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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