OVERVIEW: The AA-7 Apex C (aka R-24R) missile is a solid-fuel, medium-range, SARH homing air-to-air-missile.  It uses a 35 kg radar-fused expanding rod warhead.  

DETAILS:

The AA-7 was one of the first Soviet AAMs to have a "Look Down" capability.  Its RGS-24 Topaz seeker is a J-band SARH used a single-pulse semi-active guidance, making it highly resistant to amplitude modulation jamming.  

During launch, the firing aircraft is limited to maneuvers of under 7 G.  Unlike the earlier Apex A, the Apex C had a lock on after launch capability.  At launch, the radar switches to continuous wave (CW) guidance. After launch, the missile uses inertial guidance for the first 10 seconds. The Apex then switches to proportional navigation, heading to the target's radar reflection.

The AA-7 has a "snap up / down" capability of 4000 meters above or below the launch altitude. The R-24R was more manuverable than than the earlier R-23T, and was capable of egaging targets maneuvering at 7 G.  It could also engage targets as low as 40 meters in altitude.  The missile warhead was also improved, increasing the kill radius of 10 m.


Specifications:
 
Weight: 		 243 kg 
Length: 		 4.5m 
Diameter: 		 0.223 m (missile)  
Wingspan: 		 1.0 m 
Speed:			 2000 knts; Mach 3; (1029 m/s)
Range:			 0.25-9 nm (0.5-17 km)(low altitude);
			 0.25-19 nm (0.5-35 km)(High altitude)
			 0.25-26 nm (0.5-50 km)(Very High altitude)
Kill probability:	 0.8-0.9 


NOTES: IOC January 1981. Out of service in 1997. 


SOURCES: Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, "AA-7 'Apex' (R-23, R-24)" 09 November 2001; "Aircraft Missile R-24 (K-24)." Missilery.info | Missile Database. Descriptions and Specifications. Accessed September 2, 2021. https://en.missilery.info/missile/r24 ; Pike, John. "AA-7 APEX R-23 / R-24." GlobalSecurity.org. Last modified February 6, 2018. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/aa-7.htm ; "R-23 (missile)." Memim.com. Accessed September 2, 2021. https://memim.com/r-23-missile.html; "R-23 (missile)." Military Wiki. Accessed September 2, 2021. https://military.wikia.org/wiki/R-23_(missile) ; "R-23 (missile)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Last modified November 27, 2004. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-23_(missile) ; "Vympel R-23 E R-24 (AA-7 Apex)." Aerei Militari | Aeronautica Militare | Aviazione Militare. Accessed September 2, 2021. https://www.aereimilitari.org/Armamenti/R-23-Apex.htm ; "ACTIVE AND SEMIACTIVE RADAR MISSILE GUIDANCE." Air Power Australia. Accessed September 15, 2021.  http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-Radar-AAMs.html