Direct proof of use
The LAU-118/A missile launcher appears in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through Ukraine's 2022 integration of U.S.-supplied AGM-88 HARM missiles onto Soviet-designed fighters. U.S. defense officials confirmed that Ukraine had received HARM missiles, integrated them onto Ukrainian aircraft, and used them against Russian radars. That official record establishes the HARM employment context but does not itself identify the launcher hardware.
The launcher-specific evidence comes from reporting on Ukrainian MiG-29 HARM installations. Coffee or Die reported on September 16, 2022, that a RevengeFor video showed a special adapter pylon under a Ukrainian MiG-29 wing used to mate the missile's LAU-118/A launcher to the Soviet-era jet. The War Zone, reporting the same day, described a MiG-29 video in which an AGM-88 was fitted to the inner underwing station and said the workaround appeared to attach the missile's dedicated LAU-118 pylon through a special adapter.
Sources: Senior Defense Official HARM Briefing, Kahl Ukraine Security Assistance Briefing, Ukrainian Fighter Jets Now Carry US Missiles, Ukrainians Sold Message On HARM Anti-Radiation Missile
Timeline
The public record developed in stages during August and September 2022. On August 19, a senior U.S. defense official said additional HARM missiles were being provided and that Ukraine had already integrated and employed the missiles from Ukrainian aircraft. On August 24, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said the missiles had been adapted for MiG-29 launch and had recently been used to take out Russian radar systems.
On September 16, 2022, two aviation-focused reports added the launcher installation detail. Coffee or Die identified a special adapter pylon mating the LAU-118/A launcher to a Ukrainian MiG-29, while The War Zone described the visible HARM fit as a dedicated LAU-118 pylon attached through a special adapter.
Sources: Senior Defense Official HARM Briefing, Kahl Ukraine Security Assistance Briefing, Ukrainian Fighter Jets Now Carry US Missiles, Ukrainians Sold Message On HARM Anti-Radiation Missile
Narrative
The LAU-118/A was not a stand-alone battlefield weapon in Ukrainian service. Its documented role was as the launcher and interface hardware that helped connect AGM-88 HARM missiles to adapted Ukrainian aircraft, chiefly MiG-29 fighters in the clearest public imagery. Air Force Test Center background describes the LAU-118/A as the mechanical and electrical interface used to launch AGM-88 HARM missiles from aircraft such as the F-16 and F/A-18, which explains why the launcher or pylon had to be adapted for a Soviet-era MiG-29 installation.
In conflict-use terms, the launcher supported Ukrainian air-launched anti-radar missions rather than a separate effects chain. U.S. officials tied the weapon package to Russian radar systems, and the launcher-specific reporting tied the visible hardware to Ukrainian MiG-29 HARM carriage. Coffee or Die also reported that Ukrainian Su-27 fighters had been modified for AGM-88 use, but the most direct LAU-118/A adapter evidence in the cited reporting is the MiG-29 video and still imagery.
Sources: Aircraft Launch Interface Computer Testing, Senior Defense Official HARM Briefing, Kahl Ukraine Security Assistance Briefing, Ukrainian Fighter Jets Now Carry US Missiles, Ukrainians Sold Message On HARM Anti-Radiation Missile
