New Short-Range Missiles for Su-57 Outpace US Developments

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's fifth-generation Su-57 fighter has been equipped with new short-range missiles, the RVV-MD2, which outperform similar American munitions, representatives of the developer company, JSC GosMKB Vympel, said in an article for the "Arsenal Otechestva" (lit. Arsenal of the Fatherland) magazine.

"It is a fact that Russia's development of the fifth generation of 'air-to-air' missiles, now in industrial production, is five to ten years ahead of similar developments in the United States," the report stated.

The authors emphasized that, unlike the United States, Russia has managed to develop and test these missiles quickly, and the stage of their introduction into service has already begun.

The RVV-MD2 can be installed in the internal fuselage compartments of the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter, the specialists explained.

The RVV-MD2 is the first short-range missile to use an inertial guidance system to control and stabilize the missile during autonomous flight, the magazine's editor-in-chief, Viktor Murakhovskiy, pointed out.

The inertial system allows the munition to autonomously determine its coordinates in space without relying on external references or signals.

In addition, Murakhovskiy noted that the RVV-MD2 is equipped with a radio correction line, which allows the aircraft to refine target coordinates from onboard, increasing the likelihood of hitting enemy aircraft.

According to the editor-in-chief of "Arsenal Otechestva," another advantage of the new missile is its multi-element dual-band infrared homing head with improved anti-jamming capabilities.

The new missile is capable of attacking targets from all angles, including from the rear. In other words, the RVV-MD2 is launched forward, maneuvers in the air and engages the enemy aircraft located behind the Su-57, Murakhovsky explained.