A Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet has shot down a Russian Banderol cruise missile at very low altitude. The interception involved an R-60 air-to-air missile, a Soviet weapon considered obsolete.
The mission was carried out by a pilot in a modernized MiG-29MU1. According to the Telegram channel “Sonyashnyk”, the pilot had only a few seconds to decide whether to retreat or try to destroy the missile to protect the area.
The R-60 entered service in 1973 and uses an infrared homing head to track targets. Before the war, Ukraine considered it largely obsolete, as it had more modern missiles at its disposal, such as the R-73.
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However, the war has depleted Ukraine’s missile reserves, while aircraft are increasingly being used to intercept Shahed and Geran-2 cruise missiles and drones. For this reason, Ukraine is also bringing old weapons back into use.
In recent years, the R-60 has been modernized by replacing analog components with digital systems and significantly improving the infrared sensor. Work has also been done to adapt it for use by ground systems.
The target, the S8000 Banderol missile, is being increasingly used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine.
It can reach around 620–650 km/h and, in the air-launched version, has a range of up to 500 kilometers and carries a warhead with around 50 kilograms of explosives. /Telegraph/