Russian radar seeker design bureau AGAT has produced a prototype of a variant of the 9B1103M active radar seeker used in the Vympel R-77 (AA-12 Adder) , suitable for use in air-to-air and surface-to air-missiles. The system is likely to be fitted to Vympel's upgraded R-77M missile.
Although sharing the same antenna as the previous 9B1103M, the new variant (which has no designation to differentiate it from the old version) has slight differences in the antenna control mechanism for longer life.
The new seeker head has a new digital computer with an operating speed of 100 million operations per second, compared to the 1 million operations per second of the old computer. The seeker weighs 10kg (22lb), 4.5 kg less than the previous seeker, and has a a lock-on range of 25km (45nm).
The upgraded seeker is aimed at unspecified export customers as well as the Russian air force, but there is no domestic funding support at present, says AGAT designer Anatoly Sukhov. The system is yet to be test flown, but has undergone laboratory testing.
Source: Flight International