Degraded Soviet‑era missiles reportedly destroying Ukrainian jets on launch
Taras Chmut, head of the Ukrainian military foundation Come Back Alive, says old Soviet R‑60 air‑to‑air missiles can detonate the moment they are fired, risking Ukrainian aircraft, as Kyiv lacks enough modern short‑range weapons and relies on aging R‑60s and R‑73s against Russian drones and cruise missiles.
A leading Ukrainian military support group is warning that some of the country’s air‑to‑air missiles are now so old they can destroy the aircraft that fire them.
Taras Chmut, who heads the Come Back Alive foundation, says Soviet‑era R‑60 missiles, first developed in the 1960s, are in such degraded condition that they can explode at the moment of launch. He described cases where the missile’s age and technical state turn it into a threat for Ukrainian pilots instead of Russian targets.
Chmut also says Ukraine lacks modern short‑range air‑to‑air missiles such as the U.S.‑made AIM‑9 Sidewinder. Instead, Ukrainian pilots are relying on R‑60 and R‑73 missiles from the Cold War era to shoot down Russian drones and cruise missiles.
Russia has used drones and cruise missiles extensively against Ukrainian cities, power infrastructure and logistics. Intercepting them often requires scrambling fighter aircraft when ground‑based air defenses are stretched. If those fighters are armed with unreliable weapons, each launch carries a risk both of failing to hit the incoming target and of damaging or destroying the Ukrainian aircraft.
Ukraine’s inventory of trained fighter pilots and viable airframes is limited after years of combat. Losing aircraft and crews because of missile malfunctions is particularly damaging, as it doesn’t stem from enemy action and is hard to offset quickly with foreign aid.
The reported missile issues force uncomfortable choices. Ukrainian commanders can hold back fighters to limit the danger posed by suspect munitions, leaving more work to already stressed ground‑based systems. Or they can continue flying missions with those missiles, accepting the risk that some engagements might end with friendly aircraft losses.
For Western partners, Chmut’s warning highlights a gap in support. Allies have supplied medium‑ and long‑range surface‑to‑air systems and pledged modern fighter jets, but short‑range air‑to‑air weapons suited to Ukraine’s existing aircraft are still scarce. Integrating Western missiles onto Soviet‑designed jets requires engineering work and testing, but without that effort Ukrainian pilots will remain dependent on aging missiles with growing reliability problems.
The situation also benefits Russia’s use of cheaper aerial threats such as drones. Each malfunctioning Ukrainian missile not only fails to stop an incoming target but erodes confidence in the country’s air defenses.
Signs to watch include whether Ukraine accelerates efforts to adapt Western short‑range missiles to its current fighters, whether partners move to supply such munitions directly, and whether Ukrainian or allied officials provide more detail on losses linked to missile failures.
Sources
- OSINT