The Bisnovat (later Molniya) R-4 (

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

AA-5 'Ash') was an early

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

long-range

air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel roc ...

. It was used primarily as the sole weapon of the

Tupolev Tu-128 The Tupolev Tu-28 (NATO reporting name Fiddler) is a long-range interceptor aircraft introduced by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The official designation was Tu-128, but this designation was less commonly used in the West. It was the largest a ...

interceptor, matching its RP-S ''Smerch'' ('Tornado')

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

History

Development of the R-4 began in 1959, initially designated as K-80 or R-80, entering operational service around 1963, together with Tu-128. Like many Soviet weapons, it was made in both

semi-active radar homing Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive dete ...

(R-4R) and

infrared-homing Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is ra ...

(R-4T) versions. Standard Soviet doctrine was to fire the weapons in SARH/IR pairs to increase the odds of a hit. Target altitude was from 8 to 21 km. Importantly for the slow-climbing Tu-128, the missile could be fired even from 8 km below the target. In

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

the weapon was modernized to R-4MR (SARH) / MT (IR) standard, with lower minimal target altitude (0.5–1 km), improved seeker performance, and compatibility with the upgraded RP-SM ''Smerch-M'' radar. The R-4 survived in limited service until 1990, retiring along with the last Tu-128 aircraft.

Operators

; *

Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western ...

Specifications (R-4T / R-4R)

* Length: (R-4T) 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in); (R-4R) 5.45 m (17 ft 10 in) * Wingspan: 1300 mm (4 ft 3 in) * Diameter: 310 mm (12.2 in) * Launch weight: (R-4T) 480 kg (1,058 lb); (R-4R) 492.5 kg (1,086 lb) * Speed: Mach 1.6 * Range: (R-4T) 2–15 km (9.35 mi); (R-4R) 2–25 km * Guidance: (R-4T)

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

homing; (R-4R)

* Warhead: 53 kg ( 116.6 lb) high explosive

References

* *

External links

К-80, Р-4
- description in Russian, with pictures. {{Russian and Soviet military designation sequences R-004 Cold War air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union Vympel NPO products Military equipment introduced in the 1960s