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1/The Vympel K-13 (aka R-3S or AA-2 Atoll), a Thread:
It was a heat seeker missile, basically a reverse engineered AIM-9 Sidewinder. The AIM-9 came in possession of the USSR in 1958 when a missile was lodged into a PLAAF MiG-17 without exploding during a dogfight with Sidewinder
It was a heat seeker missile, basically a reverse engineered AIM-9 Sidewinder. The AIM-9 came in possession of the USSR in 1958 when a missile was lodged into a PLAAF MiG-17 without exploding during a dogfight with Sidewinder
2/capable taiwanese F-86 Sabers. The Soviets rushed into production the K-13 in 1961, and the missile was widely used during the Vietnam War, where it performed pretty badly. In fact, pilots had to launch the missile directly in line behind the bandit and while not manoeuvering
3/over 2.5g. The small engagement envelope of the missile resulted in multiple false launches, creating a kill ratio of below 10% (comparable to the 9% of the AIM-7), when the Sidewinder had 15%. During the Middle East wars (1967 and 1973) the Egyptians and Syrians were largely
4/disappointed by the missile's performance, which was even worse than that in Vietnam, mainly due to the hot environment. The seeker failed to function in low altitude (most AA engagements took place there), confused by the the sand's heat and thas rendering the missile useless.
5/The estimated kill ratio of the K-13 during Six Day War, War of Attrition and Yom Kippur War is around 3%-5%. During the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqis purchased Matra R.550 Magic and AIM-9B Sidewinders (the latter from Jordan) for their MiG-21MFs, while the MiG-21bis and MiG-23
6/used mostly R-60s, overwhelming the unreliable K-13. Today, the K-13 is mostly in storage with a considerable number of countries, including Algeria, Syria, North Korea, Vietnam and China (the latter uses the PL-2 variant).
