Meet R-37M missile, which India is planning to buy, can destroy Pakistan's AWACS, F-16s before they..., tension for China due to...
Reports further added that the Putin administration has offered India to supply the R-37M and license its production on Indian soil. If the deal goes through, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will gain a powerful edge over adversaries such as China and Pakistan in high-stakes aerial confrontations.
It is important to note that the R-37M is far more powerful than Pakistan's F-16s and AWACS. The missile is made to destroy enemy aircraft from beyond visual range (BVR), it can take down Pakistan's prized F-16s and AWACS surveillance aircraft before they even detect an Indian fighter jet.
'It's not a missile but an airborne predator. It allows India to destroy enemy aircraft without ever entering their strike zone. That flips the entire doctrine of air combat,' said a senior defense analyst. Here are some of the key features of the missile: The R-37M has speeds of up to Mach 6 six times the speed of sound
The R-37M can strike targets more than 300 kilometers away.
Its mid-flight target switch capability and active radar guidance system make it almost impossible to dodge, even for highly maneuverable jets.
Currently, the IAF deploys R-77 missiles on its Su-30MKI jets.
Reports suggest that the R-37M could replace the R-77 entirely, offering a dramatic leap in range, speed and precision.
The R-37M's induction into India's arsenal would render Pakistan's air surveillance systems deeply vulnerable.
R-37M has a speed – Up to Mach 6 (7,400 km/h); range – estimated 300-400 km; weight – 510 kg, length – over four metres; warhead – 60 kg high-explosive; designation – NATO calls it the AA-13 Axehead; and targets – fighter jets, AWACS, drones and tanker aircraft.
Unlike previous systems, the R-37M doesn't require visual confirmation to engage. It can lock onto targets well beyond the range of enemy radars or weapons, delivering strikes from safe, stand-off distances. For Indian pilots, this means they can hit first, from afar, without ever being seen.
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