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The Israeli missile and munitions giant, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, has unveiled the I-Derby ER, the extended range (100+ km) version of its Derby Active Radar Homing (ARH) Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) currently completing development. It is an evolutionary version of the I-Derby BVRAAM shown earlier this year at Aero India 2015. The Derby entered service in the mid-1990s and is fielded with six customers worldwide.
The Israeli Defence Force-Air Force (IDF-AF) realised the value and operational flexibility of BVRAAM long back as it was repeatedly frustrated by high-altitude over flights by the MiG-25R Foxbat-B reconnaissance aircraft of the Soviet Expeditionary Force between October 1971 and March 1972. Soviet MiG-25Rs based at Cairo covered the Israeli-held coastline from Haifa to Port Said and flew the length of Sinai Peninsula involving 500 km penetration of the Israeli airspace. With a speed of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 at a cruising altitude of 80,000 feet they successfully evaded formidable Israeli defences including F-4 Phantoms, thus gathering valuable real time intelligence, and transmitting this to ground-stations through secure data-links for further analysis. Appropriate IDF-AF BVR tactics underwent development and during June 1982 two Syrian MiG-25 Foxbat-A were destroyed by the IDF-AF with carefully planned and executed 'snap up' attack by the F-15/AIM-7 Sparrow BVRAAM combination, emphasising the growing maturity of BVR tactics and procedures of the IDF-AF pilots. For the first...