A Su-35S fighter jet of the Russian Aerospace Forces firing a R-37M missile during a test. (Russian Ministry of Defense)
India has signed a contract worth roughly $1.2 billion with Russia to purchase a large batch of Russian R-37M long-range air-to-air missiles, the South China Morning Post reported on May 1.
The deal covers about 300 missiles, with deliveries expected to begin within 12–18 months, according to the report, which noted that the missiles will be used on Su-30MKI fighter jets.
With over 250 Su-30MKIs in service, the fighter jet — produced locally under license from Russia’s Sukhoi — is considered the main pillar of the Indian Air Force (IAF). India proposed several plans to domestically upgrade its Su-30MKI fleet. With the R-37M deal, Russia will likely be directly involved in the process.
The R-37M was developed by the Tactical Missiles Corporation to engage all types of aerial targets day and night and under all conditions, including hostile electronic countermeasures, from a very long range.
Its range is reported to be between 200 and 400 kilometers, and it is capable of hypersonic speed — more than Mach 5 — in the final stage of its flight.
The missile utilizes a complex guidance system. An inertial navigation system, built on high-precision laser gyroscopes, guides the missile for most of the flight path to the target. If the target suddenly changes course, the missile trajectory can be corrected from the launching fighter jet via a secured data link.
The active homing radar seeker 9B-1103M-350 is activated in close proximity to the target causing its warhead to explode and to avoid detection until too late.
During the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the R-37M proved to be highly effective, scoring some of the world’s longest air-to-air kills.
The R-37M will allow the IAF to counter the threat posed by Pakistan’s J-10 and JF-17 fighter jets which performed very well during last year’s conflict, using Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missiles with a range of over 200 kilometers. India’s French-made Rafale fighter jets performed poorly, and at least one was even shot down.
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