Russian state media outlet Sputnik has provided insight into the performance of one of the country’s newest and most capable anti aircraft assets in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War, the R-37M air to air missile, the capabilities of which have increasingly been highlighted as a leading threat by Ukrainian and Western sources since 2022. The oversized missile was designed for the Russian Air Force’s MiG-31BM and MiG-31BSM interceptors, which are by far the world’s largest aircraft in the world built for air to air combat and carry the largest sensors of any fighter/interceptor in the world. This makes them well suited to carrying the very long ranged munitions. R-37Ms have more recently been used to equip units of Su-35 and Su-57 fighters, although these aircraft’s carrying capacity and maximum firing altitude are both significantly lower than those of the MiG-31.
The missile itself Is prized for its very long 400km range, large 60kg warhead, and Mach 6 speed. This has provided a strong edge over the U.S. Air Force’s top air to air missile the AIM-120D, which although much smaller and better suited to fighter sized aircraft, has a much more modest 160km range, 20kg warhead and Mach 4.5 speed.