The Bisnovat R-4 (NATO reporting name

NATO reporting name

NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...

 AA-5 'Ash') was an early Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 long-range air-to-air missile

Air-to-air missile

An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...

. It was used primarily as the sole weapon of the Tupolev Tu-128 interceptor, matching its RP-S Smerch ('Tornado') radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 (although some reports suggested the MiG-25 sometimes carried it as well).

History

Development of the R-4 began in 1959

1959 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1959:- Events :* The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is formed.* The United States Department of the Navy merges its Bureau of Aeronautics and Bureau of Ordnance to form a new Bureau of Naval Weapons....

, initially designated as K-80 or R-80, entering operational service around 1963

1963 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1963:- Events :* Violating a 1959 requirement that all aircraft operating from the aircraft carrier Minas Gerais - which never has operated aircraft - belong to the Brazilian Air Force, the Brazilian Navy establishes an air group of its own for the...

, together with Tu-128. Like many Soviet weapons, it was made in both semi-active radar homing

Semi-active radar homing

Semi-active radar homing, or 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 detector of a radar signal – provided by an external ...

 (R-4R) and infrared-homing (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

1973 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1973:- Events :*Don Taylor attempts round-the-world trip in his homebuilt Thorp T-18, ended by a spate of really bad weather between northern Japan and the Aleutian Islands. His next attempt in the summer of 1976 is successful.-January:* U.S...

 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.

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
  Mach number
  Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
  
  
• Range: (R-4T) 2–15 km (9.35 mi); (R-4R) 2–25 km
• Guidance: (R-4T) infrared
  Infrared
  Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
  
   homing; (R-4R) semi-active radar homing
  Semi-active radar homing
  Semi-active radar homing, or 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 detector of a radar signal – provided by an external ...
  
  
• Warhead: 53 kg ( 116.6 lb) high explosive

External links

• К-80, Р-4 - description in Russian, with pictures.