Originally Posted by
KenV
Additional range, yes, but with no control. The AA-12/R-77 uses aerodynamic control surfaces. No atmosphere, no control. In other words, it'll fly a pointless ballistic trajectory, assuming it's even stable with no control surfaces, which seems unlikely...
True, but the, admittedly 'troubled', Novator K-100 "AWACS Killer" uses thrust vectoring - as might any as yet unseen Russian, or Chinese for that matter, AAM. Launched from 100km altitude it would have a significant range enhancement over the design spec >200km.
We ignore these potential threats from the East at our peril.