US adapted AGM-88 HARM missiles for Ukrainian MiG-29

The United States adapted HARM high-speed anti-radiation missiles for MiG-29 fighters.

The U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Colin Kahl, said that the Ukrainians in recent weeks have been using the HARM missiles to great effect.

American missiles were not designed to fly off Soviet-made fighters.

At the beginning of August, US-made AGM-88 missiles started striking Russian air defense positions in Ukraine.

But at that time, it was not known from which platform the Ukrainian servicemen fired American missiles. On August 24, Colin Kahl answered this question:

“We had provided Ukrainians with some of these anti-radiation missiles, the HARM missiles, and we had adapted those missiles to be able to fire off MIG-29. So, they of course, were not designed to fly off Russian equipment – they were designed to fly off our aircraft and the Ukrainians in recent weeks have been using the HARM missiles to great effect to take out Russian radar systems.”

On August 8, the US Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had provided anti-radiation missiles to the Ukrainian Air Force.

“In recent military aid packages, we have included a certain number of anti-radiation missiles that can be fired with Ukrainian aircraft and can take out Russian radars and other equipment,” the Pentagon said in early August.

On August 6, the Ukrainian Operational Command “South” reported the destruction of four anti-aircraft missile systems of the S-300 and Pantsir-S SAM.

AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) is a tactical, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile adopted in the United States in 1983.

Able to target high-frequency radars. Less vulnerable to traditional types of interference, such as turning off the radar when a missile launch is detected. The HARM missile calculates the location of the target and is able to hit it even if the radar is turned off. The latest modifications are designed to defeat radars with a change in operating frequencies.

The missile is intended for American aircraft, some European and now Soviet-made fighters, which are in service with the Ukrainian Air Force.