The RP-23 ''Sapfir'' ( NATO codename: ''High Lark)'' was a

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 ...

look-down/shoot-down A radar system has look-down/shoot-down capability if it can detect, track and guide a weapon to an air target that (as seen by the radar) is silhouetted against the ground. Problem and naming Airborne intercept radar relying exclusively on time ...

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 ...

system. It was developed by Phazotron specifically for the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

(VVS) new

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

and used in conjunction with the Vympel R-23 (NATO codename: AA-7 ''Apex'')

beyond visual range A beyond-visual-range missile (BVR missile) or beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) is an air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges around or beyond. This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or ...

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 ...

Variants

;Sapfir-23L The initial production version, the Sapfir-23L (L - ''Lyogkiy'' or lightweight) pulse radar was first carried on the MiG-23 Edition 1971. Using a twist-

Cassegrain antenna In telecommunications and radar, a Cassegrain antenna is a parabolic antenna in which the Antenna feed, feed antenna is mounted at or behind the surface of the concave main parabolic reflector dish and is aimed at a smaller Convex mirror, convex ...

in diameter, it used a continuous-wave target illuminator channel to provide guidance for the

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 ...

(SARH) R-23R missile. However, as an interim variant it was considered unreliable and lacked the look-down/shoot-down capability of later Sapfir radars; it could only guide missiles onto targets flying above .Mladenov (2016), Ch. 3 - ''MiG-23 Edition 1971''Mladenov (2016), Ch. 3 - ''MiG-23 Radars'' ;Sapfir-23D Equipping the MiG-23M, the improved Sapfir-23D had look-down/shoot-down capability and could guide both R-23R and R-23T missiles.Mladenov (2016), Ch. 3 - ''MiG-23M/MF - The Most Numerous Variant'' It was not a true

Doppler radar A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object's motion has altered the fre ...

but used the less effective "envelope detection" technique common to

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

radars of the 1960s. The technology was reportedly taken from the F-4J AN/AWG-10 radars captured in Vietnam in 1967. The Sapfir-23D had a detection range of approximately 45km against a high-flying, fighter-sized target.Vasconcelos, 2-20 All Sapfir-23Ds were eventually updated to the definitive Sapfir-23D-III during field upgrades. ;Sapfir-23D-III The definitive version of the first-generation Sapfir-23s, all MiG-23Ms were fitted with the Sapfir-23D-III starting in 1975. Working in the 3cm wavelength and with a carrier frequency of about 9

GHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

, it had a detection range of about 45km against a high-altitude fighter-sized aircraft during a

head-on engagement In military aviation, a head-on engagement is one where a surface-to-air missile system or jet aircraft engages another aircraft while the target aircraft is flying towards the attacker. This makes engagement with infrared homing missiles more di ...

, and between 10 and 20km in look-down mode during a

tail-chase engagement A tail-chase engagement (or rear-aspect engagement) is one where a surface-to-air missile system or jet aircraft engages another aircraft while the target aircraft is flying away from the attacker. This makes engagement with cannons or infrared h ...

. Against bomber-size targets these ranges were 55km and 15 to 20km respectively. However, in look-down/shoot-down mode targets flying slower than would not be detected. ;Sapfir-23E A re-designation of the Sapfir-23D-III carried on the export-specific MiG-23MF. Those which were sold to

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

clients had downgraded performance and lacked

electronic counter-countermeasures Electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) is a part of electronic warfare which includes a variety of practices which attempt to reduce or eliminate the effect of electronic countermeasures (ECM) on electronic sensors aboard vehicles, ships and a ...

(ECCM).Vasconcelos, 2-22 ;Sapfir-23ML (N003) Equipping the newer MiG-23ML, the Sapfir-23ML was an improvement upon the Sapfir-23D-III, being more reliable and with superior look-down/shoot-down capability.Mladenov (2016), Ch. 3 - ''The Refined MiG-23ML'' It had a maximum detection range of 65km against a fighter-sized target at high altitude, reduced to 25km in look-down mode.Vasconcelos, 2-23 ;Sapfir-23MLA (N003) An improved version of the Sapfir-23ML with better range, reliability, ECCM and the capability to guide the updated R-24R/T air-to-air missiles. It also had a frequency spacing feature that prevented multiple radars from interfering with each other's operation, allowing for group-search patterns to be conducted. ;Sapfir-23MLAE (N003E) A downgraded version of the N003 carried on MiG-23MLDs exported to Syria.Mladenov (2016), Ch. 3 - ''Newly-Build MiG-23MLD Derivatives for Export'' It was also carried on export versions of the MiG-23ML. The N003E had no ability to detect or track targets in a tail-chase engagement, relying on the fighter's IRST instead. It's field of scan was +/- 30° to either side of the fighter's nose and +/- 6° in elevation.Cooper, "MiG-23ML Flogger-G" ;Sapfir-23MLA-II (N008) The ultimate version of the RP-23, the N008 was carried on the MiG-23MLD used by the VVS. Weighing , it had an average emitting power of 1 kW and peak output of 60 kW. It featured improved detection range, reliability, ECCM, look-down/shoot-down over rough terrain, and a close air combat mode with vertical-scan capability. Search range against high-altitude targets was 75km for a bomber-sized target and 52km for a fighter-sized target; in look-down mode it was 23km for both target types, except for fighter-sized targets in a head-on engagements in which case it was 14km. Tracking range against high-altitude targets was 52km for bomber-sized and 39km for fighter-sized targets; in look-down mode it was 23km for bombers, while for fighter-sized targets it was 15km in tail-chase or 9km in head-on engagements. The scan field was limited to 60° x 6°, although it could be steered up to 60° left and right to expand the search area.Mladenov (2016), Ch. 3 - ''MiG-23MLD - The Ultimate Fighter Flogger'' ;Sapfir-23P (N006) This derivative of the Sapfir-23ML was designed specifically for the MiG-23P

interceptor Interceptor may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Interceptor'', a British drama series on BBC One * Interceptor (game show), ''Interceptor'' (game show), a British television game show that ran during 1989 * Interc ...

, although initial models were unreliable and required additional maintenance.Mladenov (2016), Ch. 3 - ''The MiG-23P Specialised Interceptor'' It had slightly improved look-down/shoot-down, including against

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

References

Bibliography

* * *{{cite book, last=Vasconcelos, first=Miguel, title=Civil Airworthiness Certification: Former Military High-Performance Aircraft, publisher=Stickshaker Pubs, year=2013 Aircraft radars Soviet military radars Phazotron products