MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Innovation Department is set to use the first domestic matrix infrared homing warhead to upgrade short-range air-launched missiles after the results of an experiment, Deputy Defense Minister Army General Pavel Popov said on Friday.
"In October 2022, the Main Department jointly with the Aerospace Forces’ chief military command carried out a military technical experiment in the town of Akhtubinsk to test the basic algorithms of the first domestic matrix infrared homing warhead for outfitting short-range air-to-air missiles," the defense official said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.
The experiment demonstrated the item’s efficiency and measures were mapped out for utilizing the results of this innovation to upgrade the operational missiles and create advanced weapons, he said.
Tactical Missiles Corporation Director General Boris Obnosov said on September 22 that the company had tested the Kh-MD-E short-range homing missile. The chief executive said that for several years now the corporation had been focused on developing small-size smart munitions to outfit both drones and frontline aircraft platforms. He cited as an example the Kh-MD-E short-range missile under experimental development at the technical design stage.
The Tactical Missiles Corporation chief said that this innovation would be completed in the immediate future.