Footage from a Ukrainian interceptor UAV and the wreckage shows that Russia has started integrating the R-60 air-to-air missiles on its Geran-2 kamikaze UAVs.
After the instances of USVs and crop-dusting aircraft fitted with heat-seeking missiles, Russia was seen to integrate the Soviet-era R-60 (AA-8 Aphid) within visual range air-to-air missile on its workhorse kamikaze UAV for long-range attack.
Footage from the intercepting UAV and photos of the recovered wreckage show that the missile was mounted on top of Geran-2 (Russian localisation of Iranian Shaheed-136 kamikaze UAV). Among the factors making this possible is the fact that R-60, compared to the newer R-73, is significantly smaller and lighter at a weight of 44 kg. For a comparison, Geran-2 is capable of carrying a 50+ kg warhead.
In terms of logistics, R-60 is readily available from the stocks as a reserve missile in the Russian Air Force, while Geran-2 is already at a point where it is produced in large quantities.
When it comes to the reasoning, it is likely that Russia intends to use the Geran-2/R-60 duo to attack slower aircraft like helicopters or repurposed commercial aircraft used by Ukraine. While helicopters have taken part in cross-border raids, the armed aircraft are heavily used in the C-UAS role, fitted with machine guns or air-to-air missiles against UAVs like Geran-2. Thus, for the latter, this might be intended as a lethal bait to engage intercepting aircraft which are not likely to carry flares.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
