Russia and India to Develop Hypersonic ‘AWACS Killer’ Missile for Su-30MKI Fighters

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint Indo-Russian defence manufacturer which produces high end missile systems for India's armed forces, is reportedly considering development of a hypersonic ‘AWACS killer’ air to air missile for the Indian Air Force. This follows the success of the BrahMos cruise missile, which has been deployed by all three leading services of the Indian Armed Forces and is currently being marketed for export. It is being pursued in parallel to a hypersonic cruise missile program. India has long had an interest in advanced ‘AWACS Killer’ munitions, and was the sole client for the Russian K-100 missile currently deployed by Su-30MKI fighters. The missile entered service in the 1990s primarily using Soviet era technology, and more sophisticated long range missiles have since been developed for the same role. The R-37M, able to intercept targets up to 400km away at around Mach 6, is 50% faster than the K-100 and has a much longer 400km range. The missile is manoeuvrable enough to engage fighters, and integrates more powerful sensors and electronic warfare countermeasures.

It is likely that a joint Russian-Indian hypersonic air to air missile program would rely heavily on technologies already developed for the R-37M - much as the BrahMos relied on technologies from the preceding Russian P-800 cruise missile. The new missile could benefit from upgrades currently being considered for the Indian Su-30MKI fleet - including integration of a new and more powerful Irbis-E radar which was previously integrated onto the Su-35 fighter - providing a significant boost situational awareness and electronic warfare countermeasures. With India also seriously considering acquisitions of Su-57 and MiG-35 next generation fighters equipped with AESA radars, these too could potentially become launch platforms for the new missile. India is also considering acquiring the Su-35 under the MMRCA tender - which could provide another formidable launch platform. It remains uncertain whether the missile will be as large as the BrahMos, or more compact like the R-37M, and whether a low diameter variant will need to be developed to deploy from internal bomb bays of next generation aircraft.