Vietnam's defense industry is making steady progress into the high-tech field with research and development of a new generation of air defense missile systems.
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| Over the years, Vietnam's defense industry has achieved many successes in ensuring the supply and research and development of new weapons. In particular, our defense industry is steadily advancing into many areas of high-tech weapon research – notably, anti-aircraft missiles. (Image source: Air Defense and Air Force Museum) |
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| According to the Air Defense-Air Force Newspaper, the Air Defense-Air Force Engineering Institute is aiming to design and manufacture a short-range air defense missile system using P-13M air-launched missiles... Image source: Air Defense-Air Force Museum |
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| After the MiG-21s were retired, our air force certainly had a large surplus of P-13M or R-13M air-to-air missiles – a version of the Vympel K-13 missile. This type of missile was used very successfully during the war against the US, shooting down many modern fighter aircraft, including the B-52 "Flying Fortress" and the F-4 Phantom II fighter jet. (Image source: Airlines.net) |
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| Reusing P-13M missiles to convert them into air defense weapons is a reasonable option, significantly saving defense budgets, especially given the many difficulties our country still faces. (Image source: Airlines.net) |
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| The P-13M, also known as the K-13M, R-13M, or Object 380, is a modernized version of the Vympel K-13 short-range air-to-air missile. It was officially launched in 1974. (Image source: Airlines.net) |
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| The R-13M is considered equivalent to the US Navy's AIM-9G Sidewinder, featuring a new contact fuse, a more powerful engine for longer range and maneuverability, and an improved infrared seeker. (Image source: Wikipedia) |
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| According to some sources, the P-13M has a maximum range of 15km and a minimum range of 900m. It is equipped with an 11.3kg fragmentation warhead containing 5.3kg of TGAF-5 explosive (40% TNT, 40% RDX, and 20% aluminum fragments). Image source: Wikipedia |
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| In fact, Vietnam's approach of converting air-to-air missiles into air-to-ground missiles is not new. Several countries have previously adopted this method with great success. A prime example is the NASAMS short-range air defense missile system developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg and put into service in 1998. (Image source: Skandinavia.live) |
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| NASAMS uses the American-made AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-to-long-range air-to-air missile. A system consists of several NASAMS self-propelled launchers (each with 6 box-shaped launch tubes), an AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel fire control radar, and a command post. Image source: World Wide Military |
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| However, a unique characteristic of this weapon is that the range of air-to-air missiles when launched from the ground is always significantly shorter. The AIM-120 achieves a maximum range of 180km from the air, but its range is reduced to a maximum of only 25km when launched from the ground. (Image source: Modern Weapons) |
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| Besides NASAMS, the SPYDER air defense missile system that Vietnam recently imported from Israel also uses air-launched missiles. Image source: Wikipedia |
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| The SPYDER is equipped with two main types of missiles: Python-5 and Derby, both air-to-air missiles developed by Israel for its modern fighter jets. The Python-5 has an air range of up to 25km, while the Derby has a range of up to 50km; however, when fired from the ground, their range is only about 9-15km. (Image source: Rafael Advanced Defense System Ltd) |
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| For example, the MIM-72 Chaparral, developed by the US, also uses AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. This weapon served in the US military from 1969 to 1998 and was exported to many countries around the world. Image source: Wikipedia |
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| The AIM-9 has an air range of up to 35km; however, when deployed from the ground, its range is between 500 and 9,000m, at altitudes from 25m to 4,000m. Therefore, the Vietnamese P-13M, if fired from the ground, would likely only have a range of 5-7km. Firing from the ground is affected by air resistance and gravity, naturally consuming more fuel and significantly shortening the range. Image source: Alamy |
According to Kienthuc
