Kh-55

Kh-55/65/101/102/555
AS-15 Kent

Kh-55 in the Ukrainian Air Force Museum
Type Air-launched strategic cruise missile
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1983-present
Used by Russia, China, Iran
Wars Syrian Civil War[1]
Production history
Designed 1971-1981
Manufacturer Raduga OKB
Unit cost unknown
Produced 1981
Specifications
Weight 1,650 kg (3,640 lb) (Kh-65SE)[2]
2,400 kg (5,300 lb) (Kh-101)[3]
Length 604 cm (19 ft 10 in) (Kh-65SE)[2]
745 cm (24 ft 5 in) (Kh-101)[3]
Diameter 51.4 cm (20.2 in) (Kh-55-Kh-55SM)
Warhead Thermonuclear weapon or Conventional warhead
Blast yield Nuclear 200kt (Kh-55-Kh-55SM)
Engine turbofan (Kh-55-Kh-55SM)
400 kgf (Kh-55-Kh-55SM)
Wingspan 310 cm (122.0 in) (Kh-55-Kh-55SM)
Propellant jet fuel
Operational
range
 2,500 km (1,300 nmi) (Kh-55)
3,000 km (1,600 nmi) (Kh-55SM)
600 km (320 nmi)(Kh-65SE)[2]
300 km, later 600 km(Kh-SD)[2]
Flight altitude under 110 m/300 ft
Speed Mach 0.75 (KH-SD)[2]
Mach 0.6-0.78 (Kh-101)[3]
Guidance
system
 inertial guidance with Doppler radar/terrain map updates; Kh-SD had a TC/IIR terminal guidance system, and an alternative active radar homing seeker was proposed
Launch
platform
 Tu-95MS, Tu-160, Su-34[4]

The Kh-55 (Russian: Х-55, also known as RKV-500; NATO reporting name: AS-15 'Kent') is a Soviet/Russian subsonic air-launched cruise missile, designed by MKB Raduga. It has a range of up to 2,500 km (1,350 nmi) and can carry nuclear warheads. Kh-55 is launched exclusively from bomber aircraft and has spawned a number of conventionally armed variants mainly for tactical use, such as the Kh-65SE and Kh-SD, but only the Kh-101 and Kh-555 appear to have made it into service. Contrary to popular belief, the Kh-55 was not the basis of the submarine- and ground-launched RK-55 Granat (SS-N-21 'Sampson' and SSC-X-4 'Slingshot').

A Kh-55 production unit was delivered to Shanghai in 1995 and appears to have been used to produce a similar weapon for China.

Development

In the late 1960s, the "Ekho" study conducted by the GosNIIAS institute concluded that it would be more effective to deploy lots of small, subsonic cruise missiles than the much more expensive supersonic missiles then in favour.[5] Work started at the Raduga bureau on an air-launched cruise missile in 1971, with a first test flight in 1976.[6] The appearance of the US Air Force's AGM-86 ALCM in that year gave further impetus to the programme, with the Soviet Air Force issuing a formal requirement for a new air-launched cruise missile in December 1976.[5] The longer-range Kh-55SM was developed a few years after the original went into service. In the late 1980s work began on a replacement missile with either conventional (Kh-101) or nuclear (Kh-102) warheads[4] and greater stealth. It was designed by Igor Seleznyev of Raduga.[3] The importance of advanced missiles as "force multipliers" increased as Russia's fleet of available cruise-missile bombers declined in the early 1990s.[7] The cancellation of the ambitious Kh-90 ramjet missile due to INF treaty in 1987 led to a renewed emphasis on improving the Kh-55, in particular to achieve the <20 m accuracy required to hit infrastructure targets with conventional - as opposed to nuclear - warheads. First flight of the Kh-101 was in 1998, and evaluation trials started in 2000.[4]

After the end of the Cold War and anti-proliferation treaties restricting the deployment of long-range nuclear missiles, the Russians made efforts to develop tactical versions of the Kh-55 with conventional warheads. First came the 600 km-range Kh-65SE (derived from the Kh-55) announced in 1992, then the 300 km-range Kh-SD tactical version of the Kh-101 for export, and finally the Kh-555.[2] In 2001 the Russian Air Force are believed to have selected the Kh-101 and Kh-555 for development.[2]

A 1995 Russian document suggested a complete production facility had been transferred to Shanghai, for the development of a nuclear-armed cruise missile. Originally it was thought that this was based on the 300 km-range Raduga Kh-15 (AS-16 'Kickback'), but it now appears that it was the Kh-55 that was transferred to China.[8]

Design

It is powered by a single 400 kgf Ukrainian-made, Motor Sich JSC R95-300 turbofan engine, with pop-out wings for cruising efficiency. It can be launched from both high and low altitudes, and flies at subsonic speeds at low levels (under 110 m/300 ft altitude). After launch, the missile's folded wings, tail surfaces and engine deploy. It is guided through a combination of an inertial guidance system plus a terrain contour-matching guidance system which uses radar and images stored in the memory of an onboard computer to find its target. This allows the missile to guide itself to the target with a high degree of accuracy.

The original Kh-55 had a drop-down engine; the Kh-65SE had a fixed external turbojet engine, whilst the Kh-SD had its engine inside the body of the missile. Current-production versions are equipped with the increased power of 450 kgf Russian-made NPO Saturn TRDD-50A engine.[9]

Kh-102

The Kh-101 version has a low radar cross-section, of about 0.01 square meters.[10] Kh-102 nuclear version.

Maximum range 5500 km (3418 miles).The height of flight 30 – 6000 m maximum deviation of 20 meters accuracy for moving targets up to 10 m Weight 400 kg warhead. The highest accuracy of 5 m. 2 types of targeting, it is possible 3. An analogue of the US Army AGM-129 ACM (decommissioned). Transporter Tu-95 and Tu-160 (12 pcs).

Perhaps the greatest distance of 10,000 km.[11][12][13]

The first tests in 1995, accepted to serve in the army in 2012.[14]

Operational history

Tu-160 launching Kh-101 against targets in Syria, November 2015

The original Kh-55 entered service in December 31, 1983.[15] The Kh-55SM followed in 1987.[6] The conventionally armed Kh-55SE was flight tested on 13 January 2000, and first used in exercises over the Black Sea 17–22 April 2000.[16] The Kh-555 is thought to have entered service in 2004, the first pictures of the Kh-101 appeared in 2007.[17][18]

The Kh-55 can be carried by the Tupolev Tu-95MS ('Bear-H')[6] and Tu-142M ('Bear-F'),[6] and the Kh-55SM is carried by the Tupolev Tu-160 ('Blackjack').[6] Sixteen Kh-55's can be carried by the Tu-95MS16 (Tu-95MSM) variant, ten on underwing hardpoints and six on a MKU-5-6 rotary launcher.[18]

The Kh-55 was also tested on the Tu-22M ('Backfire').[6] The Kh-SD tactical version was to have been carried by the Tu-95MS (fourteen missiles) and the Tu-22M (eight missiles);[2] the Kh-101 is expected to be carried by the Tu-160 (twelve missiles), Tu-95MS16 (eight missiles), Tu-22M3/5 (four missiles) and Su-34 (two missiles).[4]

The end of the Cold War left Ukraine with 1,612 Kh-55's, part of the armament of the 19 Tu-160's of the 184th Heavy Bomber Regiment at Priluki and the 25 Tu-95MS of the 182nd Heavy Bomber Regiment at Uzin-Shepelovka.[19] It was reported that Ukraine demanded US$3bn for the return of the planes and their missiles to Russia.[19] In October 1999 a compromise was reached that saw Russia pay US$285m for 11 aircraft and 575 missiles,[19] whilst the rest were meant to be destroyed under a US-funded disarmament programme.[20] However, in March 2005 Ukraine's prosecutor-general Svyatoslav Piskun said that in 2001, 12 Kh-55's had been exported to Iran in a deal allegedly worth US$49.5 million[21] and six to China.[20] In March 2015, Iran subsequently revealed the existence of the Soumar cruise missile with a design and range comparable to the Kh-55.[22]

During the Syrian Civil War on 17 November 2015 Russian Ministry of Defence announced that Tupolev Tu-95MS aircraft launched Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles against targets in Syria,[23] while Tupolev Tu-160 bombers launched Kh-101 stealthy cruise missiles in their first combat use.[24][25][26][27] Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber aircraft launched missiles against targets in Syria's Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces and Tupolev Tu-95MS and Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers launched missiles against targets in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.[24] A total of 34 air-launched cruise missiles are claimed to have been fired against 14 ISIL targets in Syria on 17 November 2015.[24]

Variants

It was believed originally that the RK-55 (SSC-X-4 'Slingshot' and SS-N-21 'Sampson') were land- and submarine-launched derivatives of the Kh-55, but it is now known that the Kh-55 is different from the other two as its motor drops down below the missile during flight.[6]

Operators

Map with Kh-55 operators in blue with former operators in red, cyan indicates derivative designs

Current operators

Derivatives

Former operators

Similar weapons

Notes

  1. ↑ http://theaviationist.com/2015/11/17/russian-tu-22s-joined-the-syria-air-war/
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Kh-65SE/Kh-SD", Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, 2008-09-09, archived from the original on June 4, 2009, retrieved 2009-02-06
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Air Force Priority Given To Conventional Cruise", Jane's Defence Weekly, 1995-08-19, archived from the original on June 4, 2009
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kh-101/-102", Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, 2008-09-08, archived from the original on August 4, 2008, retrieved 2009-02-06
  5. 1 2 "Kh-55/RKV-500A, Kh-55SM/RKV-500B, Kh-555 and Kh-65SE (AS-15 'Kent')", Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, 2008-08-01, archived from the original on June 4, 2009, retrieved 2009-02-06
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Kh-55 (AS-15 'Kent'/Kh-555/RKV-500/Kh-65)", Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, 2008-09-09, archived from the original on February 4, 2009, retrieved 2009-02-06
  7. ↑ Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, 2008-07-28 https://web.archive.org/20090604101737/http://www.janes.com:80/articles/Janes-Air-Launched-Weapons/Kh-101-Kh-102-Russian-Federation.html, archived from the original on June 4, 2009, retrieved 2009-02-06 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ "China's new cruise missile programme 'racing ahead'", Jane's Defence Weekly, 2000-01-12, archived from the original on February 5, 2009
  9. ↑ "- >". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  10. ↑ http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/heavy-bomber-force-overview/
  11. ↑ http://ria.ru/defense_safety/20151119/1324220915.html
  12. ↑ http://www.testpilot.ru/russia/raduga/kh/101/kh101.htm
  13. ↑ http://svpressa.ru/war21/article/137083/
  14. ↑ http://www.arms-expo.ru/armament/samples/1357/72318/
  15. ↑ "ОАО "Корпорация Тактическое Ракетное Вооружение"". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Kh-55SE cruise missile used in exercises", Jane's Missiles and Rockets, 2000-05-24, archived from the original on February 2, 2009
  17. ↑ "NEWSru.com :: -555, " "". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Details emerge of Russia's latest cruise missiles", Jane's Defence Systems News, 2007-10-22, archived from the original on February 25, 2008, retrieved 2009-02-06
  19. 1 2 3 "Russia's strategic bomber fleet achieves new heights", Jane's Intelligence Review, 2000-03-01, archived from the original on February 2, 2009
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Warner, Tom (2005-03-18), "Ukraine admits exporting missiles to Iran and China", Financial Times
  21. ↑ Dr C Kopp. "Bypassing the NMD - the Cruise Missile Proliferation Problem". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Iran Unveils New Ground-Based Cruise Missile System". PressTV. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  23. ↑ Video on YouTube
  24. 1 2 3 Larrinaga, Nicholas (17 November 2015). "Russia launches long-range air sorties into Syria". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly (IHS Jane's 360). Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  25. ↑ Russian bombers deploy Kh-101 cruise missiles over Syria
  26. ↑ Video on YouTube
  27. ↑ Video on YouTube
  28. 1 2 http://missilethreat.com/missiles/kh-101-102/
  29. ↑ http://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2015/1209/164032600/detail.shtml
  30. ↑ http://sputniknews.com/military/20151207/1031374259/russia-rearmament-2016.html
  31. ↑ http://theaviationist.com/2015/11/17/russian-mod-video-shows-tu-160-tu-95-and-tu-22-bombers-with-su-27-escort-bomb-isis-in-syria/
  32. ↑ http://sputniknews.com/military/20151121/1030508547/tu-95-bomber-upgrade.html
  33. ↑ "DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ "Pakistan Missile". NTI.
  36. ↑
  37. ↑ "Pakistan says it is studying errant U.S. missile". TWP.
  38. ↑ "Как Украина ядерные боеголовки считала". Retrieved 23 December 2014.

References

External links

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