The Soviet Psychological Warfare Missile | War Thunder

One of the less commonly used armaments in War Thunder, this one in particular is a nasty surprise to those who end up on its receiving end.
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[@derritter3873]

“At 10.3, you’re gonna have a really tough time trying to find a flareless target”. I present to you, the entire Japanese air tree, excluding 3 planes. Rip F-1, T-2, and F-104J.

[@CrustaceanAllergyEnjoyer]

Ahh thank you, now I know where I can get more pain

[@dragon45cal8]

Use zunis, they can act as flares sometimes

[@samspeed6271]

And the Swedish J35D Draken. 10.3 with no flares

[@orue5499]

@@samspeed6271 isnt it jolly fun when you get uptiered as a J32B Lansen and face all kinds of missiles that, sometimes are dodgeable but reaaaally darn tough since the j32b cant turn for shit. Still love it though, sexy plane

[@fascinatedweeb9324]

I would love to play the Japanese air tree but gosh playing F-1 is such a pain

[@PolarisCentuari]

Radar guided missies at 8.7 are just criminal , I always see mig 21s slamming people from far distances with these bad boys in the beginning of the match

[@yokokoko499]

Yeah…. Its a pain as a whole when im using subsonic 8.3 aircrafts against a decade later aircraft equipped with weapons made a little more later…

[@PolarisCentuari]

@@yokokoko499 the Saab 105 gets AIM9Bs and it's 8.3 , meaning it can face the me262 a1u1 and il28s which are 7.3

[@calamitist]

when down tier, i never fired missiles at lower tier jets, i mainly focus on enemy jets that has missile capabilty, ( i use mig19 and yak38 :') )

[@unskilledwarthunderplayer4011]

I use the Vautour (the interceptor one), and those radar missiles in a frontal attack are very good. The best thing is that it is 8.7 so a poor Me262 can get slammed by it

[@Rorywizz]

When I started jets and used my sea vixen a lot I was terrified of these things, but after long enough you start to realise that the people who play these don't really know what they're doing and can be killed quite easily

[@BENKYism]

"At 10.3, it's hard to find people who don't have flares" Proceeds to get most of his kills on people who don't have flares

[@BENKYism]

@@LethalFlashgg A lot of his kills were against planes without countermeasures

[@ndinoguy6845]

Probably because he isn't showing any of the times he shot at someone who does have flares.

[@PRED4T0R85]

russians got 2 planes with flares until 10.0 and both of them are not the planes that in tree line you first started to grind couple years ago

[@perennialE]

The MiG-21S with R-3R is incredibly lethal, as it's at a low enough BR because of the lack of 30g missiles, but retains the 10.3 MF engine. Keep up the good work 🫡

[@KiRiTO72987]

Yep, I love my 21 S despite the fact that all my friends say it's a "bad plane " I think they just assume I use the r3S

[@philipivanov1]

i watched many videos and I still cannot manage using those missles. how to see that green square thingy on the right side of my screen ? it looks like a classic radar in my game

[@NigelBlitz213]

I swear, whenever I play with my F-4C these missiles are really terrifying when you're wondering why the hell is a Mig-21 locking you in the first place.

[@ottermanuk]

Sparrow D outranges the R3R. I use the F4C exactly like this MiG. But the AIM7D can be launched at 12-14mi where the R3R can launch at about 8. You splash them and their R3R looses lock as you're still head on

[@aleksanderf4672]

As an F8-U enjoyer I have learned to respect the SMT up high.

[@cookiecraze1310]

15 flare charges is already plenty, so I always bring mixed. Better to be safe then sorry.

[@PyromaN93]

SMT/MF is pain in the ass even for F-4E

[@aleksanderf4672]

@@PyromaN93 In a prolonged dogfight SMT eats F4E alive. Only real option for the Phantom is to get Sparrow kill. Made easier by the CW seeker ignoring chaff in a head on.

[@PyromaN93]

@@aleksanderf4672 I know

[@kingghidorah8106]

​@@aleksanderf4672actually the opposite, the F-4E will runn mig21's balls dry. Especially when it starts going for a flat rate with slats out, it will never lose speed while pulling around 10-11Gs

[@blaglo679]

dude the angles and camera work in your videos is just awespme, i don't think there's someone else in wt community that does this kind of stuff nearly as good as you do

[@bdwings]

Writing as a MiG-21 pilot from DCS, your lauding of the R3-R is more than just. The strengths of the missile also appear there as well, and are especially evidenced on Enigma's Cold War server. I can confirm BLUFOR pilots never anticipate radar guidance and always jink and pop flares. Occasionally they will fly head on into the missile, mostly Viggens. It's great to see the missile exhibiting similar performance across two game engines.

[@Onezmhu]

R-3Rs are goated

[@BlueFella]

This is the first video I have seen of yours and I am impressed. Nicely condensed, quality audio & recordings and a great edit. I especially enjoyed the clips at 1:59 subscribed.

[@XplodePlayz4]

3:11 This is just my opinion, but I think the F-4C is fun to fly. It's really bad but it's so bad it loops around and becomes fun again.

[@dutch24]

Honestly haven't been able to even look at it since the Su-25 and A-10 were released. How you gonna counter all-aspects that outclass your early-ass radar missiles in every way while not having any CM

[@hilltopy]

Bring 1 mighty mouse triple-pod. As long as you catch the missiles early enough and cut your burner/throttle, you should be able to use 6-10 rockets as flares for most non-magic 1 missiles as long as you're also turning. It's not perfect nor as good as regular flares, but it's kept me from dying a good many times.

[@gaiofattos2]

@@dutch24 Man, if F-4C can catch up with 104's or even 105, F-4c will not have problem outrunning it.

[@XplodePlayz4]

@@dutch24 Well, generally I've had a lotta luck at high altitude with the AIM-7D, and being at such altitudes puts me out of the way of the onslaught of all aspects. Even when an A-10 or Su-25 shoot a missile at me (which is most commonly from behind), provided the launch was far enough away, I can wait for it to stop burning and then do small alternating turns to drain its energy. I've dodged many R-60Ms and 9Ls in that way. F-4C is one of my favorite planes to fly in general. it has its downsides but i think its relatively fun.

[@John-Johnsonreal]

@@dutch24rockets as flares

[@RkHy]

remember that the MiG-21's radar, the Sapphire-21 operates in band J, a lot of early RWRs can only detect up to band I, meaning they won't get any radar launch warnings (or any warning at all) if you launch an R-3R at them.

[@stuffzie8329]

Suggestion: The J-21/A-21 series. Most air RB players at 4.3 aren't the brightest(P-47 players) and will full-commit to head-ons at which point you can greet them with your mini 20mm cannons.

[@Silundi]

This missile just reminds me of a scaled down version of the R-24R, supershot burn time but great energy retention.

[@KmF0X]

That R3R tale for WT makes me think of something "similar" a few BR below : The G.91 R/4 Nord AA missiles Nobody at 8.7 expects a front-facing missile, so you just have to lure someone into a face-to-face and throw a surprise gift! Just do a custom loadout with 2 AA Nords, 2 Sidewinders, and a .50 gun full of tracers and there you go!

[@Damian-03x3]

This video alone made me interested in finally using my MiG-21MF many years after buying it. Amazing stuff. I might even consider getting MiG-21S just for this.

[@Finreii]

Idk if this is still the case due to BR changes. Most matches I used this missile, I tried to pick on targets I knew didn't have RWR. Basically makes this thing a silent killer if you are far enough away. This usually involves climbing and looking out for other radar missile carrying planes though

[@jakobc.2558]

The later model P-47s were indeed used for turnfighting in real life, so the example with the P-47 is not exactly appropriate. Because of the insane thrust of the late war R-2800 the P-47Ds could actualy win prolonged turnfights against BF109s even at low altitute. There are videos about people doing it in DCS aswell. The 109 just doesn't have the thrust to stay at a good manovering speed for prolonged periods.

[@505NI]

Don’t tell the unwashed masses about the glory of late P-47s, specially the M variant.

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

P-47 is fine, i turnfighted and killed many 109`s on it. So question is to whoever first started the meme of "unplayable" P-47.

[@thegenericguy8309]

The R-3R is the ideal missile for the complicated and very smart actually tactic of "think fast chucklenuts"

[@annihilator4291]

You know, I'm fully aware of these things carrying R-3R before getting the Crusader so when I got it, I ALWAYS arm it with Chaff & Flares(flares priority since SARH doesn't appear too often in those BRs).

[@iBlameRiya]

Aim9cs are better overall in everything same br and they're 18gs and the ONLY sidewinder sarhs ingame

[@michener1622]

I used the R-3R as an all-aspect on my SMT, finally someone made a video on this.

[@krower11]

Same here. Everyone is hating around on that missle but I never stopped using it. It is just too great for this BR.

[@andrewwillard5625]

Yep 100% agree R-3r is actually really good especially the premium mig 21 on Soviet tech tree at that low br. And would recommend Making your radar lock on key bind with an extra mouse button let’s you spam it so if they do have chaff you sometimes can re acquire them.

[@andrewwillard5625]

@sliky5598 yea I get that idk I guess I’m just lucky with downtiers but the mig 21 in German tech tree the same but has flares and also r60s

[@IonPerseus]

@sliky5598 all of these excluding f5 are slow ass heavy attacker planes, so you either missile them from above or get them in a dogfight

[@Sebmundo]

use the 21 mf@GermansRuinedWT

[@KevinPlayzReal]

The American Psychological warfare missile is AGM-65 on F-5E as an All Aspect Missile

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

Never saw it being used. I guess most F-5 players are just too braindead for it.

[@an_rc_guy8256]

I bought the mig-21S a year ago on the new year sale and have over 400 battles in it. I very quickly learned that the R-3R was a great missile to use at that BR and found a lot of success with it. I don't use it as much anymore (because I like shooting R-24R's in my MLD), but the R-3R and Mig-21S is a great combo to have learned using radar missiles.

[@littlejester0251]

I can confirm, the R-3R gets me most of my kills when in high alt. I love the Mig-21S (r-13 100)

[@logannicholson1850]

I find the bigger issue with R3Rs is they work at high altitude in a MM where nobody climbs, I’ll usually only find one target that can get slammed by an R3R before having to drop altitude and brawl on the deck where the R3R is pretty much useless

[@warbrain1053]

I usually get high alt, secure position then throw r3rs down diagonaly to give them more speed while staying above as much as possible

[@artruisjoew5473]

And those who do climb have better radar missiles than the R3R. 9Cs already beat it, and if you run into a (dogfight) sparrows you are completely boned. I have slapped lots of MiG 21 out of altitude who think their R3Rs are a match to my sparrows.

[@goodguyjohn4625]

The irony of youtube recommending this to me just a couple days after I died to an R3R in a headon, going nuts bc I thought there were all aspects at 9.3, is insane.

[@MissingLink2626]

3:08 when I saw you mention my beloved I had to step in, It's pretty easy to evade missiles in this thing the F-4C can carry rocket pods which I find effective against R-60's while burning still or even in a head on with the SU-25's R-60M's and while it only gets AIM-9E's and AIM-7D's I find that I can do quite well with the AIM-7D's launching at 10km up high is something nobody expects at 10.0 and the majority of my team are just prems so getting 5+ kill games are pretty easy especially with those 3 juicy GAU-4's

[@snowcat9308]

Most high-quality and under-rated youtuber possibly ever?

[@LostSoul6364]

"At 10.3 you're gonna have a really tough time trying to find a flareless target". I present to you, the entire British tech tree except top tier.

[@starexcelsior]

honestly, this is an easy way you can tell which players GE their way to the R60 vs stock grinding the Mig-21s because the GEers will almost never even consider the R-3R

[@OGShively]

DCS player here, also dabbling in War Thunder. Against the opponents it faces, the R-3R is a tool that shouldn't be overlooked. In Cold War scenarios in DCS, I can confidently take a Mig-21Bis head-on into a two-ship of F-5s and lock either lead or wingman with the radar set and pick one of them off as I attempt to pass by the remainder into a climb and seek an advantageous position for a second attack. The missile's more effective than you'd think in a pure head-on pass at low altitude (as low as the radar will permit, mind) as many of the targets it faces in DCS and in WT aren't likely to have an effective weapon to retaliate from this aspect. As long as you don't get close enough to eat stray 20mm, you should be fine.

[@LoudestHoward]

I love cruising around in the F-8E with 9Cs, by the time people realise you aren't sending an IR missile at you it's too late. I'll have to give it a go with the MiG-21 too.

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

F-8 and Mig21 are very similar as i observed. They are best played in same way, IR and radar missiles mix, climb up, kill, go down.

[@jakobc.2558]

Even better are the AIM-7Cs on the F3H. They are realy difficult to learn at first because if you launch them too early they won't have the range and if you launch them too late they won't track because they don't track off the rail, but if you launch them at just the right distance they are amazing. They pull 15Gs so it's realy difficult to dodge them, they are CW missiles, meaning they can ignore chaff for 2 up to 2 seconds after the enemy deployed it as long as you stay locked to the chaff cloud and they have more range then any other missile around that BR.

[@thecommenter9678]

see shit like this is why my paranoid ass ALWAYS takes mixed flairs. ALWAYS

[@1KosovoJeSrbija1]

a big thing with soviet interceptors, namely the later MiG-25 was to equip them with both IR and radar missiles, so that even if the enemy used one tactic that countered one missile, it wouldn't work against the other.

[@nikoloso]

Another benefit of the r3r is the fact that it is on alower band then most rwr at 10.3 and below so theydont even get a heads up that theyve been locked

[@samspeed6271]

I do the same thing with the AIM-9C in the F-8E Crusader. Get high, get fast, lob a missile at a high and fast target and hope they don't have chaff. In an up tier it doesn't work at all because everything except the Draken, the Mitsubishi F1 and the F-104J, have CM and they usually take some chaff. But in a down tier, it's great against Harriers and the occasional Su-25 or A-10A.

[@kingghidorah8106]

just a small thing: the aim9C is not the American R3R, it actually is compatible with lookdown mode and pulls 20G's, so, as it always is, America has the better toys.

[@davidhunt122122]

I just unlocked the MiG 21SMT the other day and randomly remembered this video. I’ve been pretty successful killing the grinders at 10.3 thanks a lot for this video

[@Sipsy301]

Do you have some sort of audio pack modded into the game or something? Your guns and explosions seem to sound different (as in way cooler than current WT) so I'm interested in getting the same :D

[@stevato0449]

In DCS cold war servers, the R-3R is such a menace, no one expects an all aspect missile from a MiG-21 when everyone is running AIM-9B variants.

[@commandercody8766]

"Nothing can stop warhtunder players from turning anything into a turn fighter." Damn straight. I have many kills from turn fighting the a10 and f104

[@jbeverley67]

The r3rs are great but the 9cs blow them out the water

[@meaningless5898]

agree lol... most of my kills in F8E are mig21s

[@sixthgreeny1880]

Difference in br helps

[@meaningless5898]

@@sixthgreeny1880 in the video hes using 10.3 mig21 i think

[@fancyjets4390]

I love the R-3R in DCS. In a cold war server, Viggens love to go head on and blow right past you. They never expect your R-3R, and when you do hit them head on it’s great.

[@acheron5900]

Deadly missiles for that br but F8E's aim9c is even deadlier.

[@lam0on]

Your so underated you make such high quality videos and is unique love the vids keep it up

[@doni45channel39]

God i love the R3R, it's allways stupidly underestimated and that's it's beuty >:)))

[@cat_clan_leader]

Nothing will stop us from turning anything into a turnfighter? Correct. Ever tried turnfightng in the Pe-8? Its really goofy

[@justanotherinternetmusicia1248]

The 9.7 soviet premium fishbed gets these and at those BRs almost nobody thinks your shooting radar missiles. The majority of my kills in it come from the R3R. Easily one of my favourite missiles in the game, oh and it also slaps even harder in Sim

[@killerofal719]

This reminds me of the vautour 2N, with what seems to be a lackluster missile, but at 8.3, almost no one expects a radar missile to hit them from 8km out.

[@niggalini]

And at that BR bracket, no one even has RWR, let alone chaff, except for the A-4E

[@apocsyn5889]

I honestly love these kind of videos, informational and captivating.

[@apolakigamingandmore6376]

1:55 *I love how the pilot is looking at me like that randomly for no reason...*

[@AveragePootis]

My man you are gonna get far with this quality

[@eclipsewolf9451]

Hahaha yes! I literally just saw this after getting off the SPSK; such an underrated missile, you can also use them to conduct psychological warfare, having 3 missiles when the SPSK usually carries 2

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

I use 2 R3R`s and 2 R-60 on my mig21mf. Best from both worlds, amazing headon capability + R-60`s.

[@yono367]

I've been waiting for a video on the R-3R, I always carry atleast 1 on my SMT

[@bryce1334]

I enjoy how I clicked on this vid to learn how to use it and get simple key binds but instead it’s just a video on what everyone already knows radar missile go brrrrrrrrr

[@ErikMoroni]

Wow this is very well recorded and edited. Great work!

[@StealthyShot]

THE R-3R is how I grinded the Soviet tree got 1200 kills with the MiG-21S

[@officialis5027]

“At 10.3, you’re gonna have a really tough time trying to find a flareless target” ; More importantly, most of those targets will be obliterated by 9Ls at 10.0 when facing US teams. 9Ls get me more often in the forgotten Mirage IIIC than anything else purely because of the lack of countermeasures and the fact that 2/3 of the American premiums at the tier get loadouts with four 9Ls.

[@SammyGDude]

You know, I used to watch krebz and Mcchicken bites.... When _OBRSO_ was a huge clan I was hunting in the mig 15 and f86... when the 17 came out it was game changing. Phly was just a dude playing WT before marriage... Botime gaming....simpler times... etc. Im still playing, now BVR and radar are insane... missiles.... Now, I watch DEFYN, and many other youtubers, but this into was awesome; I'm only 1 minute in, but the intro looks great and the writing leads me to believe I should be looking forward to a dissertation level breakdown of the status of this armament. Keep doing what you're doing, it will get you places. Ill edit in my review after. Thank you for the content! edit: good vid, visually; more in battle examples and real-world uses. Prove to us what you say- even if its right; show us. 7/10 overall

[@angelking231]

What an excellent video mate, you just gained a new subscriber!

[@gymcurry4312]

Have you considered making a video about the 8.3 vautour with radar missiles ?

[@WirableCrown1]

All the R variants of the soviet missiles also have a lower drag coefficient due to the pointy radar head compared to the flat IR seaker head of the T variants

[@C4Cole05]

I do the reverse of this, I play the F8U and bait Mig-21s to try and R3-R me. then I chaff twice, rinse and repeat a couple times and most of them usually go back to low altitudes.

[@colonelsanders82]

I learned to respect the R-3R while flying the F-4C. What really makes it dangerous is also that the Fishbed is fast as hell at altitude, giving a solid speed bonus. You might think the F-4C is the better BVR plane flying high and fast, but I dare say its radar and missiles are not as reliable as the Mig-21 with R-3Rs. The Mig just needs to get closer before firing. It's a nasty surprise in a head-on.

[@skyscall]

the editing in this entire video is fucking SUPERB

[@lythnic5536]

such a high quality video! you sir are underrated!

[@josephfenech9401]

R-3R are the ultimate terror missile of high altitude.

[@CirnoSpaceProject]

I usually fly with 3 r60s and 1 r3r, there’s always that one climber up in the air.

[@yui.3218]

I've been speedrunning soviet with Mig21S and dude ppl aren't aware i can slap them head on so easily its too much fun

[@Heidi3-y5c]

Mirage IIIC is another gem in this regard. The 530 its carrying is far more capable and you can easily get a kill in a head on engagement from 10km considering rwr are far and few between, people ain’t expecting a fox 1 at that br, and it’s unlikely you’ll be unlucky to find someone else with any fox-1 at that br. There is the crusader iirc with the goofy SARH missiles but they’re far outrangwd by the 530.

[@igoryst3049]

the soviet premium MiG-21 has only R-3R and it's honestly way better than i thought it would be when i bought it

[@exoticdachoo007]

I love watching these videos despite knowing that I 100% have no interest in the WT aviation. Just feels satisfying to watch something you don't understand for some reason

[@mastermidir]

A fellow R-3R player, you have my subscription sir

[@hampter3845]

Hey I noticed your sounds were different do you mind telling me which sound mod you are using?

[@goosegamerau3200]

5:36 the F3H also gets early sparrows and they’re still really bad (mostly because of the short range and the time before the missile starts tracking)

[@TonnyH21]

Love the R-3R on the MIG-21S, high alt F-104 go bye bye

[@Circa88]

I have just unlocked the MiG-21MF and immediately started slinging R-3Ss around, but I may have to give the R-3R a shot now.

[@uisce_]

what postfx settings do you use for your cinematic replay shots?

[@Bruh-fc7ik]

Seeing the Mig-21s radar have no problem looking down at the ground is painful after playing F-4C

[@max1m1917]

Sometimes it seems like flying wallets are trying to flare my bullets away.

[@someguy872]

A lot of good info and story telling. Keep it up!

[@The_true_BoBa]

0:23, no they were considered to be fast turn fighters from the beginning

[@mightyzuis]

Funny that you talk about but about a year or 2 ago i used r3 r on the premium mig 21 S to grind out the soviet air tech tree and i will say i was surprised At actually how effective they were. Sadly the mig 21 S doesn’t have countermeasures making it damn near impossible to dodge aim 9L.

[@branraisin684]

That is exactly the reason why use the M7 Charley on the F3H demon

[@bleudie173]

great vid for watching in front of my grandparents that are fliers thanks for the amazing vid!

[@PandaMan-xy1he]

So, this is possibly my favourite missile of the starting missiles. I use a 3xR3R and 1x S5K pod loadout on the MiG-21S R-300, because you can use it as you do here (in a headon) or be a bit of a troll and use that incredibly wide lock circle to lead the missile to hit aircraft that are sure they're safe, and use the S5s as ghetto flares. I have a well over 2 average KD in air battles doing that.

[@niggalini]

The R-3R is just like that. Shit on paper, but actually fun in gameplay circumstances. It's fun to use on the premium MiG-21S where I like to load three R-3R's and one R-3S, and for the MiG-21SMT and MF which are excellent planes just by performance alone, the R-3R's carried them while I was stock grinding them, and now I always carry a pair of R-3R's and a pair of R-60's on each. What makes the R-3R so fun in past experience is that you see a lot of premium players climb to space mostly unaware (usually F-5C's, some AV-8A's), with no chaff, flares only, and then its a free kill

[@Boopity7739]

I ground out the USSR lines I didnt go for using the Mig 21S with the R3R. Carrying 4 of them was great

[@dappersquid27]

Very unique video! Keep it up and you'll be flying with Phly one day bro!

[@black_thunder2159]

people complain about Soviet R-3R but none complains to AIM-9C even though i can bet, none of them knew how to use AIM-7E in their Phantoms anyway & also complains why their PD radar keeps losing the lock when enemy turns.

[@ChillingIceCube]

The fact that at the moment this has 1.4K likes and 6 Dislikes just shows the quality,

[@ashleyhamman]

I didn't realise until a few days ago that there were any Mig 21s that carried radar missiles. All of a sudden when I decided to start using my Mirage 3 for BVR in downtiers and discovered that Fishbeds were rising to joust.

[@sztypettto]

Pretty solid video. Kind of stuff only a genius would think of. Gives me new ideas.

[@Christgaming_5464]

Amazing video,brings up alot of great points. What sound pack do you use if not custom? it sounds amazing and id love to use it

[@oz314]

Struggling hard with this missile, takes forever to lock and then once it does the second someone flares it just spasm out.

[@floatingamer]

I love using the r3rs they are so versatile and super fun to use because it's a challenge

[@hughmungus5033]

Top tier before the pulse doppler radars trained me to always carry flare, chaff mix. I still do regardless of br because it's so ingrained in me from the sparrow and soviet equivalent spam days. Since pulse doppler radar, I have started notching quite often too, often while using chaff flare mix.

[@bndahi8251]

fantastic editing, subscribed