KUBINKA, Moscow region. Aug 17 (Interfax) - Tactical Missiles Corporation will demonstrate the RVV-MD2 new short-range air-to-air guided missile for the first time at the Army 2023 international military-technical forum, a spokesperson for the Vympel Design Bureau, the corporation's subsidiary, told Interfax.
"Despite its outward similarity with the previous-generation missile, this missile is a completely new development," the spokesperson said.
The missile "is equipped with a targeting system which differs drastically from that of the RVV-MD previous-generation missile," he said.
"It is the first short-range missile that uses an inertial guidance system designed to control the missile and stabilize it in its autonomous flight, as well as a data link that allows it to obtain in-flight updates of target coordinates provided by the launching aircraft. The target is intercepted by an upgraded infrared homing head with an enhanced jamming resistance ability," the spokesperson said.
The RVV-MD2 has been developed specially for the Sukhoi Su-57E advanced fifth-generation fighter jet and will be installed inside the plane's internal weapons bay, he said.
"In other words, the missile is inside the compartment, prior to launch the gate opens, the missile is moved forward on a special mechanism and can be fired. Thus, the missile heads toward the target relying on the coordinates provided by the aircraft and using the radio correction link. After that, the homing head locks on the target from a certain distance and the missile attacks it on its own, while the pilot can move on to other tasks. This missile use principle is called 'fire and forget'," the spokesperson said.
The placement of missiles inside the internal weapons bay positively impacts the plane's in-flight performance, because the missile does not cause any additional frontal resistance, he said. It also improves the concealment of weapons use. Another difference is the very tactic of using the missile, including its ability to hit targets at all angles, including the front and rear hemispheres, and to rotate 180 degrees.
Though the RVV-MD2 is fully digital, it retains all the best qualities of previous-generation missiles, including the R-73 missile, the spokesperson said.
The RVV-MD2 missile can strike airborne targets, such as fighter jets, attack planes, bombers, military-transport planes, and helicopters, at any time of the day or night, from any directions, against the Earth's background, and amid active maneuvers and countermeasures by an enemy, Tactical Missiles Corporation said. The RVV-MD2 has a range of up to 50 kilometers, its warhead weighs eight kilograms, and the missile's launch weight is up to 117 kilograms.