Kh-29

Kh-29
(NATO reporting name: AS-14 'Kedge')

Kh-29L
Type air-to-surface missile
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1980s-current
Used by Warsaw Pact, China, India, Iraq
Wars Iran–Iraq War
2014 Libyan conflict
Russian-led military intervention in Syria
Production history
Designer Matius Bisnovat
Georgiy I. Khokhlov
Designed 1975
Manufacturer Vympel / Tactical Missiles Corporation[1]
Produced 1980-current[2]
Specifications
Weight Kh-29L :660 kg (1,460 lb) [3]
Kh-29T :685 kg (1,510 lb) [3]
Kh-29TE :690 kg (1,520 lb) [3]
Length Kh-29L/T :390 cm (12 ft 10 in)[3]
Kh-29TE :387.5 cm (12 ft 9 in)[3]
Diameter 38.0 cm (15.0 in) [3]
Warhead HE armour-piercing[1]
Warhead weight 320 kg (705 lb)[1]
Detonation
mechanism
 Impact [1]
Engine Fixed thrust solid fuel rocket[1]
Wingspan 110 cm (43 in) [3]
Operational
range
 Kh-29L :10 km (5.4 nmi)[3]
Kh-29T :12 km (6.5 nmi) [3]
Kh-29TE :30 km (16 nmi) [3]
Speed

1,470 km/h (910 mph)[4]

Kh-29ML: 900–1,260 km/h (560–780 mph)[5]
Guidance
system
 Kh-29L: semi-active laser guidance
Kh-29T/TE : passive homing TV guidance
Kh-29D : infrared homing guidance (IIR)[6][7]
Kh-29MP : active radar homing [8]
Launch
platform

Kh-29L&T: MiG-27K,[3] MiG-29M,[3]
Su-27UB,[3] Su-30MK,[3] Su-39[3]
Kh-29L only: Su-25[3]
Kh-29T only: Su-35[3]

Also: Mirage F1E,[9] Su-17/22,[9] Su-24,[9] Su-33, Su-34, Su-37

The Kh-29 (Russian: Х-29; NATO: AS-14 'Kedge'; GRAU: 9M721) is a Soviet air-to-surface missile with a range of 10–30 km. It has a large warhead of 320 kg, has a choice of laser, infrared, active radar or TV guidance, and is typically carried by tactical aircraft such as the Su-24, Su-30, MiG-29K as well as the "T/TM" models of the Su-25, giving that craft an expanded standoff capability.

The Kh-29 is intended for primary use against larger battlefield targets and infrastructure such as industrial buildings, depots and bridges,[10] but can also be used against ships up to 10,000 tonnes, hardened aircraft shelters and concrete runways.[1]

Development

Design started in the late 1970s at the Molniya design bureau in Ukraine on what would be their only air-to-ground munition, but when they moved exclusively to space work Vympel took over development of the Kh-29.[10] The first firing of the missile took place in 1976 and after extensive trials the Kh-29 was accepted into service in 1980.[4]

Design

The basic aerodynamic layout of the Kh-29 is similar to the Molniya R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid'), reflecting Molniya's heritage in air-to-air missiles.[10] The laser guidance head came from the Kh-25 (AS-10 'Karen') and the TV guidance from the Kh-59 (AS-13 'Kingbolt'), mated to a large warhead.[9]

It has been compared to the United States' AGM-65 Maverick, but the AGM-65 is a much smaller missile than the Kh-29, and weighs less than half as much.[10]

Operational history

The Kh-29 entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1980, and has been widely exported since.

The Kh-29L were used by Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-24 aircraft in the 2015 Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War.[11]

2014 Libyan conflict

Libyan Su-24-borne Kh-29Ts supplied in large quantities to Muammar Gaddafi's Jamahiriya have been used by Islamist factions against pro-government forces around Tripoli during the current low-level civil war (they were seized from Ghardabiya Air Base depots). Their use, however, was in an unguided ground-to-ground role, launched from modified trucks and with their fins and ailerons at the front and back removed for a somewhat more stable flight path.[12][13]

Variants

Operators

Map with Kh-29 operators in blue with former operators in red

Current operators

Former operators

See also

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vympel Kh-29.
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 X-29TE / X-29L, Tactical Missiles Corporation, retrieved 2009-02-06
  2. ↑ "ОАО "Корпорация Тактическое Ракетное Вооружение"". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Rosoboronexport Air Force Department and Media & PR Service, AEROSPACE SYSTEMS export catalogue (PDF), Rosoboronexport State Corporation, p. 122
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fiszer, Michal A. "25 years of service of Russian Kh-29 missile". Situational Awareness. Retrieved 2008-09-07. Written by Polish former Su-22 pilot
  5. ↑ "KH-29". The Probert Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  6. 1 2 3 The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems, 1997–1998. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  7. 1 2
  8. 1 2 "Russian Air Force 3.8". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Vympel Kh-29 (AS-14 'Kedge')", Jane's Electro-Optic Systems, 2008-09-04, retrieved 2009-02-06
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kh-29 (AS-14 'Kedge')", Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, 2008-08-06
  11. ↑ Polina Devitt (4 October 2015). "Russian air force using laser-guided KH-29L missiles in Syria – RIA". Reuters. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  12. 1 2 Oryx. "Oryx Blog". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Good Morning Libya on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  14. ↑ John Pike. "MiG-29K FULCRUM". GlobalSecurity. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  15. ↑ http://www.waronline.org/mideast/algir.htm
  16. ↑ "Fighter SU-25KM (Scorpion)". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  17. ↑ 2011 Annual Report of Tactical Missile Corporation, http://bmpd.livejournal.com/290141.html
  18. ↑ Gertz, Bill (2002-07-01), "China test-fires new air-to-air missile; Taiwan likely to get upgraded arms", The Washington Times, p. A1
  19. ↑ Fisher, Richard D., Jr. (January 2004), The Impact Of Foreign Weapons And Technology On The Modernization Of China's People's Liberation Army, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, pp. 4–2C

References

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