P-60

The rocket is designed for aerodynamic "duck" . In order to increase the efficiency of aerodynamic control surfaces at large angles of attack, small destabilizers are used to straighten the incoming flow, which are fixed on the outer surface of the body of the homing head . On the surface of the front of the third compartment are installed in pairs of kinematically connected aerodynamic control surfaces.

Trapezoid wings of a large sweep are mounted on the engine block (fifth compartment). Their small elongation with sufficient for the required maneuverability of the area provides compact placement of the rocket on the carrier. Along the rear edges of the wings are roller .

Engine

The solid propellant PRD-259 engine is located in the feed, fifth from the beginning of the missile compartment and has a variable in time thrust diagram with a more powerful starting impulse. Engine runtime - 3-5 seconds ^[5] .

Management System

The R-60 missile is equipped with a thermal (infrared) homing head ^[4] “Komar” (OGS-60TI) having an uncooled photodetector developed by the Kiev enterprise “Arsenal” (chief designer S. P. Alekseenko). The Gomar "Komar" (TGS-60), located in the first compartment of the rocket, has a gyro-inertial stabilizer that provides target angle adjustment to 12 ° according to information from the aircraft’s onboard sighting system (radar or heat finder), which indicates the azimuth and target position vertically with angles up to 120 degrees. Accompanying the target within ± 30 ... 35 ° is carried out with an angular velocity of up to 35 ° / s. ^{[4] The} GSN TGS-60 did not allow the attack of aircraft in the forward hemisphere or attack cruise missiles and helicopters.

Replacing the R-60M GOS with the GOS Komar-M (OGS-75) with a cooled photo-receiver increased the sensitivity of the GOS and allowed the use of the R-60M rocket in close maneuvering combat to the forward hemisphere of targets. New GOS has large target designation angles. This seriously increased the combat capabilities of the carriers, for example, the estimated probability of hitting the target with one rocket at close range for the R-60M is estimated at 0.9 ^[5] , while the same indicator for the predecessor R-60 is 0.5 (a salvo of two missiles - 0 , 7-0.8) ^[6] .

Fuse

The R-60 of various modifications is equipped with non - contact fuses - optical “Strizh” or radar “Kolibri” (“Kolibri-M”), - located at the beginning of the fourth compartment. The fuse range is 5 meters.

Warhead

The warhead rod type is located in the second compartment. Non-contact blasting provides damage to the target within a radius of 2.5 m (according to calculations, in the technical literature, approximately 20 radii of attack elements are taken); confident destruction is achieved with a direct hit. Defeat by cut - rods. Finished striking elements were made of tungsten wire.

Mount to carrier

R-60 is used with the APU-60-1 launcher with one guide weight of 32 kg and with the APU-60-2 with two guides, weighing 34 kg.

Media

The R-60 missile was put into service in 1973 and can be used by almost all types of fighter aircraft, including the MiG-21, MiG-23M, MiG-25PD, MiG-29, MiG-29S, MiG-31, Su-17, Su- 24M, Su-25T and Yak-38 . At the moment, this rocket is practically not used due to the small practical flight range - up to 10-12 km (in the forward hemisphere).

• R-60K - modification of the R-60 with a non-contact radar fuse "Hummingbird". Delivered for export. The radius of operation - 5 meters;
• UZR-60 (abbr. From the training-recording with the registrar , also designated as UZ-62 ) - the training version of the P-60 without a wing and engine.
• R-60M (“product 62M”) is a modification of the R-60, equipped with a more sensitive cooled GOS “Komar-M” (OGS-75 or TGS-75) with large target targeting angles for tracking a high-mobility target and more powerful rod warhead ( The warhead) weighing 3.5 kg (0.5 kg heavier than the R-60) and, accordingly, extended by 42 mm warhead compartment. Development began almost in parallel with the adoption of the basic version of the P-60. Delivered for export. The operation radius of the optical fuse is 5 meters.
  • R-60MK (“product 62M”) is a modification of the R-60M equipped with an upgraded Kolibri-M radar fuse with better noise immunity. Delivered for export.
  • R-60MU - educational version of the R-60M, mostly similar to the UZR-60.
•   RL-2 Praћka is a self - propelled anti-aircraft guided missile equipped with a starting engine.

Performance characteristics

In 1978, the Soviet MiG-23M fighter using R-60 missiles shot down an Iranian military transport helicopter CH-47 "Chinook" , which violated the border. ^[7] In the Iran-Iraq war, Iraqi fighters shot down an unknown number of Iranian aircraft and helicopters using R-60 missiles. In one of the battles, the Iraqi MiG-21bis fighter shot down an Iranian interceptor of the fourth generation F-14A Tomcat using a R-60 missile. With the help of the P-60, at least one more F-14A was shot down in 1984, then the Iraqi MiG-23ML won aerial victory.

The R-60 missile was used by Syrian pilots in battles with Israeli aircraft over Lebanon in 1982 . It is reported about a number of cases of a rocket hitting accurately into the nozzles of the engines of enemy aircraft (which, however, is possible only if the fuse malfunctions, since the explosion is carried out at a distance from the target). According to skywar.ru, only one such hit was reliably confirmed, after which the Israeli F-15D returned to the base and was repaired. ^{[5] [8]} According to ACIG, the K- ^{15 was} reliably confirmed using ACIG missiles and shot down by the F-15D and RF-4E.

In 1988, an Iraqi MiG-29 fighter shot down another Iraqi aircraft of the same type with a R-60 missile ^[9] .

In 2002, an Israeli UAV was shot down by a Syrian MiG-23ML fighter, probably with the help of an R-60 missile. ^[ten]

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• Angelsky R., Korovin V. Domestic air-to-air guided missiles. Part 2. Medium and long range missiles // Equipment and armament. - 2006. - № 2 .
• Markovsky V. Perov K. Soviet air-to-air missiles. - M .: Exprint, 2005. - 47 p. - ("Exprint: Aviation Fund").
• Markovsky V., Perov K. Rocket finds the target. Soviet air-to-air missiles (Rus.) // Wings of the Motherland . - M. , 1995. - № 9 . - pp . 23-25 . - ISSN 0130-2701 .
• Shirokorad, A. B. The history of aircraft armament. Short essay / Under the general ed. A. E. Tarasa. - Minsk: Harvest, 1999. - 560 p. - (Library of military history). - 11,000 copies - ISBN 985-433-695-6 .
• Gordon Yefim. Soviet / Russian Aircraft Weapons. Since World War Two. - Hinkley, England: Midland Publishing, 2004. - 207 p. - ISBN 1-85780-188-1 .

• R-60 (Russian) . Aviation Encyclopedia " Corner of the sky ." The appeal date is February 11, 2012. Archived May 19, 2012.
• R-60M (Rus.) . Aviation Encyclopedia " Corner of the sky ." The appeal date is February 11, 2012. Archived May 19, 2012.
• AVIATION. Military Russia. Electronic reference books .