Vietnam's Su-30MK2 carries R-77 missile for first time in combat
Vietnam National Defense Television Channel has just broadcast a report recording the training activity of switching to air defense fighter alert status at Regiment 935.
In reports published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) of Sweden, they only listed Vietnam's order of short-range air-to-air missiles using R-73 infrared seekers to equip Su-27 and Su-30MK2 fighters purchased from Russia.
However, in reality, images that have appeared in the press show that Vietnam's Flanker fighter jets, during air defense duty, in addition to R-73 missiles, also carry R-27R missiles using active radar seekers suspended under the wings.
Compared to the R-73 missile, the R-27R has a range of up to 130 km, speed of Mach 4 (compared to the R-73 rangejust30 km and Mach 2.5 speed), but the R-27 missile has the disadvantage of low maneuverability, only able to withstand a maximum overload of 8G.
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| Su-30MK2 fighter on air defense duty with R-73 and R-27R missiles. |
In addition to the two types of air-to-air missiles above, there have been many sources saying that Vietnam also has in its inventory the most modern missile of Russia, the R-77 (also known as RVV-AE), but there are no images to confirm the above information.
Compared to the R-27 missile, the R-77 has a maximum range of 90 km or up to 175 km in the R-77M1 version, a maximum speed of Mach 4, but its seeker is much more sensitive than the R-27 as well as superior maneuverability, up to 150 degrees per second.
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| Russian Vympel R-77 medium-range air-to-air missile. |
It was not until recently, in a report by Vietnam National Defense Television Channel, recording a training session on switching to an air defense fighter alert status at Air Force Regiment 935, that the image of the R-77 missile was officially revealed.
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| R-77 air-to-air missile (note the missile's head) equipped for Su-30MK2 fighter of Regiment 935. |
The above image once again confirms that the information that the "king cobra" Su-30MK2 of the Vietnam People's Air Force is equipped with the world's leading air combat weapons today, creating a significant advantage when performing air defense fighter missions.
It is currently unclear whether Vietnam's R-77 version is the basic type or the upgraded R-77M1 variant, but this is still very good news for military enthusiasts in the country to know that our Su-30MK2 (and Su-27) have reached comprehensive air combat capability.
The set of three air-to-air missiles including R-27, R-73 and R-77 will help the fighters of the Vietnam People's Air Force to choose weapons more flexibly when engaging different targets, ensuring the probability of destroying the target as well as saving ammunition at the optimal level.
