Video proof: US-made AGM-88 HARM into Soviet MiG-29 fighter

KYIV ($1=36.74 Ukrainian Hryvnias) — The August 9 attack on the Russian airbase in Crimea – Saki was not just another attack. The fact that somehow the Ukrainian Air Force broke through the air defense defenses of the air base raised many questions. We were one of the first in the world to suggest that the AGM-88 HARM “punched a hole” in the base’s radar defenses.

• US has delivered to Ukraine a AGM-88B HARM made by Motorola in 1991
• Turkey made supersonic stealth Bayraktar with a Ukrainian engine
• Unknown state sent two aircraft with artillery ammunition to Ukraine

In our August 11th article, we suggested that such an attack was feasible only with the use of such an anti-radiation missile. Later, the Pentagon officially confirmed the assumption of BulgarianMilitary.com.

“First, we are providing additional High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles. These are the HARM missiles. Ukraine has successfully employed these missiles. They have successfully integrated them into Ukrainian aircraft, and this enables Ukraine to seek and destroy Russian radar. So we’ll be providing additional HARM missiles,” a Pentagon official said.

After that, the representative of the Pentagon continues: “The aircraft that the Ukrainians have integrated – and you’re right, this is a Western produced missile – the aircraft that they have integrated it with is their MiG aircraft. So they have actually successfully integrated it. [This] is something that we determined would be technically feasible. And based on that feasibility determination, we provided them with this capability. So this is actually the second tranche of HARMs that we’re providing.”

Since there is no known way to launch the AGM-88 HARM from land, and the fact that Ukraine has no Western-made fighters, it was logical to assume that the US helped integrate the AGM-88 HARM into the Soviet MiG-29 fighter.

Today we now have video proof that our assumptions are fact. In the video recorded by a camera on the pilot’s helmet of a MiG-29 pilot, the AGM-88 HARM missile is clearly visible on the wing of the fighter. Later in the video, the firing of at least two AGM-88 HARM missiles is captured. The video was released by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Last but not least – there is photographic evidence that we have also published on BulgarianMilitary.com of remains or inactivated AGM-88 HARM missiles used in the war in Ukraine.

So how do MiG-29s use HARM?

US F-16s use a guidance system called HTS for HARM. The missile can be directed at targets detected by the HTS. Therefore, the HARM missile is launched in HAS mode, where its own seeker is used as a sensor. Systems detected by the HARM search head can be targeted. Since there is no HTS, the detection range is greatly reduced in HAS mode.

HARM also has a fly-and-shoot mode with a preset POS name. Older versions of the AGM-88 only have an inertial navigation system. The missile is launched to a predetermined area and then seeks the target’s radar with its own homing head. In the AGM-88D model, on the other hand, GPS is also available and can directly target the precisely set coordinate.

We assume that Ukrainian MiG-29s also use HARM missiles in POS mode.

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