Pact countries, Third World nations, and China (where it is known as the PL-1) during the Twilight War. 

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-2

70 kg

Difficult

IR

Rear Aspect

$3,010

AA-2-2

70 kg

Difficult

Radar

All Aspect

$22,395

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-2

3960

1000

6500

C14  B50

11C

FRAG-HE

AA-2-2

3960

1200

8000

C14  B50

11C

FRAG-HE

 

AA-3 Anab

     Notes:  The AA-3 is an early Russian radar homing missile designed with a large warhead to shoot down bombers.  It is not a particularly accurate missile and it is vulnerable to countermeasures, but its explosions usually destroy an aircraft.  It is produced by China as the PL-2.

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-3A

275 kg

Difficult

Radar

All Aspect

$23,505

AA-3B

275 kg

Difficult

IR

Rear Aspect

$12,930

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-3A

4750

1200

19000

C98  B100

35C

HE

AA-3B

4750

1200

19000

C98  B100

35C

HE

 

AA-6 Acrid

     Notes:  This huge air-to-air missile was originally designed to be used by MiG-25 Foxbat to shoot down the US B-70 Valkyrie bomber.  (It was killed by Congress instead.)  The Acrid is so big because of the long-range rocket motor, the large radar kit, and because of the limitations of Soviet technology in the early 1960s when the AA-6 was designed.  Early AA-6 missiles didn’t have look-down capability, but the “C” model rectified this.  The “B” model is an IR version of the Acrid, but the range is much more limited, again due to the technology of the time.  MiG-25s are still sometimes seen with Acrids, but they have mostly been replaced with later technology.

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-6A

800 kg

Difficult

Radar

All Aspect

$13352

AA-6B

748 kg

Difficult

IR

Rear Aspect

$10308

AA-6C

748 kg

Average

Radar

All Aspect

$11952

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-6A

6795

3200

50000

C150  B175

53C

FRAG-HE

AA-6B

6795

3200

15500

C150  B175

53C

FRAG-HE

AA-6C

6795

2145

50000

C180  B194

53C

FRAG-HE

 

AA-7 Apex

     Notes:  This is one of the standard air-to-air missiles on Russian aircraft, used primarily by the MiG-23, MiG-27, and its variants.  There are four variants: The AA-7A basic radar homing missile, the AA-7B heat-seeker, and the AA-7C and AA-7D with extended range. 

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-7A

320 kg

Difficult

Radar

All Aspect

$23,740

AA-7B

320 kg

Difficult

IR

Rear Aspect

$13,280

AA-7C

320 kg

Average

Radar

All Aspect

$23,750

AA-7D

320 kg

Average

IR

Rear Aspect

$13,280

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-7 R-23R

4750

1500

35000

C73  B85

26C

HE

AA-7 R-23T

4750

800

15000

C73  B85

26C

HE

AA-7 R-24R

4750

1500

50000

C85  B90

26C

HE

AA-7 R-24T

4750

800

21000

C85  B90

26C

HE

 

AA-8 Aphid

     Notes:  This former standard Pact heat-seeking missile was still in widespread use in the Twilight War, both by the Pact forces and by Third-World countries.  It is a wide-aspect missile, able to guide from the side or rear of the target aircraft. 

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-8A

65 kg

Average

IR

Side Aspect

$13,010

AA-8B

65 kg

Average

IR

All Aspect

$15,010

AA-8C

65 kg

Average

IR

All Aspect

$15,010

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-8A

2600

800

10000

C19  B62

13C

FRAG-HE

AA-8B

2600

800

13600

C23  B68

13C

FRAG-HE

AA-8C

2600

400

13600

C26  B75

13C

FRAG-HE

 

AA-9 Amos

     Notes:  This missile was designed to arm MiG-31 interceptors, but was later used on MiG-25s.  It was designed to be state-of-the-art (at the time, 1980), used to attack bombers and attack aircraft using low-level penetration techniques, cruise missiles, helicopters, and high-speed aircraft like the SR-71 (a task at which it was never successful).  It was also the Soviet Union’s first active homing missile, able to guide itself once it closes to 48 kilometers using its own radar. 

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-9

490 kg

Average

Active Radar

All Aspect

$61008

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-9

7645

4800

160000

C190  B200

50C

FRAG-HE

 

AA-10 Alamo

     Notes:  This missile was designed to form the main part of the MiG-29s air-to-air armament.  It is a modular missile allowing for upgrades as well as different seeker heads and warheads to be placed on the same basic missile airframe.  There are five variants of the Alamo, two heat-seeking, two radar-homing, and one active homing missile.  The AA-10 is a high-agility missile able to be used in close in dogfights as well as long-range intercepts.

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-10A

254 kg

Average

IR

All Aspect

$10460

AA-10B

253 kg

Average

Radar

All Aspect

$8660

AA-10C

350 kg

Average

Radar

All Aspect

$9136

AA-10D

343 kg

Easy

IR

All Aspect

$19000

AA-10E

349 kg

Easy

Active Radar

All Aspect

$49136

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-10A

6795

1070

80000

C70  B118

28C

FRAG-HE

AA-10B

6795

1600

70000

C70  B118

28C

FRAG-HE

AA-10C

6795

1600

130000

C70  B120

28C

FRAG-HE

AA-10D

6795

1050

120000

C80  B130

28C

FRAG-HE

AA-10E

6795

1600

130000

C80  B130

28C

FRAG-HE

 

AA-11 Archer

    Notes:   This is the standard heat-seeking missile of Russian forces and allies.  The missile is resistant to jamming (one level harder to decoy) and is very maneuverable.  Three versions are available, the standard AA-11A, the longer range AA-11B, and the still longer range AA-11C.  It is an all-angle missile, able to engage from any angle, instead of just the rear of the target. 

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-11A

96 kg

Average

IR

All Aspect

$15270

AA-11B

105 kg

Average

IR

All Aspect

$15320

AA-11C

115 kg

Easy

IR

All Aspect

$15385

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-11A

3665

600

20000

C38  B88

19C

FRAG-HE

AA-11B

3665

600

30000

C44  B94

19C

FRAG-HE

AA-11C

3665

600

40000

C44  B94

19C

FRAG-HE

 

AA-12 Adder

     Notes:  This weapon is colloquially known as the AMRAAMski, so similar it is to the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.  It is known for its maneuverability. It is an active radar missile, guiding itself by means of a radar seeker in its head. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This missile was greatly feared by Western pilots during the Twilight War.  Luckily, this weapon was not put into production until just prior to the Twilight War and the factories were put out of operation early, so the AMRAAMski was rarely encountered.

     Merc 2000 Notes: Budget cuts meant that the AMRAAMski was always in short supply.

Weapon

Weight

Accuracy

Guidance

Sensing

Price

AA-12

175 kg

Easy

Active Radar

All Aspect

$25,400

 

Weapon

Speed

Min Rng

Max Rng

Damage

Pen

Type

AA-12

6500

1500

100000

C60  B112

23C

FRAG-HE