Manufacturer catalog

NPO Vympel

NPO Vympel is the Russian missile design bureau and production enterprise formally associated with the State Machine Building Design Bureau Vympel named after I.I. Toropov. Public defense-industry and regulatory sources describe the Moscow organization as a specialist in air-to-air guided missiles, air-to-surface missiles, air-defense missiles, aircraft launchers, ejection units, hardpoints, and defensive countermeasure devices.

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The Vympel lineage began in 1949 as Plant No. 134 and OKB-134, a Soviet aircraft-armament design organization under Ivan Toropov. Its early work covered gun and bomber-aircraft armament, but the bureau became strongly associated with aviation missiles after work on the K-7 and K-13 programs. GlobalSecurity's history credits the bureau with the K-13/R-3S short-range air-to-air missile entering serial production in 1960 and with later missile families including R-23, R-24, R-27, R-33, R-73, R-60, Kh-29, and the 3M9 missile for the Kub air-defense system.

Modern public sources identify the enterprise through several transliterations and legal forms, including GosMKB Vympel and State Machine Building Design Bureau Vympel by Name I.I. Toropov. PromMoscow describes the Moscow plant as a developer and producer of aviation missile armament, and U.S. Entity List materials place the Vympel bureau under Tactical Missile Corporation with an address on Volokolamskoye Shosse in Moscow. Rosoboronexport product pages for R-73E and RVV-BD provide catalog-relevant public specifications for Vympel-linked air-to-air missile families without establishing any conflict-use claims.

Air-to-air guided missilesAir-to-surface guided missilesMissiles for land and naval air-defense systemsAircraft missile launchers and ejection unitsAircraft hardpoints, racks, and countermeasure devices

Notable Systems

K-13 missile, Short-range infrared homing air-to-air missile, Munitions

K-13 missile

Short-range infrared homing air-to-air missile

Early Vympel/Toropov short-range air-to-air missile family; GlobalSecurity's Vympel history says the R-3S/K-13 line entered serial production in 1960.

Sources: GlobalSecurity.org Vympel history
Vympel R-73 short-range air-to-air missile, Short-range infrared-guided air-to-air missile, Munitions

Vympel R-73 short-range air-to-air missile

Short-range infrared-guided air-to-air missile

Close-range infrared-guided air-to-air missile family associated with Vympel's aircraft-missile design bureau work; Rosoboronexport publishes public specifications for the R-73E export variant.

Sources: GlobalSecurity.org Vympel history, Rosoboronexport R-73E
Vympel R-37M / RVV-BD, Very-long-range air-to-air missile, Munitions

Vympel R-37M / RVV-BD

Very-long-range air-to-air missile

Very-long-range air-to-air missile family; PromMoscow identifies RVV-BD among Vympel's current aviation-missile developments and Rosoboronexport publishes public RVV-BD export specifications.

Sources: PromMoscow Vympel factory profile, Rosoboronexport RVV-BD

Manufacturer History

  1. Plant No. 134 organized for aircraft armament

    GlobalSecurity's Vympel history identifies 18 November 1949 as the establishment date for Plant No. 134, a pilot plant and design organization for aircraft armament led by Ivan Toropov.

    Sources: GlobalSecurity.org Vympel history

  2. K-13/R-3S enters serial production

    The Vympel history says the short-range R-3S air-to-air missile, part of the K-13 family, was launched into serial production in 1960 for MiG and other fighter aircraft.

    Sources: GlobalSecurity.org Vympel history

  3. R-73 enters Vympel's air-to-air missile line

    GlobalSecurity's chronology places the R-73 short-range air-to-air missile in service in 1983 after the transfer of R-73 topics from NPO Molniya specialists to the Vympel enterprise.

    Sources: GlobalSecurity.org Vympel history

  4. Enterprise joins Tactical Missiles Corporation

    PromMoscow and GlobalSecurity both describe Vympel becoming part of Tactical Missiles Corporation in the mid-2000s defense-industrial consolidation.

    Sources: PromMoscow Vympel factory profile, GlobalSecurity.org Vympel history

  5. Listed by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security

    The Federal Register added the Tactical Missile Corporation Vympel design bureau entity to the Entity List and listed Vympel NPO as an alias at the Moscow address.

    Sources: Federal Register Entity List additions

Predecessors
Plant No. 134OKB-134Federal State Unitary Enterprise State Machine-Building Design Bureau Vympel named after I.I. Toropov
Website links
Official websitePromMoscow factory profileOpenSanctions profileFederal Register Entity List entry

Public sources use several English transliterations for the same Toropov design-bureau lineage. The separate catalog manufacturer named Vympel is not used as an alias here because it has its own published profile.

Manufacturer Sources

  • GlobalSecurity.org Vympel profilePublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports the Toropov design-bureau identity, 1949 origin, aircraft missile and air-defense missile focus, export product families, and aircraft-launcher and hardpoint activities. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • GlobalSecurity.org Vympel historyPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports the 1949 founding chronology, K-13/R-3S serial production in 1960, R-73 timeline context, 1992 GosMKB renaming, and the mid-2000s Tactical Missiles Corporation relationship. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • PromMoscow Vympel factory profilePublisher: PromMoscow | Note: Supports the Moscow address, 1949 origin, 2005 Tactical Missiles Corporation relationship, aviation missile production focus, RVV-BD and RVV-MD2 current-development context, workforce scale, and civil-product note. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Federal Register Entity List additionsPublisher: Federal Register | Note: Supports the Tactical Missile Corporation Vympel legal name, Vympel NPO alias, Moscow address, and U.S. Entity List status. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • OpenSanctions Vympel State Engineering Design BureauPublisher: OpenSanctions | Note: Aggregates regulatory records supporting the joint-stock-company identity, registration identifiers, Moscow registration/place-of-business context, Tactical Missiles Corporation ownership/control relationship, and broad missile and aircraft-armament manufacturing description. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Rosoboronexport R-73EPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Supports public R-73E product background and specifications used to describe the Vympel-linked R-73 notable system. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Rosoboronexport RVV-BDPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Supports public RVV-BD product background, target set, guidance, warhead weight, launch weight, and export-range specifications used for the Vympel-linked R-37M/RVV-BD notable system. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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