Bad news for Pakistan, China, Bangladesh as Putin offers India weapon that can destroy..., the name is....
China, Bangladesh as Putin offer India Missile that can destroy..., Russia's R-37M missile to...
New Delhi: In a significant development amid the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, the Vladimir Putin-led Russian government has reportedly offered India the R-37M missile. The moot idea behind this is aimed at equipping the fleet of Su-30MKI fighter jets with this missile. The R-37M is a hypersonic long-range air-to-air missile.
The R-37M has a range of 300 to 400 kilometers and a maximum. Known by the NATO name AA-13 Axehead, the R-37M has a speed of Mach 6, making it one of the most dangerous beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles in the world. This means it has the capability to strike enemy targets in the air without needing to visually track them. Here are some of the key features of R-37M Missile: The R-37M Missile was developed by Russia's Vympel Design Bureau
R-37M Missile is designed to neutralize high-value airborne targets such as Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), tanker aircraft, and enemy fighter jets.
R-37M Missile is a jettisonable rocket booster enables the missile to achieve an extended range of 300–400 km (160–220 nautical miles)
R-37M Missile's hypersonic speed of up to Mach 6 (around 7,400 km/h)
The speed of the missile allows it to strike fast-moving targets quickly, making it difficult for enemies to evade.
The missile weighs approximately 510 kilograms and is equipped with a sophisticated guidance system, which includes mid-course updates, active radar homing, and terminal-phase navigation.
The R-37M can be deployed on several fighter jets including the Su-30, Su-35, Su-57, MiG-31BM, and MiG-35. Russia has offered it for India's Su-30MKI fighter jets, which are planned for upgrades.
The R-37M missile represents a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the R-37, with enhancements in range, speed, and guidance systems. It features a jettisonable rocket booster that allows it to achieve a range of 300 to 400 kilometers [160-220 nautical miles], making it one of the longest-reaching air-to-air missiles in service globally.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
39 minutes ago
- Mint
Ukraine's drone strike is a warning—for the US
By now Americans know about Ukraine's remarkable drone strike on Sunday that damaged as many as 40 aircraft deep inside Russia as strategic bombers sat like ducks in a row on military bases. One urgent lesson beyond that conflict is that the U.S. homeland is far more vulnerable than most Americans realize. The details about Ukraine's daring operation are few, but Kyiv managed to sneak cheap drones across the border and use them to destroy costly Russian military assets. The bang for Ukraine's buck was considerable. You don't have to be a fan of thrillers to imagine a similar scenario in the United States. 'Could those have been B-2s at the hands of Iranian drones flying out of containers, let alone Chinese?" military analyst Fred Kagan asked this week. The U.S. strategic bomber fleet is small (about one-third the size it was in the Cold War) and concentrated at a handful of bases. See the aerial photo flying across social media of B-52 bombers lined up at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The story is similar for fighters and capital assets like aircraft carriers. One lesson is that President Trump's planned Golden Dome missile-defense shield isn't the boondoggle it's portrayed to be in the press. The headlines are preoccupied with space-based interceptors. But the U.S. is exposed to many threats besides ballistic missiles—from drones and spy blimps to cruise missiles launched off submarines. The bipartisan Strategic Posture Commission warned in 2023 that the U.S. needs better integrated air and missile defenses against 'coercive attacks" from Russia and China, and such an attack could come from conventional weapons. In a crisis over the Taiwan Strait, Xi Jinping might threaten the Commander in Chief: Stay out of the Western Pacific or you never know what might happen to your pricey F-22s in Alaska. That's one reason the U.S. needs a layered missile shield that exploits new technology and existing systems like the Patriot. Israel's recent success shooting down drones with lasers shows that innovative and affluent societies can meet new threats. President Trump deserves credit for elevating missile defense as a presidential priority. But the U.S. has lost some basic muscle memory since the Cold War on living in a dangerous world. A prescient report this year from Thomas Shugart and Timothy Walton at the Hudson Institute warned about highly vulnerable U.S. airfields, especially in the Western Pacific. For the new B-21 bomber, the Air Force is looking at shelters 'akin to sunshades," Messrs. Shugart and Walton write, that could leave the aircraft 'exposed to threats, including lethal" unmanned aerial vehicles. 'Not building approximately $30 million" hardened aircraft shelters 'for over-$600 million B-21 bombers is an unwise decision that could endanger the US's ability to strike globally," they write. Such shelters always end up being a low budget priority compared with airplanes and missiles, and the message here is that defense spending can't stay at 3% of the economy and provide the security Americans expect. The bill moving through Congress puts up $25 billion for Golden Dome. But a national air defense won't be built by a one-time cash infusion, and the Administration is ducking a sustained defense buildup to mollify its fiscal hawks. Americans are accustomed to wars fought far from home by a force of volunteers, but everyone in the U.S. will be on the front lines of the next conflict. Political leaders could be doing much more to educate the country about this vulnerability, rather than boasting that the U.S. military is the best it has ever been. It isn't. Ukraine did the U.S. a favor by destroying bombers of a U.S. adversary—and sending America a wake up call about its own complacency.
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Satellite images show scale of damage from Ukraine's attack on Russian airbases
New satellite images have shown that a drone attack carried out by Ukraine destroyed and badly damaged Russia's strategic bombers. The attack, carried out over the weekend, targeted air bases deep inside Russian to Reuters, Ukraine launched around 117 drones from close-range containers, targeting at least four different Russian air bases. Drone footage confirmed by Reuters shows several planes being struck at two of these of the key locations was Belaya air base in Irkutsk, Siberia. It faced extensive damage at this base, according to satellite imagery that Capella Space shared with Reuters. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which are able to identify ground features even through clouds, provided these images. Experts were able to identify destroyed aircraft even though the images were grainy and in black and white. John Ford, a research associate at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies, stated, "Based on the debris visible, comparison to recent satellite images and released drone footage from Telegram posted to Twitter, I can see the destruction of several aircraft." Satellite image of the Belaya airfield, after a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Russian military airfields. (Photo: Reuters) advertisementFord confirmed that the SAR images showed what looked like the wreckage of two Tu-22 Backfire bombers, long-range jets used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine. He also said that four Tu-95 heavy bombers were either destroyed or heavily CLAIMS OPERATION DAMAGED 41 PLANESFootage from another airfield, Olenya base in Murmansk, showed two bombers burning and a third being hit by a huge explosion. Reuters verified that the bombers appeared to be Russian Defence Ministry said Ukraine had targeted airfields in Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. It claimed that air defences were able to halt the attacks in some regions, but not in Murmansk and Irkutsk, where several planes caught officials have launched an investigation into the attacks. Dmitry Medvedev, a top Russian security leader, warned, "Retribution is inevitable," indicating that Russia will respond harshly. Ukraine's Security Service chief, Vasyl Maliuk, is seen examining an airfield map at an undisclosed location. (Photo: Reuters) Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency, the SBU, took responsibility for the operation, calling it "Spider's Web." They claimed that 41 Russian aircraft were hit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the operation, calling it "absolutely brilliant."advertisementOn Tuesday, Ukraine's military updated its report on Russian losses. Initially, they reported 12 aircraft destroyed, but later the number increased to 41. "After processing additional information from various sources and verifying it ... we report that the total (Russian) losses amounted to 41 military aircraft, including strategic bombers and other types of combat aircraft," said the Ukrainian to the SBU, the damage from the operation is estimated at $7 billion. They said that 34% of Russia's cruise missile-carrying bombers at its main airfields were to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), this attack could compel Russia to change its airspace defenses. "The operation will force Russian officials to consider redistributing Russia's air defence systems to cover a much wider range of territory and possibly deploying mobile air defence groups that can more quickly react to possible similar Ukrainian drone strikes in the future," ISW drone attack was one of Ukraine's most effective and extensive operations, since inputs from ReutersMust Watch
India.com
4 hours ago
- India.com
Why Russia's S-400 Failed To Counter Ukrainian Drones; What India Got Right With Its Layered Air Defense
New Delhi: On June 1, 2025, the world witnessed an eye-opening breach of Russia's military defenses. Launched from inside hidden containers, Ukrainian drones penetrated more than 4,000 kilometers deep into Russian territory and hit multiple airbases in an operation code named 'Spider Web'. At least 40 Russian aircraft were destroyed. It assault left global military analysts stunned. But more shocking than the attack was the failure of Russia's vaunted S-400 and S-500 air defense systems. These high-end platforms, touted as some of the best in the world, could not stop a fleet of low-flying and autonomous drones. Why? The S-400's Blind Spot Russia's failure was not purely a technological one, it was strategic. The S-400 is built to intercept high-altitude threats such as enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. But it falters against low-flying and slow-moving drones that often fly below radar coverage. Add to that the lack of low-level air defense, a unified command system and real-time threat intelligence and even the most advanced system becomes vulnerable. In essence, the S-400 was looking too far, while the real danger was up close. Having observed global battlefield trends and drawn key lessons from conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war, India has adopted a more adaptive strategy. Instead of relying solely on high-tech imports like the S-400, India has built a layered and integrated air defense model. This strategy was tested and validated during the recent Operation Sindoor, where India not only thwarted a multi-pronged drone and missile attack from Pakistan but also launched a precise counterstrike that neutralised enemy radars, HQ-9 systems and terrorist camps. The Game-Changer At the centre of India's new defense posture lies Akashteer, a real-time and automated air defense control system developed indigenously. It is more than a radar. It is a command nerve center that connects the Air Force, the Army and the Navy on a single grid. Akashteer tracks, prioritises and assigns aerial threats to the most suitable interceptor, be it a missile, drone or gun, within seconds. Its key advantages include 360-degree coverage against drones, aircraft and cruise missiles, faster decision-making and automated threat response, seamless coordination among all armed services and reduced risk of friendly fire, Old Meets New One of the unsung heroes of Operation Sindoor was the upgraded L-70 anti-aircraft gun. Originally introduced decades ago, it has now been modernised with electronic fire control systems and target-tracking radars. These guns are now capable of shooting down drones and helicopters flying as low as 3,000 metres. Complementing this is the Akash missile system, designed to take out threats up to 25 km away. When deployed together in a 'battle grid', they cover both low-level intrusions and high-flying aerial threats – something the S-400 cannot do alone. Why This Mix-Match Formula Matters The future of warfare is asymmetric. From drone swarms launched from shipping containers to precision attacks from behind enemy lines, conventional systems like the S-400 are no longer enough. India's terrain and adversaries, ranging from China in the northeast to Pakistan in the west, require a multi-threat, all-weather and all-altitude defense approach. A single-tier system simply cannot cover such a wide spectrum. What also sets India apart is the growing reliance on indigenously developed systems. From Akashteer and Akash missiles to modernised L-70 guns and homegrown radar systems, India's air defense ecosystem is increasingly self-reliant. This boosts not only operational flexibility, but also economic and industrial strength. The ability to custom-build systems for specific missions, without relying on external supply chains, has become a strategic advantage, especially in a post-COVID and post-Ukraine world marked by global disruptions. What happened in Russia is a warning – expensive technology alone cannot win wars. Without intelligent integration, adaptive systems and multi-layered coordination, even the best platforms can be rendered obsolete. India's layered air defense, rooted in homegrown tech, joint-force coordination and rapid-response automation, is emerging as a global model for modern warfare. As the world is faced with new-age aerial threats, India's 'high-tech + low-level' fusion may just be the blueprint others follow.
