How Good Is Russia's New R-37M Hypersonic Air To Air Missile? F-15 vs Mig-31 | DCS 

It felt like the Eagles were on the defensive the entire match. Even if the R-37 isn't scoring kills every single time, it can still be a very disruptive and menacing monster. One downside to notching is you would probably be extremely vulnerable if there was a second missile coming in after the first.

I'd like to see you guys do a red on blue similar to this, but with the victory conditions set as the destruction of opposing AWACS and not necessarily the elimination of the other force.

This was some real quality content. Love the intricacies of BVR combat and love that I'm seeing the mighty Mig-31 in combat.

This was some of the most interesting BVR stuff I have seen. I love that we get to see team tactics, you don't get that on other channels.

Great fights! Maybe a video using the R-37M for what it's designed for? Take down B-52's before they can launch cruise and maybe also a deliberate AWACS kill mission?

See if the MIG-31 carrying the R-37M could snipe an American/NATO AWACS without being shot down by U.S./NATO aircraft not equipped with the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM), since the R-37M is in service, while the AIM-260 JATM is not yet in service? That MIG-31 is much faster than the F-15 is and the AWACS is as slow as a sloth. That and don't tell the CAP pilots what the mission will consist of, but let them be on a true CAP in support of the AWACS.

MiG-31 is designet to do that ... its its sole purpose to be a BVR platform...... it is unmatched in that respect ! The new one (R-37M )has fuel reserves and some say it is programmed to burn the reserves at terminal phase to gain speed and energy once more .... Cap you need to be in Hi radar freq as it will give you more chance to see them from further .... ILV is jumping from high to low and you use it when the crank or side aspect :) R-37M qallity VS qantity .... ;)

Ukraine reports suggest a "No Escape Zone" of around 120nm , this is against low flying targets in real combat conditions against Su27/25/24 , apparently they have complete dominance over the Ukrainian Airforce because the low altitude being forced by the S400 coverage means the R37m has a huge energy advantage, it also apparently has no issues discriminating the targets against the ground clutter

Great video! A lot of fun to watch. Good job guys. 🙂

One should clarify that "notching" always works in DCS. In reality, however, it only works with pulse-Dopler radars. The problem is that very few missiles have ever used pulse-doppler radar, let alone modern ones. Since AWACS and later fighter planes were equipped with AESA, the topic of "notching" is over, history.

that warhead on that missile is so big that it is even heavier than the ones in the shahed 136 drones used against Ukraine or equivalent to 3 amraam warheads even at a good distance it's explosion is deadly

I can't help but think it would be great to see this with the starting positions reversed! Then the aircraft with the LRM's would have the least cover - unless they were smart.

Hot dog, another test. Look forward to these. And new planes. Would love to see more of the less well known jets modelled.

I figured in the first PvP fight, that Damp had gone low and fast to the island then when Simba popped up he was going to be the lure. It looked as if Simba would draw the 31s over the island so Damp could take pot shots from below and draw them into a dogfight. Sadly they were just doing donuts over the water.

Thanks for creating all this content (:

This is one of the most interesting fight I ever seen in dcs

Excellent !!! you change the map!!!☝🏼☝🏼🧿🧿✈✈👀👀🙋‍♂🙋‍♂

I expected the Eagles to take advantage of low altitude and blend in with the ocean and terrain. With the advantage of having twice the missiles, one of them could have been a distraction once close in, while the other unloaded on the Migs. Once the Migs had their hands full of say 8 incoming missiles, Eagle # 2 (the decoy) could have turned back in (had he been dodging well) 😁and unloaded and made it a bad day to be a Mig driver. At least that's how I had strategized it out before it happened. Maybe it would not have worked...I don't know??? But, that's how I would have done it. Might just as well fire all those missiles as to let them be blown up while still on the pylons. Great video as always. :)

I would go for the AWAC as well. If you can't see them because they are low then take their ability to see you out by taking out the eye in the sky.

Love these vids, never even thought about any kind of flight sim a month ago... And now its a daily watch. 😊 So is Simba German then.? He got all the lines thrown at him today.. The ICH BIN EIN TELEGRAPH POLE! line killed me.. 😂

I just built my huge new computer, HOTAS and accessories are on the way, VR is all set up on DCS. Im excited to jump in and learn how to fly on here.

This looked like it was fun. I only have experience in the A10a atm.... I flew the su-25.... it has a massive amount of hard points... .comical to me. i did however buy an F-15, and learning how to not rip off my gear when landing. I use these videos to see your guys having fun. Also, learn how to dodge missiles and informational things like that.

According to Ward Carrols channel, the Su35s and Mig31s R37m are sucessfully engaging low flying Ukranian Su25s and Su27s at 120nm, in real world conditions, 40nm further than the Aim54c Phoenix was capable of. It is extremely effective against low flying aircraft because of energy states and the fact the UAF Su27s and Su25s can't pop up as the line of contact is covered by S400/S300 , putting the targets at a huge energy disadvantage. Apparently the deficiency in energy state means the targets stand little chance against this missile & the efficacy IRL shows the onboard radar is really good at picking them out from ground clutter.

This one will be fun!! I will take a guess and say F-15 over the Mig-31 for the multi plane engagements, and maybe the 1v1

wonder if anyone has thought about including a SEFOP in the missile warhead, so if it looks like a direct hit isn't happening, it fires a slug at the target?

300km?? you could fire a missile from a plane flying over Standard Hill and hit a target flying over the North coast of France.

One issue with the video is the 260 was not designed for the F15. It's initial launch platforms are the F22 and F18 Super Hornet. It will be configured for the F35 on a later date. So would like to see this video with the actual design launch platforms. The outcome I think would be radically different.

I still don't quite understand the reason why the missiles can't loft? Is there like a hard limit to DCS as far as altitude?

The only issue I have when changing radar cross sections is when I find the RCS parameter instead of a value I just see (NULNULETX) or (NULETX). So, at this point I have no idea what i'm doing.

Definitely time for an AWACS hunting mission Cap....Please.

I would really like to see these tests redone once you are capable or figure out how to make the lofting actually loft correctly.

Hey Cap, Are there any models for the Loyal Wing Man or Valkyrie drone fighters? Would be interesting to see a war game incorporating them.

@Cap are you guys planning on eventually releasing your modernization package? The community would really appreciate it I am sure.

But of an observation. There's always surprise at the range the missiles are launched at, but given the planes are closing towards each other the actual flight distance would be significantly less.

Kind of mad that the foxhounds did not really punch it and use their strengths at High levels. When I grabbed the foxhound mod I immediately went up to 75,000, sometimes 80,000 ft and then rained down R37Ms, while at top speed( Sadly the jsn 64 mig 31 mod is restricted to Mach 2.83, it seems to be a game engine limitation despite the point having thrust to actually reach Mach3) , but your enemies don't even know to aim their radar elevation to look up at 80,000 feet. All of the foxhound drivers here were babying it, the 260 would have a far harder time catching a plane accelerating to top speed, let alone while climbing up to 80k or higher from near sea level

Seems like a pretty unlikely outcome IRL--but definitely fun to watch.

Gud vid 😍

Imagine that tree of missile just zooms by and you know: 10 meters left and I would have been smoke

How did you make a datalink capable aesa radar?

f-15 eagle bi like : f15 vs mig-29 easy f-15 vs su-27 medium f-15 vs su-57 hard f-15 vs mig-31 ? OH NO IS NIGHTMARE AGAIN -_-

The main purpose of the Mig-31 is the fight against cruise missiles, and the confrontation with the SR-71 was only a matter of prestige. A well-known phrase of the Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Gromyko during negotiations with the Americans in 1978, when he was informed about the successful interception of a low-flying cruise missile by the then prototype of the 31st MiG: "Now you can fly your cruise missiles wherever you want." Earlier, the USSR negotiated to limit the range of cruise missiles

Great Vid as always Cap! If you or anyone else wish to know more about this particular missile and how the current air-war in Ukraine is going i recommend checking out Ward Carrol´s channel on YT. In his latest video he talks with Justin Bronk from the Royal Uniformed Services Institute about this very subject. Around the 30 min mark in the video they talk about the MIG-31b, R-37M and Russian tactics regarding the two. I would recommend the whole video to anyone who is interested in the current conflict in Ukranie however. Thanks for the video!

It’s a great day!

Should do a video with R37M trying to attack F4 and F5s which are interdicting Shahed drones.

It is very good. Crimea is now not suffering from Storm Shadow

I am pretty sure the seeker head on the 260 is equivalent in tracking to a Kardashian chick on a laser-hair removal facility.... My understanding is that it has the ability to burn through jamming and with it's RCS thrusters it is very maneuverable. As you point out the R-37 was never designed to turn tightly - it hauls ass in a straight line to hit a big fat target that itself can't turn well.

Did you guys just think up a use case for an EB-1B Bone-based AWACS?

Honestly, I doubt either of the BVR missiles has the stats you entered. But I suppose that's why the actual stats are classified.

Cap....what about a fly-off for HS missiles? Can they go 'pitbull'....firing over max range, different aspects? Height launches? What do you think?

Can you simulate what would happen if a Russian cruise missile were to hit Poland?

The C comes before the H in mach. Poor guy sounds like hes trying to hack up a furball onto his keyboard

This video does not show how Russia uses these missiles. They do not "mostly" miss, as Cap says. They use the MiG-31 to carry the missile all the way until the last section of what would be it's long range travel. In other words, the missile never ends up losing it's target because it can't manuever well at high altitude. The MiG-31 dives at high speed onto the target. It fires the missile which builds even more speed. The missile is already on target and is never unable to manuever and hits every time.

Goodness gracious. Simba and Damp had 24 missiles. Am I missing something?

yay more mig 31 content! easily my favorite fighter jet, a disciplined mig 31 pilot practically owns the sky

The MIG can launch at excessive range because the aircraft are closing the range.

I wonder what the cost of each missile is going to be. If it’s a battle of attrition, that will factor. Something tells me that’s the 37 will be quite expensive.

Btw I had a question how good do you think are the r77 missiles ?

THE NEW COOL F35 MOD

So are AIM-260 in production?

How about 4 x F-35A with AIM-260 vs. 10 x Su-35?

Does it matter if Russia will probably never reach a meaningful production rate (ie - see the SU-57)?

And do they fly back to source 🤔

Lol, no cheating, but.... We're gonna use a really really conservative, minimum range for the R37m but use the max published range for the aim260.

👍😁👌

Which mig 31 mod is this?

The visibility of that Mig is atrocious

One note - The Russian R-37M has only demonstrated a range of 200 km/125 miles in the Ukrainian conflict - I would be VERY SKEPTICAL of Russian claims for this missile.

MIG-31 fuel played a major role in this! Gotta Love Fuel 😃

Sweeeet😊

Not depicted - MiG-31s detecting F-15s right as F-22s shoot down MiG-31s Probably not the purpose of the video but would definitely happen.

How good is a real in mass production and with confirmed kills missile vs. something in development with speculated performance*

*Note*: I am not trying to argue that the latest Russian tech is anywhere near as good as even late-model AIM-54's from the Cold War, nor do I support the Russian government. I'm just trying to correct a basic physics misunderstanding as these missiles do not look like unmaneuverable missiles should. If it really was designed to be limited to something as restrictive as a maximum of 8G, then it would actually have a *higher* Pk when fired from more than the stated max range, as it would be able to turn tighter at the same 8G! *{TLDR}* The square-qube law means that a larger diameter missile will burn off a larger % of its total mass than an identical scaled-down version, resulting in a larger aerodynamic force/weight ratio, but also incurring a larger non-maneuvering drag. It's rear-mounted movable fins are used to apply a torque and start the turning process, but they cannot generate the lift needed for sustained high-G turns. Those long strakes near the R-37's COM, would generate very large lifting forces at low AOA, thus making it much more maneuverable and allowing for more sustained maneuvering than something like the AIM-120C-5, as they are *much* more effective and efficient than relying on the missile's body for the required lift. *{/TLDR}* The R-37, based just on its external geometry, doesn't at all look like a missile designed to be restricted to 8G's, like you showed. Because most of the mass of modern missiles is just fuel, the square-qube relationship between volume and surface area means that a larger missile will shed a greater % of its total starting mass than a small missile would. Furthermore, if you take an AIM-120C-5 and scale it up to roughly the same diameter, you'll see that the R-37's fins aren't really that puny, but even more important is the length of the moment arms between the empty COM and, respectively, the fins and the rocket's nosecone. Those lengths, multiplied respectively by the sum of the tangential forces exerted by the fins and the forces exterted upon the nosecone section, is what determines the total pertubatory torque available to start turning the body of the missile. Obviously, as the missile starts to turn, those control surfaces can't actually generate the large perpendicular force through the missile's COM, which is required to sustain the turn, otherwise the missile will simply oscillate in pitch or the critical AOA of the fins will be exceeded and the missile will start tumbling. For something like the AIM-120-C5, which doesn't have any lifting surfaces near its COM, this actually limits the maximum sustained-G turn that it can make, while also making turns *much* more inefficient as it needs to use its body as a makeshift lifting surface, with a massive drag penalty. It is at this point where those mid-mounted strakes/fins on the R-37 come in. They allow the missile to generate an *enormous* amount of lifting force, while keeping the body's AOA very low, thus resulting in the missile not just being *more* maneuverable, but also retaining *much* *more* of its energy while it does so. The largest issue I see if with the missile autopilot and target persuit guidance algorithms. Due to DCS limitations, this missile 'acts' just like an AIM-9 or am AIM-7. It doesn't try to exploit its advantages or compensate for its disadvantages and consequently it runs into that 8G limit even harder than it should. Think about it like this: If this *hypersonic* missile was really so heavy and sluggish, hard-limited to 8G's, and really had to make due with Proportional Navigation (especially one in which the gain monotonically increases with a decrease in the target's distance), then the best defence would be to actually fly almost directly towards the R-37, increasing your altitude and decreasing your CAS airspeed so as to achieve your peak rate speeds, then just before the missile acquires you, you just turn 90 degrees to beam the missile and enter into a vertically downward, maximum sustained-G circle. This is obviously absurd, and would make spending so much on hypersonic A2A weaponry seem silly, so I propose that this whole situation is completely unrealistic. No-one capable of developing hypersonic weaponry would make such elementary mistakes.

Mikoyan would be very happy after all....

Luv me Telegraph poles 'ate me manouverability Simple as

They downed 29 aircraft in 5 days according to reports. I'd say it's pretty effective.

I dont this thats the aim-260 the aim-260 is a single piece weapon the LREW long rang engagment weapon is gonna be two pieces

Would quickly eliminate any air refueling capability.

yes but can it be used agesnt a stealth F-35 or F-22? however if it can't track or lock on then hyper sonic missles are very useless. aslo makes so much heat in flight that aegis missle usa defenses on both the grnud based and sea based ship luchers would use its huge infead tracking singture and see it from a very very very long way away. also they munuver like S***T so a much more menuverble SM-2 anti missle missle can just fly infonut of it and use the hyper sonic missiles lack of miuverblty agest it.

Ooo mg what an underrated fighter jet is the mig 31 😐😐😐😐😐

3:57 lmfao no it freakin isn't!🤦‍♂️

Su35, Su57 and Su30Sm also are using this missile in Ukraine now.

Oh, the rematch from 70s after F15A vs MiG25P, if my ole brain ‘members. F15s protecting RF4s on recce missions. MiG25s trying to intercept…. Seem to remember it went badly for them…. Let’s see how the ole planes do with new missiles 😳😎😂😂😂

Get a stealth in there

Notching no longer works against modern RADAR systems - you couldn't notch a Sea Harrier's Blue Vixen 27 years ago.

Did you notice that the island looks like a running rat?

My pilot friend says the way to beat the missile is to first head straight for it? What do you think?

Just an important data, Russia hasn’t deployed a single AESA radar on a fighter aircraft, that might change the capabilities of the MiG-31 to clear a shot, for the worst.

more please Cap more planes

Very cool, but I do believe the new RU missiles are overperforming, merely due to the crap performance we've seen from Russia throughout the war (pre-war, I would have had zero evidence to say that with confidence). Russian advanced technology is an oxymoron at this point. As you said, it's likely the core game influencing them, as they appear to be responding to data link much more than the AIM-260s per the Tacview. I say this with love and the desire to see some amazing future war games/simulations. I think GR needs to establish a "best practices" instruction set for the AIM-260 to learn how to use it in optimal conditions and make each one count (perhaps a table of estimated PK rates at a given range and altitude). There was just way too many of them mad-dogged, fired at low altitude or fired at a generally low probability of kill. I believe the F-15s would have had more success keeping more in reserve (and having bags) as both ended up dodging a bunch of incoming missiles and within visual range of the MIGs, but essentially had nothing left when getting in close. Thanks guys!

You have 12 missiles on the 15, why not shoot a few??

The AIM-260 JATM is Mach 5! I'm near giving up however once again it has a greater range (Especially from F-15EX) of 180 miles!

Who won?

F15-EX's RADAR will be soooo much better than MiG-31's. I suspect the same would be for US AWACs too. The IAF SU-30 fiasco has shown how poor Russian RADAR tech really is.

Calling something from 2014 a brand new missile?

R-37m destroyed the Ukrainian Su-27...you have no clue what your talking about..in real life. 😊

Why would you nerf the missle to not turn? Is the propaganda so dominant that you would believe Russia would develop a useless weapon? Beyond the missile's mass, which is only a little heavier than a Pheonix and seems to do fine against other fighters, what limits its ability to turn compared to every other air-to-air missile? Compared to America's newest design, the R-37m fins have much more surface area. The AIM-260 and other Allied missiles must be made of the same material as Captain America's Shield. #Merica

These R-37 were much easier to dodge than ukranians report. They say it's very hard.

makes sense though... fire off your long range stuff... then go home for tea and borsht

R-37 400KM

These Russian missiles are only really good for the situation where you are snipping at a enemy that can't see you on their radar and are not expecting a attack. Much like the iranian use of Phoenix from tomcats in 1980.