Britain supplied Ukraine with a new anti-aircraft vehicle, only to accidentally launch an air-to-air missile

Recently, the UK provided Ukraine with a new type of air defense vehicle, and social media revealed a new type of air defense missile for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which uses a wheeled truck as a chassis and has a proposed twin-mounted launcher installed at the rear. The missile uses a naked bomb to mount two rare British AIM-2 short-range air-to-air missiles.
The AIM-132 air-to-air missile is an air-to-air missile jointly designed by the United Kingdom and Germany and produced by the European Missile Group (MBDA).The missile was originally designed as a replacement for the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile and was intended to replace the AIM-9X missile used by the U.S. Air Force.However, because the United States developed its own AIM-9X missile, the AIM-132 missile manufacturing plan suffered a setback.In the end, the air forces of European countries such as the United Kingdom had to adopt the AIM-132 missile and equip it on fighter jets such as Typhoon. The AIM-132 missile has advanced electronic systems and high-precision guidance technology, capable of remotely locking targets and destroying them.Its range can reach more than 160 kilometers and can handle a variety of combat scenarios. The emergence of the AIM-132 missile has prompted many countries to re-examine the design and production of air-to-air missiles.It reminds us that in the competition in the arms market, the importance of technology and R&D capabilities is self-evident. Only by continuously improving one's own level can one maintain its advantage in the fierce international competition.

This picture shows a Ukrainian-equipped surface-to-air missile launch vehicle, which is mainly used to launch AIM-132 air-to-air missiles.
Modifying missiles into surface-to-air missiles is not a novel idea.In fact, there are already some "home-made steel-making" style battlefield modifications, and there are also quite a few serious model developments.
Ukraine once converted the R-27T medium-range air-to-air missile into a surface-to-air missile and deployed it on a truck chassis to perform air defense missions.It is similar to the situation installed on the AIM-132 missile this time.

Ukraine is installing R-27T medium-range air-to-air missiles on trucks.
Supacat, a company donated by the United Kingdom to the United States, has manufactured a 6-wheel all-terrain truck with a unique shape, light weight, and good maneuverability.
The optical sensor above the cab of the vehicle should be used to guide missile launches, while the dual-rail launcher behind the vehicle is equipped with two AIM-2 missiles.It is rumored that this system is operated by the British and is mainly used to intercept Iranian drones equipped with a large number of Russian equipment.
The images show off the odd-looking all-terrain truck from Supacat, a company dedicated to designing unique trucks.
As mentioned before, this approach is not uncommon. Various countries have had cases of converting air-to-air missiles into surface-to-air missiles.
美国曾经将AIM-120“阿斯拉姆”中程空空导弹进行改装，使其成为一种地空导弹。印度也拥有SAMAR-1和SAMAR-2防空导弹系统，这些系统是基于俄制R-73E/R-27ET空空导弹进行研制的。

The picture shows the AIM-120 "Aslam" medium-range air-to-air missile modified to form a surface-to-air missile system.

The picture shows India's surface-to-air missile system developed based on the R-73 air-to-air missile.
In this regard, our country has also made many achievements.
In the early 20s, because the standard ship-to-air missiles were not yet mature at the time, in order to cope with possible maritime conflicts, we decided to use PL-80 and PL-8 missiles for fighter jets in the immature short-range air-to-air missiles.
The 37 turret is equipped with PL-8 and PL-9 air-to-air missiles.
In order to meet the export needs of the Type 90 dual 35mm towed anti-aircraft guns, we developed a surface-to-air missile model based on the PL-9 air-to-air missile.This missile is equipped with 4 missiles and is installed on the turret of the tractor, which can make up for the problem of high range shooting of anti-aircraft guns.
This system has been tested on the WZ551 wheeled armored vehicle.At present, the system has been successfully exported to Indonesia and other countries.

The picture shows the surface-to-air missile system of the PL-9 air-to-air missile.

Recently, we have successfully launched a series of surface-to-air missiles based on the Tianyan-90 air-to-air missile for helicopters.This small missile not only has excellent performance and range, but can also be easily installed on a rotating base, off-road vehicles, and armored vehicles, thereby providing effective support for field air defense and short-range air defense in important areas.Compared with traditional air defense missile systems, our surface-to-air missiles have greater maneuverability and longer range.It can be deployed and adjusted in a short time to cope with air defense missions in various situations.At the same time, due to its miniaturized design, this missile can be flexibly used in various complex terrains and environments, improving its applicability.Our surface-to-air missile systems use advanced guidance and control systems to accurately track and strike targets.At the same time, it also has anti-jamming and self-repair capabilities to ensure the stability and reliability of the missile in complex environments.Overall, our surface-to-air missile is a versatile and high-quality weapon system that can provide effective air defense and offensive support to the military in various situations.We will continue to work hard to improve the performance and reliability of missile systems and make greater contributions to national security and stability.

The picture shows the development process of the TY-90 air-to-air missile, and also marks the birth of this series of surface-to-air missile systems.

We have also developed a new radar active guidance LS-II ADS air defense missile system based on the PL-12 air-to-air missile. This system can be mixed with the PL-9 missile.This system has two missiles and two guidance methods, designed to improve interception efficiency.

These part-time surface-to-air missiles are cheap, easy to operate, and quite powerful.For example, in 2019, the Houthi armed forces used an R-27 air-to-air missile modified by Turkey and France to successfully shoot down a Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jet from the ground. People were very surprised!