Kh-31

Kh-31
(NATO reporting name: AS-17 'Krypton')

Kh-31A
Type Medium-range air-to-surface missile
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1988–present
Used by Russia, China, India, Algeria
Production history
Manufacturer Tactical Missiles Corporation
(Zvezda-Strela before 2002)
Unit cost $550 000 (2010)[1]
Produced 1982
Specifications
Weight Kh-31A :610 kg (1,340 lb)[2]
Kh-31P :600 kg (1,320 lb)[2]
Length Mod 1 : 4.700 m (15 ft 5.0 in)[3]
Mod 2 (AD/PD) : 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)[4]
Diameter 360 mm (14 in)[2]
Warhead HE shaped charge[2]
Warhead weight Kh-31A :94 kg (207 lb)[2]
Kh-31P :87 kg (192 lb) [2]
Detonation
mechanism
 Impact
Engine Solid fuel rocket in initial stage, ramjet for rest of trajectory
Wingspan 914 mm (36.0 in)[2]
Propellant kerosene
Operational
range
 Kh-31A: 25 km–103 km (13.5–55.6 nmi;[2]
Kh-31P: up to 110 km (60 nmi; 70 mi)[2]
Speed Kh-31A/P: 2,160–2,520 km/h (1,340–1,570 mph)[2]
MA-31: Mach 2.7 (low), Mach 3.5 (high)[3]
Guidance
system
 Kh-31A: inertial guidance with active radar homing[2]
Kh-31P: inertial with passive radar
Launch
platform
 Both : Su-27SM, Su-30MKI, Su-34, Su-35, MiG-29M, HAL Tejas Mk1 and Mk2, MiG-29K
Kh-31A only : Su-33
Also : Su-24M[5]

The Kh-31 (Russian: Х-31; AS-17 'Krypton')[6] is a Russian air-to-surface missile carried by aircraft such as the MiG-29 or Su-27. It is capable of Mach 3.5 and was the first supersonic anti-ship missile that could be launched by tactical aircraft.[5]

There are several variants, it is best known as an anti-radiation missile (ARM) but there are also anti-shipping and target drone versions. There has been talk of adapting it to make an "AWACS killer", a long-range air-to-air missile.[6]

Development

The proliferation of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) has made the Suppression of Enemy Air Defence a priority for any modern air force intending offensive action. Knocking out air search radars and fire control radars is an essential part of this mission. ARMs must have sufficient range that the launch platform is out of range of the SAMs, high speed to reduce the risk of being shot down and a seeker that can detect a range of radar types, but they do not need a particularly big warhead.

The Soviet Union's first ARM was developed by the Raduga OKB engineering group responsible for the Soviet Union's missiles for heavy bombers. The Kh-22P was developed from the 6-tonne Raduga Kh-22 (AS-4 'Kitchen') missile. Experience gained with this led in 1973 to the Kh-28 (AS-9 'Kyle') carried by tactical aircraft such as the Su-7B, Su-17 and Su-24. It had Mach 3 capability and a 120 km (60 nmi) range, greater than the contemporary AGM-78 Standard ARM. The Kh-28 was succeeded by the Kh-58 in 1978, which has similar speed and range but replaces the dual-fuel rocket motor with a much safer RDTT solid propellant.

The development of more sophisticated SAMs such as the MIM-104 Patriot and the US Navy's Aegis combat system put pressure on the Soviets to develop better ARMs in turn.[7][8] Zvezda came at the problem from a different angle to Raduga, having a background in lightweight air-to-air missiles. However, in the mid-1970s they had developed the successful Kh-25 family of short-range air-to-surface missiles, including the Kh-25MP (AS-12 'Kegler') for anti-radar use. Zvezda started work on a long-range ARM and the first launch of the Kh-31 was in 1982.[5] It entered service in 1988 and was first displayed in public in 1991, the Kh-31P at Dubai and the Kh-31A at Minsk.[5]

In December 1997 it was reported that a small number of Kh-31's had been delivered to China, but that "production had yet to begin".[9] It was around this time that the Russians sold Su-30MKK 'Flanker-G' aircraft to the Chinese. It seems that the original deliveries were of the original Russian model designated as X-31, to allow testing whilst the KR-1 model was being developed for licence production.[10] Local production may have started by July 2005.

Russian development has accelerated since Zvezda was subsumed into the Tactical Missiles Corporation in 2002, with the announcement of the 'D' extended range models and the 'M' model mid-life updates (see Variants section below).

Design

L112E seeker

In many respects the Kh-31 is a miniaturised version of the P-270 Moskit (SS-N-22 'Sunburn') and was reportedly designed by the same man.[5] The missile is conventionally shaped, with cruciform wings and control surfaces made from titanium.[3] The two-stage propulsion is notable. On launch, a solid-fuel booster in the tail accelerates the missile to Mach 1.8[5] and the motor is discarded. Then four air intakes open up and as in the Franco-German ANS/ANF the empty rocket case becomes the combustion chamber of a kerosene-fuelled ramjet, which takes it beyond Mach 4.[6]

The L-111E seeker of the anti-radar version has a unique antenna, an interferometer array of seven spiral antennas on a steerable platform.[6] The seekers delivered to China in 2001-2 were 106.5 cm (41.9 in) long, 36 cm (14 in) in diameter, and weighed 23 kg (51 lb).[11]

Operational history

The Kh-31P ARM entered service in Russia in 1988 and the Kh-31A anti-shipping version in 1989. Unlike its predecessors, it can be fitted to almost any of Russia's tactical aircraft, from the Su-17 to MiG-31.

A few Kh-31P/KR-1's were delivered to China in 1997 but these were apparently for testing and development work. The Chinese ordered Russian missiles in late 2002 or early 2003, leading to 200 KR-1's in their inventory by 2005;[5] the Chinese press reported in July 2005 that Su-30MKK's of the 3rd Air Division had been equipped with the missiles.[11] In 2001 India bought Kh-31s for its Su-30MKI; they appear to have bought 60 Kh-31A and 90 Kh-31P.[5]

The US Navy bought MA-31 target drones.[3] An $18.468-million order for thirty-four MA-31 was placed in 1999,[12] but this order was blocked by the Russians.[13] The MA-31 was launched from an F-4 Phantom, and work was done on a kit to launch it from an F-16.[3]

According to some reports, the missile was used by the Russian Air Force during the South Ossetian conflict in 2008. In particular, reported that in the August 10, 2008 a Russian Air Force Su-34 struck with anti-radar missiles Kh-31P an air defense radar of Georgia near the city of Gori, then Georgian air defense was disabled in order to avoid further losses.[14]

Variants

Kh-31P (right) with R-27 (left) and Kh-59 (middle) at MAKS Airshow, Zhukovskiy, 1999

An active/passive air-to-air version for use against slow-moving support aircraft, a so-called "AWACS killer", was announced at the 1992 Moscow air show with 200 km (110 nmi; 120 mi) range.[5] That would be less than the 300–400 kilometres (160–220 nmi; 190–250 mi) promised by the Vympel R-37 (AA-13 'Arrow') and Novator R-172 missiles, but a Kh-31 derivative could be carried by a wider range of aircraft. However this may have been mere propaganda; in 2004 the Tactical Missiles Corporation "emphatically denied" that it had ever worked on an air-to-air version of the Kh-31.[20] In 2005 rumours persisted of a Russian AWACS killer based on the Kh-31A anti-shipping model, and of the Chinese adapting the YJ-91, derived from the Kh-31P, for the same purpose.[6]

Operators

Map with Kh-31 operators in blue

Current operators

Potential operators

Former operators

See also

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kh-31.
  1. 1 2 3 4 annual report Tactical Missiles Corporation 2010.p. 92
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rosoboronexport Air Force Department and Media & PR Service, AEROSPACE SYSTEMS export catalogue (PDF), Rosoboronexport State Corporation
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Braucksick, Ken (2004-11-17), MA-31 Target Vehicle OVERVIEW, NDIA. Sales pitch from Boeing, has useful diagrams of flight profiles etc
  4. ↑ "Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Friedman, Norman (2006), The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems (5th ed.), Naval Institute Press, pp. 534–5, ISBN 978-1-55750-262-9
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Missiles in the Asia Pacific" (PDF), Defence Today (Amberley, Queensland: Strike Publications), May 2005: 67
  7. ↑ "China's Military Strategy Toward the U.S." (PDF). www.uscc.gov.
  8. ↑ "CRS Report for Congress, China: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles" (PDF). www.carnegieendowment.org. 2000-08-10. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Barrie, Douglas (1997-12-10), "China and Russia combine on KR-1", Flight International, p. 17
  10. ↑ "Russia: - AS-17 Krypton (Kh-31)", Jane's Defence Weekly, 1998-09-09, retrieved 2009-01-27
  11. 1 2 3 "China may be producing Kh-31P ARM", Jane's Missiles and Rockets, 2005-07-11, archived from the original on February 2, 2009
  12. ↑ Contracts for Thursday, December 16, 1999, US Department of Defense, 1999-12-16
  13. ↑ Buckley 2007
  14. ↑ "- -34". Vedomosti.ru. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "ОАО "Корпорация Тактическое Ракетное Вооружение"". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Корпорация "Тактическое ракетное вооружение" начала серийное производство ПРР X-31ПД". Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. ↑ ": -". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  18. ↑ Letunovsky, Yevgeniy (2004-11-01), "Improved Kh-31 to begin state trials in 2005/6", Jane's Missiles and Rockets
  19. ↑ Buckley, Capt. Pat (2007-10-31), U.S. Navy Aerial Target Systems (Presented to 45th Annual NDIA Symposium) (PDF), US Navy
  20. ↑ "Kh-31 (AS-17) (Russian Federation), Air-to-air Missiles - Beyond Visual Range", Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, 2004-11-18, retrieved 2009-01-27
  21. ↑ http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php
  22. ↑ annual report Tactical Missiles Corporation 2009.p. 77
  23. ↑ 2011 Annual Report of Tactical Missile Corporation, http://bmpd.livejournal.com/290141.html

References

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