American and European factories to produce Russian missiles for Ukraine
Despite hardware assistance from the West in the Ukrainian air force and air defense, Soviet and Russian weaponry still dominate. Therefore, companies from Europe and the United States are helping Ukraine develop new versions of R-27 missiles, which arm MiG-29s and Su-27s, and S-300 missiles for air defense systems.
American Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin revealed the work on the possibility of producing Russian missiles in American and European factories. This is due to the fact that—despite losses and recent deliveries of F-16 aircraft—Ukrainian military aviation is still primarily based on aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.
Their primary armament is R-27 air-to-air missiles. Although air battles between hostile aircraft are rare in Ukrainian skies, these missiles are used to destroy cruise missiles and drones. This is why their stocks are running low.
R-27 missiles from western factories
According to Defence 24, proposals to integrate Western missiles with Ukrainian aircraft have already been made. However, launching the production of Russian aircraft missiles was considered a better solution.
They will be fully compatible with Ukrainian aircraft, and thanks to modern improvements (R-27 was designed in the 1970s), they may prove to be better than the original.
R-27 is a medium-range air-to-air missile (its Western equivalent is the AIM-120 AMRAAM). The two main missile versions, R-27R and R-27T, differ in their guidance methods – radar and thermal, respectively.
The missile measures slightly over 13 feet in length and weighs 560 pounds, with 86 pounds allocated to the warhead. The R-27 travels at speeds up to Mach 4, and its range is 43-50 miles. To extend its range, the missile can travel not directly toward the target but along a ballistic curve.
Western version of S-300 missiles
The West will also launch the production of air defense missiles for the S-300 systems in addition to aircraft missiles. Currently, despite sustaining losses following more than two years of war, Ukraine still operates around 170 launchers of this system. However, the problem is the depleting stockpile of missiles.
The response to this issue is expected to be – similar to the R-27 missiles – the launch of their production, possibly in an improved version, in the West.
