Ukraine’s MiG-29 Jet Fires Anti-Radiation Missiles to Break Russian Radar Lock in Combat Zone
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
Ukraine’s Western Air Command posted footage on 22 October 2025 showing a MiG-29 launching anti-radiation missiles in an operation aimed at degrading Russian radar-guided SAM systems. This SEAD action is meant to reduce detection and targeting risk for follow-on strike aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles, shaping immediate operational access over contested areas.
On 22 October 2025, Ukraine’s Western Air Command released ground-filmed footage appearing to show a tactical aviation pilot launching anti-radiation missiles at Russian air-defense systems, aiming to “open the sky” for follow-on strike operations. The video, posted on 22 October on the Command’s official channels, highlights a mission set that has become central to Ukraine’s air campaign: suppressing and disorganizing radar-guided surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems such as the S-300 and S-400 so other vectors, drones, cruise missiles, and bomb-carrying aircraft, can reach their targets with lower risk, as reported by Air Command “West” of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
In newly released footage, a Ukrainian MiG-29 launches anti-radiation missiles to suppress Russian radar-guided air defenses, executing a tactical SEAD strike aimed at clearing the skies for follow-on attacks (Picture Source: Ukrainian Air Force)
While the release does not formally identify the aircraft, the geometry of the shots and prior integrations strongly suggest a Ukrainian MiG-29 “Fulcrum” executing the attack profile. Since mid-2022, Kyiv has adapted Western anti-radiation weapons to its Soviet-designed fighters, most notably integrating the U.S.-made AGM-88 HARM on MiG-29s and Su-27s, a technically demanding effort that U.S. officials publicly confirmed. Subsequent imagery and cockpit videos showed MiG-29s carrying and firing HARMs in combat, validating the interface and tactics.
From a weapons perspective, the MiG-29’s publicly documented anti-radiation option is the AGM-88 HARM, which homes on hostile radar emissions and can be cued pre-mission or in flight. Ukraine’s legacy inventory has included Soviet-era ARMs such as the Kh-58 series and Kh-25MP, and Russia widely employs the Kh-31P and Kh-58 for its own SEAD/DEAD missions; however, there is no open-source confirmation that Ukraine’s MiG-29s currently launch anything other than HARM. Operational evidence since 2022 points to the HARM as the MiG-29’s verified ARM, with Ukrainian pilots reportedly firing hundreds of rounds to force Russian SAM crews to shut down or relocate.
Operationally, these sorties fit the “wild weasel” model refined over decades: provoking radar activation, shooting at the emitters, and creating short windows of localized air superiority. Early in the HARM’s employment over Ukraine, kill claims suggested successful strikes on engagement radars; as Russian operators adapted, shorter radar on-times, shoot-and-scoot tactics, the effect shifted toward suppression rather than destruction. Even so, suppression is the point: once the radars blink off, Ukrainian standoff munitions such as Storm Shadow/SCALP, guided rockets, or drone swarms face fewer tracking solutions and can prosecute targets more freely. The West Air Command’s statement that aviation has destroyed more than 400 ground targets since the full-scale invasion aligns with this cumulative, enabling concept of operations.
In capability terms, the MiG-29/HARM pairing offers specific advantages relative to alternatives. Compared with short-range UAV-borne anti-radiation payloads or ground-launched loitering munitions, a fast-jet ARM shot compresses time-to-target and can be launched from a wider array of vectors, complicating defender geometry. Against Russian analogues like the Kh-31P or Kh-58, HARM’s performance is broadly comparable in the suppression role; the differentiator in Ukraine is not raw kinematics but integration agility and tactics, rapid mission-data updates, emission-library exploitation from allied ISR, and the willingness to fly repeated SEAD cycles to keep IADS “dark” at decisive moments. These missions also complement, rather than replace, ground-based air defense duels and electronic attack, forming a layered contest in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The strategic implications of this latest strike footage are twofold. Geopolitically, it signals the continued effectiveness of Western-Ukrainian tech integration in the air domain despite Russia’s dense IADS, reinforcing donor confidence that precision munitions delivered since 2022 remain relevant and adaptable. Geostrategically, persistent SEAD/DEAD pressure degrades the deterrent value of S-300/S-400 belts that Russia relies on to shield logistics nodes, airbases, and command posts deep in the rear. Militarily, every successful suppression window widens the operating envelope for Ukraine’s other strike systems, shaping the battlespace ahead of larger coordinated attacks and setting conditions for future fighter introductions. The practice of pairing HARM salvos with follow-on fires has become a recognizable Ukrainian pattern, one that extracts disproportionate operational effect even when radars survive by shutting down.
What makes this particular release significant is not just the single engagement, but the message it conveys about continuity: Ukrainian tactical aviation remains capable of contesting Russia’s air-defense architecture and of imposing dilemmas on SAM operators at times and places of Kyiv’s choosing. With the Air Command “West” underscoring that hundreds of ground targets have been neutralized since the invasion began, the new footage functions as both proof of concept and a signal of intent, SEAD pressure will continue until the air picture is permissive enough for layered strike packages to exploit. For Ukraine’s partners and adversaries alike, the takeaway is clear: radar silence is not safety, and even a momentary blackout can open corridors for the next wave.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
Ukraine’s Western Air Command posted footage on 22 October 2025 showing a MiG-29 launching anti-radiation missiles in an operation aimed at degrading Russian radar-guided SAM systems. This SEAD action is meant to reduce detection and targeting risk for follow-on strike aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles, shaping immediate operational access over contested areas.
On 22 October 2025, Ukraine’s Western Air Command released ground-filmed footage appearing to show a tactical aviation pilot launching anti-radiation missiles at Russian air-defense systems, aiming to “open the sky” for follow-on strike operations. The video, posted on 22 October on the Command’s official channels, highlights a mission set that has become central to Ukraine’s air campaign: suppressing and disorganizing radar-guided surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems such as the S-300 and S-400 so other vectors, drones, cruise missiles, and bomb-carrying aircraft, can reach their targets with lower risk, as reported by Air Command “West” of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In newly released footage, a Ukrainian MiG-29 launches anti-radiation missiles to suppress Russian radar-guided air defenses, executing a tactical SEAD strike aimed at clearing the skies for follow-on attacks (Picture Source: Ukrainian Air Force)
While the release does not formally identify the aircraft, the geometry of the shots and prior integrations strongly suggest a Ukrainian MiG-29 “Fulcrum” executing the attack profile. Since mid-2022, Kyiv has adapted Western anti-radiation weapons to its Soviet-designed fighters, most notably integrating the U.S.-made AGM-88 HARM on MiG-29s and Su-27s, a technically demanding effort that U.S. officials publicly confirmed. Subsequent imagery and cockpit videos showed MiG-29s carrying and firing HARMs in combat, validating the interface and tactics.
From a weapons perspective, the MiG-29’s publicly documented anti-radiation option is the AGM-88 HARM, which homes on hostile radar emissions and can be cued pre-mission or in flight. Ukraine’s legacy inventory has included Soviet-era ARMs such as the Kh-58 series and Kh-25MP, and Russia widely employs the Kh-31P and Kh-58 for its own SEAD/DEAD missions; however, there is no open-source confirmation that Ukraine’s MiG-29s currently launch anything other than HARM. Operational evidence since 2022 points to the HARM as the MiG-29’s verified ARM, with Ukrainian pilots reportedly firing hundreds of rounds to force Russian SAM crews to shut down or relocate.
Operationally, these sorties fit the “wild weasel” model refined over decades: provoking radar activation, shooting at the emitters, and creating short windows of localized air superiority. Early in the HARM’s employment over Ukraine, kill claims suggested successful strikes on engagement radars; as Russian operators adapted, shorter radar on-times, shoot-and-scoot tactics, the effect shifted toward suppression rather than destruction. Even so, suppression is the point: once the radars blink off, Ukrainian standoff munitions such as Storm Shadow/SCALP, guided rockets, or drone swarms face fewer tracking solutions and can prosecute targets more freely. The West Air Command’s statement that aviation has destroyed more than 400 ground targets since the full-scale invasion aligns with this cumulative, enabling concept of operations.
In capability terms, the MiG-29/HARM pairing offers specific advantages relative to alternatives. Compared with short-range UAV-borne anti-radiation payloads or ground-launched loitering munitions, a fast-jet ARM shot compresses time-to-target and can be launched from a wider array of vectors, complicating defender geometry. Against Russian analogues like the Kh-31P or Kh-58, HARM’s performance is broadly comparable in the suppression role; the differentiator in Ukraine is not raw kinematics but integration agility and tactics, rapid mission-data updates, emission-library exploitation from allied ISR, and the willingness to fly repeated SEAD cycles to keep IADS “dark” at decisive moments. These missions also complement, rather than replace, ground-based air defense duels and electronic attack, forming a layered contest in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The strategic implications of this latest strike footage are twofold. Geopolitically, it signals the continued effectiveness of Western-Ukrainian tech integration in the air domain despite Russia’s dense IADS, reinforcing donor confidence that precision munitions delivered since 2022 remain relevant and adaptable. Geostrategically, persistent SEAD/DEAD pressure degrades the deterrent value of S-300/S-400 belts that Russia relies on to shield logistics nodes, airbases, and command posts deep in the rear. Militarily, every successful suppression window widens the operating envelope for Ukraine’s other strike systems, shaping the battlespace ahead of larger coordinated attacks and setting conditions for future fighter introductions. The practice of pairing HARM salvos with follow-on fires has become a recognizable Ukrainian pattern, one that extracts disproportionate operational effect even when radars survive by shutting down.
What makes this particular release significant is not just the single engagement, but the message it conveys about continuity: Ukrainian tactical aviation remains capable of contesting Russia’s air-defense architecture and of imposing dilemmas on SAM operators at times and places of Kyiv’s choosing. With the Air Command “West” underscoring that hundreds of ground targets have been neutralized since the invasion began, the new footage functions as both proof of concept and a signal of intent, SEAD pressure will continue until the air picture is permissive enough for layered strike packages to exploit. For Ukraine’s partners and adversaries alike, the takeaway is clear: radar silence is not safety, and even a momentary blackout can open corridors for the next wave.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
