R-Darter

The R-Darter is a beyond visual range air-to-air missile guided by an active radar homing seeker. It was designed and manufactured by the South African firm Kentron, which is now known as Denel Dynamics. The South African air-to-air missile program benefited from cooperation with Israel during the 1980s, and the missile is very similar to the Israeli Python Derby. In service it armed the South African Air Force Cheetah C fighter aircraft, and it was withdrawn when the Cheetahs were retired in 2008. The South African Air Force had not publicly said which beyond visual range missile would equip the 26 Saab JAS 39 Gripens that replaced the Cheetahs. The Brazilian Air Force was reported to be evaluating the R-Darter for its F-5 fighters, because Denel would sell the test missiles at a low price as they neared the end of their shelf life, and a 2010 report said the Pakistan Air Force was operating it. The article names the AIM-120 AMRAAM as a comparable beyond visual range missile and the A-Darter as Denel's short range infrared homing missile.