Ukraine has repurposed its stockpile of Soviet-era R-73 air-to-air missiles into ground-based air defense systems, according to a Forbes report. A recently shared photo from local media shows the system in action, now deployed with Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade.
“Despite the advanced age of the equipment and the limitations of its tactical and technical characteristics, we are finding opportunities for modernization and the implementation of the latest approaches. As a result, the SAM systems are successfully carrying out combat tasks to protect the brigade’s units,” a soldier from the brigade said in a Facebook post.
The R-73 is a 105-kilogram, heat-seeking missile originally designed to be launched from MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets. It can hit targets up to 30 kilometers away. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a large stockpile of these missiles.
Ukraine has modified the R-73 for ground-based air defense as supplies of traditional surface-to-air missiles like the 9M33 dwindle.
Reports claim that the missile is now being launched from at least three distinct platforms: the British-made Gravehawk truck launcher, a modified Soviet-era Osa system, and a newly identified truck-mounted launcher operated by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade.
A new British-built surface-to-air missile system is being supplied to Ukraine which it’s hoped could be a solution to a lack of air defence.
Gravehawk has been developed from scratch in just 18 months. Gravehawk is armed with R-73 air-to-air missiles. https://t.co/3fyKwbs1ST pic.twitter.com/d25Z1oq4eE
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) February 12, 2025
The new R-73 system is part of Ukraine’s wider effort to build “FrankenSAM” systems—air defense units made by combining old Soviet equipment with newer technology or Western missiles.
One well-known example of the FrankenSAM system is the FrankenBuk, which integrates a Soviet Buk-M1 launcher with U.S.-made RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles, and the British ASRAAM repurposed for SupaCat truck-based launchers.
” Our Best Look At Ukraine’s ‘FrankenBuk’ Air Defense System “https://t.co/MtnUCff94c
— 桜さくら_88 (@sakurasakura_88) March 23, 2025
First video showing the British air defence system (uses AIM-132 ASRAAM) on a Supacat chassis, the cab has been equipped with a protective screen. pic.twitter.com/gqF601FSbE
— AFV Recognition (@AFVRec_) February 8, 2024
