Yes, thats the thing with Phoenix, the early AIM-54As I think had a maximum engagement Gload of something like 6gs I think, if Iraqis knew it was coming it would’ve been possibly somehow to outmaneuver it and avoid it, but the problem is they did not know it was ever comming and then when it hit them they knew.

My knowledge of missiles in general is pretty limited. How can a R-37M sneak up to a modern aircraft like lets say F-15K/T, Typhoon, Rafale, Su-35/30MKI or WHATEVER by surprise? So far my understanding is that te R-37/M is dual ARH/SARH and I think they will probably fit an IR seeker too on the M version.

More like specialized pilots for each role is the most effective. The thing is a multirole Typhoon/Rafale/Su-XX can do everything and WELL, while having multirole pilots is not the most effective, sure it’s cost-effective but it’s not exactly effective, it’s best to have pilots for specialized roles and make em switch, sure it’s a little more expensive but a lot more effective.

It almost certainly isn’t the only change. In my opinion they will probably add an IIR seeker as well in case the AWACS shuts down or successfully jams its radar seeker.

Even if that was the only difference the reason for having an R-37M is what has been explained all along… the need to engage AWACS aircraft at the edge of their detection ranges for the launch aircraft… ie 400km+.

So the R-37M could still engage bomber and cruise missiles and much like the standard R-37. The question is, what can the R-37 do better than the R-37M cant?

Ok if the R-37M only has a booster to boost it’s range for an extra 100km, if thats the only change then it’s only an improvement of the R-37 and there is no need for it. If thats the only change, then why are they fitting both of the missiles on the Mig-31BM/M?

A lot of reports indicate they were looking into the FC-1. FC-1 with Russian radar like Zhuk-M and Russian avionics would be the best, because they already have some Russian AAMs in stocks like R-27 and R-73 they got with Mig-29s, they already maintained the RD-33 previously and all of this should come at a cheap price. I still think upgrading the Mig-29 to SMT would be the best choice because it greatly reduces the maintenance costs to the existing Mig-29 avionics, engine and airframe, this would be the cheapest option now that they operate them. Mig-29SMT should not be that much more expensive to operate than lets say F-16, much cheaper than the Mig-29A.