OVERVIEW: The Alamo  R-27T is a solid-fuel medium range Air to Air missile equipped with a infrared homing head and an active radar proximity fuse and impact fuse and a 39 kilogram continuous-rod warhead.  

DETAILS: The Alamo  R-27T is guided to the target by a combination method. Initially, it is guided inertially with radio correction of trajectory in the initial flight phase.  It then transitions to homing in the terminal phase. This provides for reliable target lock-on at long ranges from the launching aircraft. The missile can be guided along special trajectories to create favorable conditions for homing head and proximity fuse operation. It is capable of going around a plume of passive jamming, of being moved out of the main lobe of the platform's radar, and of approaching a low-flying target from above at a given angle. 

NOTES: The R-27T is designed according to a modular principle and is the base for a family of missiles equipped with various types of homing heads and propulsion systems.  The ability to equip the missile with different seeker heads is in keeping with Soviet doctrine of firing at least two missiles, each with a different seeker head at a target to maximize the probability of a kill.  The R-27T is generally comparable to the American AIM-7 Sparrow missile,  and may surpass it in certain combat capabilities. 


SOURCES: Federation of American Scientists. "AA-10 ALAMO R-27." Accessed December 1, 2013 ; Federation of American Scientists. "AA-10 ALAMO R-27." Accessed December 1, 2013. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/aa-10.htm ; R-27 (AA-10 Alamo) Guided Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile - Airforce Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/-r-27-aa-10-alamo-guided-medium-range-air-missile/ ; R-27 (AA-10 "Alamo") Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.enemyforces.net/missiles/r_27.htm