The AS-25K is an Argentine

air-to-surface missile An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common prop ...

(ASM) under development by the

CITEFA The Institute of Scientific and Technical Research for Defense ( es, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa, also known for its acronym CITEDEF), is an Argentine federal agency in charge of research and development i ...

(''Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de las FFAA'' - Armed Forces Scientific and Technical Research Institute) in two versions: air-to-sea and air-to-land. The main user is the COAN (COmando Aviación Naval – Naval Aviation Command) of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

. It is propelled by a

booster rocket A booster rocket (or engine) is either the first stage of a multistage launch vehicle, or else a shorter-burning rocket used in parallel with longer-burning sustainer rockets to augment the space vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capability ...

and a solid propergol

sustainer rocket A sustainer engine is a rocket engine which remains with a spacecraft during its ascent after booster engines have separated from the spacecraft. See also *Multistage rocket A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that ...

, with a range of 25 km at a speed of Mach-2. Its total weight is less than 240 kg, and its warhead is composed by approximately 60 kg of

Hexolite RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a ...

50.50.

Variants

Four variants are being considered, differing basically in the guidance system: * AS-25K-RC – Radio Commanded * AS-25K-IR – Passive Infra-Red * AS-25K-LS – Laser * AS-25K-TV – Television It has been reported that the IR version is already developed and ready for testing. Work is being done in a laser guidance system for the LS version. Research for the TV version is being commenced.

Relation with ''Martin Pescador''

The AS-25K is a development of the

Martin Pescador MP-1000 The Martín Pescador MP-1000 was an Argentine air-to-surface missile developed by the CITEFA (''Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de las FFAA'' - Armed Forces Scientific and Technical Research Institute). The main user was the ...

Argentine

, currently in use also by the

. The main differences are: *Enhanced speed and range (thanks to the booster acceleration) *Improved guidance on height/range and

azimuth An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north. Mathematicall ...

(the MP-1000 can only be guided in height/range) *

Fire-and-forget Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the targe ...

guidance system (thanks to the IR seeker; the MP-1000 has only manual radioelectric guidance). *Greater range (estimated at 25 km, that's why the "25K" missile denomination).

Technical specifications

*Type:

Anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

Anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a Missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy Armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

*Manufacturer:

*Diameter: ? cm (? in) *Length: ? m (? in) *Wingspan: ? cm (? in) *Standard warhead weight: 60 kg (132.3 lb) *Warhead type: Hexolite *Maximum range: 25 km (15.55 mi) *Guidance: IR or TV

References

Information and images about this missile translated to English

External links

Weaponry of the COAN
*{{in lang, es}
CITEFA web site
(also in English) Air-to-surface missiles Guided missiles of Argentina Fire-and-forget weapons Anti-ship missiles Anti-tank guided missiles