units. It was first used to intercept USAF UAVs flown from Vietnam and other south east Asian countries to mainland China. Operators Current operators Former operators – Passed on to Germany, retired shortly after. – Retired after the German reunification. – On the Sukhoi Su-22 and the Dassault Mirage 5 Evaluation-only operators Operational history The K-13 missile was used by North Vietnamese MiG-21 pilots. Due to the NVAF's very limited number of MiG-21s, their common tactic was to approach an American formation at maximum reasonable speed, fire their missiles in volleys, and exit the area at maximum speed to avoid engagement. Some of these missiles were seized by Israel during the Six-Day War in the Sinai Peninsula. They were used during the War of Attrition, by Squadron 101 (Mirage IIICJ) and probably also by 117 and 119 squadrons, all Mirage squadrons of the Israeli Air Force. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Israelis shot down dozens of MiGs – but there had been no success in using this missile, as Israeli pilots preferred to use cannons or indigenous missiles such as Shafrir 1 and Shafrir 2. K-3 or K-13 missiles were also used during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 by the Indian Air Force; they were integrated on MiG-21FLs and used to shoot down at least two to four Pakistani F-104 Starfighters. They were used during the Yom Kippur War by the Arab Air Forces in 1973, and during the Iran–Iraq War by the Iraqi Air Force between 1980 and 1988. On 19 August 1981, during the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident, a Libyan Air Force Su-22 fired a K-13 missile head on at approaching US Navy F-14As; the missile was evaded. Specifications (R-3S / R-3R) Length: (R-3S) 2,830 mm (9 ft 3.4 in); (R-3R) 3,420 mm (11 ft 5 in) Wingspan: 530 mm (21 in) Diameter: 127 mm (5 in) Launch weight: (R-3S) 75 kg (166 lb); (R-3R) 93 kg (205 lb) Speed: Mach 2.5 Range: 0.9 to 7 km max, 2 km effective Guidance: (R-3S) infrared homing; (R-3R) SARH Warhead: SB03 11.3 kg (24.9 lb) blast-fragmentation Explosive content: 5.3 kg of TGAF-5 (40% TNT, 40% RDX, 20% Aluminium powder) Fuze: type 428 proximity fuze and I-107 Contact fuze (R-3R) References Citations Bibliography External links Chinese PL-2 air-to-air missile Air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union Cold War air-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union Vympel NPO products Military