Better use of R-55

[Monk78]

The R-55 was overshadowed by the R60 and R13M in Soviet service
However what if the proposed R-55M was put into service by 1970 , longer ranged and better agility it could have performed arguably better than the R3S and could have given some soviet interceptor aircraft better capability against a wide variety of threats

 

[Monk78]

Kaliningrad R-55 / R-55M for MIG-21 PFM & BIS

Kaliningrad R-55 / R-55M (NATO codename: "AA-1 Akali") The RS-2US was becoming a very old missile using outdated guidance techniques. On the other hand, the R-3S missile proved to be inadequate as more advanced Sidewinder missiles such as the AIM-9D and AIM-9E began appearing over Vietnam in the ...

old-forum.warthunder.com

 

[MadRat]

Puller rocket motors were pretty rare for AAMs. The concept pretty much fell out of favor because R55 was slow and stable, which was fine for bomber destroyers but not great for fighting peers.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

The TGS-59 seeker was developed for the R-3S (K-13) but lost out to a rival design. It was better in some respects but I don't think it fitted physically in the R-3S. It was repurposed for the R-55 (200mm diameter).

The TGS-59M seeker is interesting, but the K-5 missile design was essentially obsolete before 1970, so it makes little sense to try to prolong it further.

 

[pathology_doc]

Aah, good old AA-1 Alkali.

They really tried to wring everything they could out of that airframe, didn't they? One of my fond wishes is for someone to write a detailed (English-language) development history of that weapon. The first generation AAMs fascinate me.