Notes: This was the first Russian air-to-air missile, and is debatable whether it was the first or second AAM to go into service in the world. It was a rather clumsy arrangement; the early form of the missile is a beam-riding missile, with the missile homing on a coded radar beam instead of a standard radar lock-on. The pilot must keep the missile and target in a rather narrow radar beam, and course corrections are transmitted directly to the missile by a radio link. There were at least 6 variants of the Alkali, most can be identified by differing fin shapes; they also had different homing heads and warheads. The last AA-1 was retired from Russian service by 1977, and most other countries soon thereafter, but they can occasionally be encountered under the wings of Third World Aircraft.

Twilight 2000 Notes: In perhaps one of the most unexplainable engagements of the Twilight War, an Albanian MiG-17 managed to down a US F/A-22A Raptor using an AA-1E Alkali.

Notes: On 24 September 1958, an AIM-9B Sidewinder missile lodged in the tail of a Chinese MiG-17 without exploding. This missile was taken to the then-Soviet Union and, based on this missile, the Russian's first successful air-to-air missile was developed, the AA-2 Atoll. The missile was also developed into an early radar-homing weapon for all angle attacks.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The Atoll was still in common use in Warsaw Pact countries, Third World nations, and China (where it is known as the PL-1) during the Twilight War.

Notes: The AA-3 is an early Russian radar homing missile designed with a large warhead to shoot down bombers. It is not a particularly accurate missile and it is vulnerable to countermeasures, but its explosions usually destroy an aircraft. It is produced by China as the PL-2.

Notes: This huge air-to-air missile was originally designed to be used by MiG-25 Foxbat to shoot down the US B-70 Valkyrie bomber. (It was killed by Congress instead.) The Acrid is so big because of the long-range rocket motor, the large radar kit, and because of the limitations of Soviet technology in the early 1960s when the AA-6 was designed. Early AA-6 missiles didn’t have look-down capability, but the "C" model rectified this. The "B" model is an IR version of the Acrid, but the range is much more limited, again due to the technology of the time. MiG-25s are still sometimes seen with Acrids, but they have mostly been replaced with later technology.

Notes: This is one of the standard air-to-air missiles on Russian aircraft, used primarily by the MiG-23, MiG-27, and its variants. There are four variants: The AA-7A basic radar homing missile, the AA-7B heat-seeker, and the AA-7C and AA-7D with extended range.

Notes: This former standard Pact heat-seeking missile is still in wide use, both by the former Pact forces and by Third-World countries. It is a wide-aspect missile, able to guide from the side or rear of the target aircraft.

Notes: This missile was designed to arm MiG-31 interceptors, but was later used on MiG-25s. It was designed to be state-of-the-art (at the time, 1980), used to attack bombers and attack aircraft using low-level penetration techniques, cruise missiles, helicopters, and high-speed aircraft like the SR-71 (a task at which it was never successful). It was also the Soviet Union’s first active homing missile, able to guide itself once it closes to 48 kilometers using its own radar.

Notes: This missile was designed to form the main part of the MiG-29s air-to-air armament. It is a modular missile allowing for upgrades as well as different seeker heads and warheads to be placed on the same basic missile airframe. There are five variants of the Alamo, two heat-seeking, two radar-homing, and one active homing missile. The AA-10 is a high-agility missile able to be used in close in dogfights as well as long-range intercepts.

Notes: This is the standard heat-seeking missile of Russian forces and allies. The missile is resistant to jamming (one level harder to decoy) and is very maneuverable. Three versions are available, the standard AA-11A, the longer range AA-11B, and the still longer range AA-11C. It is an all-angle missile, able to engage from any angle, instead of just the rear of the target.

Notes: This weapon is colloquially known as the AMRAAMski, so similar it is to the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. It is known for its maneuverability. It is an active radar missile, guiding itself by means of a radar seeker in its head.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This missile was greatly feared by Western pilots during the Twilight War. Luckily, this weapon was not put into production until just prior to the Twilight War and the factories were put out of operation early, so the AMRAAMski was rarely encountered.

Merc 2000 Notes: Budget cuts meant that the AMRAAMski was always in short supply.