RB71
Contents
Description
The RB71 is a Swedish semi-active radar-homing air-to-air missile. It was introduced in Update "Direct Hit".
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
The RB71 is the Swedish Air Force adaptation of the British Skyflash air-to-air missile, which itself is derived from the American AIM-7E-2 Sparrow. This means the RB71 has performance very similar to those missiles with a lock range of 30 km, a launch range of 50 km, maximum speed of 4.0 Mach, and a maximum overload of 25 G. Unlike lighter missiles (like the R-60), this missile is heavier with a weight of 193 kg, but with that comes a heavier warhead (11.52 kg of TNT equivalent) which can ensure it downs an enemy in a single-shot most of the time. The RB71 is a medium range radar guided air-to-air missile, most effective at ranges from 1,200 m to 3,000 m (at sea level).
| Missile characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Mass | 193 kg |
| Guidance | SARH |
| Signal | CW |
| Lock range | 37 km |
| Launch range | 50 km |
| Maximum speed | 4 M |
| Maximum overload | 25 G |
| Missile guidance time | 40 secs |
| Explosive mass | 11.52 kg TNTeq |
Effective damage
Describe the type of damage produced by this type of missile (high explosive, splash damage, etc)
Comparison with analogues
The RB71 is much more agile than the AIM-7F, R-23R/-24R, and several other SARHs. This allows for flanking shots as well as up-close reaction shots. The RB71 has a shorter maximum range than the AIM-7F and AIM-54, meaning certain aircraft might get successful locks and launches. Certain powerful SARH missiles such as the AIM-7M and R-27ER (and its R-27ER1 export variant) will severely outrange the RB71.
Usage in battles
Describe situations when you would utilise this missile in-game (vehicle, pillbox, base, etc)
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High manoeuvrability lets the user pull off shots at closer range than the competition
- Very good resistance against ground clutter combined with the excellent radar of the JA model Viggens lets you use the missile at any altitude
- Generally quite resistant against countermeasures
- Quickly launches and leaves the rail, tracking the target rapidly after launch - allowing for quick frontal aspect shots against incoming jets
Cons:
- Much shorter range than most of adversaries it will face - such as the AIM-7M or the much more capable R-27ER
- Only two missiles may be carried on its Viggen platforms of JA37C and JA37D - the JAS39A can carry four, at the cost of RB74(M) IR missiles
History
Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
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- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
