Vympel R-33 (missile)

Now superceded by other Russian missiles, the Vympel R-33 (Western designation AA-9 AMOS) is a long-range air-to-air missile, which had been second only to the AIM-54 Phoenix in range. They, and their successors, are intended to attack high-value assets (HVA) such as E-3 Sentry and other C3I-ISR aircraft, cruise missile launching bombers, the cruise missiles themselves, etc.

Air-to-air missiles of this type sacrifice terminal maneuverability for range, which is an acceptable tradeoff since their targets are converted transports, bombers, and straight-flying cruise missiles, none of which are especially maneuverable. The Novator R-172 (missile) has considerably longer range than the R-33.