There are several variants, it is best known as an anti-radiation missile (ARM) but there are also anti-shipping and target drone versions. There has been talk of adapting it to make an "AWACS killer", a long-range air-to-air missile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kh-31

My guess: this is Iran's real interest. AWACS allow soft force projection and if your opponent is geared up to pick you off, your standoff distance necessarily increases. Navy AWACS flights are often provocative




posted 2215 days ago