Weapon Stats:

V3P (AA-11/R-73) Archer

Description:

All-aspect infra-red air-to-air missile with active radar proximity fuze.

This Russian air-to-air missile revolutionised the short-range dogfight AAM market when it first appeared in the 1980s. With its high agility incorporating thrust-vetoring, excellent off-boresight performance and intergration with a helmet-mounted sight, no Western AAM came close.

As a result of the ineffectiveness of the V3B missile and delays in service entry of the new V3C,  the SAAF bought 18 of these missiles for evaluation and decided to test the Russian missile by intergrating it on the Mirage F1 in 1993. During these tests, SAAF pilots fired missiles from MiG-29 aircraft at MiG-21 drones. Despite the success of the project, the SAAF and Armscor decided to continued with the V3C and the V3S which were inferior missiles!

Range:
Minimum: 0.3 km (0.19 miles)
Maximum: 15 km (9.3 miles)

Images: