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The K-13 (known as R-3S in Soviet service) was developed from 1958, entering service in 1960. It was directly based on the U.S. AIM-9 Sidewinder. According to some accounts, it was acquired after a Taiwanese AIM-9B, fired by an F-86 Sabre, struck a Chinese MiG-17 without exploding during an air battle on 28 September 1958. The missile remained stuck in the MiG's fuselage and was carried back to its base. This one example provided considerable insight to Soviet engineers in the design of workable IR-guided missiles.

The R-3S was seen by the West in 1961 and given the NATO reporting name AA-2A 'Atoll'. It was followed by the R-3, a semi-active radar homing (SARH) version, similar to the little-used US Navy AIM-9C Sidewinder (carried by the F-8 Crusaderdigital fly-by-wire testbed ( NASA) The F-8 Crusader (originally F8U was an aircraft carrier-based fighter aircraft built by Chance-Vought of Dallas, Texas. It was first manufactured in March 1957. It was the last US fighter with guns as its primary weapo). This was designated AA-2B by NATO. Upgraded versions, designated K-13M (R-3M) for the IRH and K-13R (R-3R) for the SARH variant, were developed in the late 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around. These were dubbed Advanced Atoll (AA-2C and AA-2D, respectively). The R-3M was roughly equivalent to the improved USAF AIM-9G Sidewinder, with a new proximity fuse, more propellant for longer range, better maneuverability, and a more sensitive nitrogenNitrogen is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol N and atomic number 7. A common normally colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic non-metal gas, nitrogen constitutes 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere and is a cons-cooled seeker head.

All K-13 variants are physically similar to Sidewinder, sharing the 127 mm (5 in) diameter with an overall length ranging from 2.8 m (9 ft 3 in) for IRH to 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) for the SARH versions. Launch weight is around 75 kg (165 lb) for IRH, 93 kg (205 lb) for SARH. Range of the heat-homer is about 5.7 km (3.56 mi), the radar-homer 8 km (5 mi). Minimum engagement range is about one kilometer (perhaps 1,000 yards).

The 'Atoll' has an 11.3 kg (24.9 lb) blast- fragmentationIn a computer operating system, fragmentation is a consequence of allocating and freeing differently-sized blocks of data storage. It results in the accumulation of small regions of free storage that are too small to be useful for allocation, even though warheadA warhead is an explosive device used in military conflicts, used to destroy enemy vehicles or buildings. Typically, a warhead is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo. It consists of the explosive material, and a detonator. The types of warhead are: containing about 6 kg (13.2 lb) of explosive, proximity fuseA proximity fuse is a fuse that is designed to detonate an explosive automatically when close enough to the target to destroy it. By sending out radio waves that are reflected by the target and comparing the frequency of the outgoing waves to the incomingd.

The 'Atoll' was widely exported to the Warsaw Pact and other air forces, and remains in service with a few smaller nations. A license-built version called A-91 was built in Romania, and the People's Republic of China copied the K-13 as the PL-2.