The Raduga Kh-15 or RKV-15 (russian:
Х-15;
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
: AS-16 "Kickback";
GRAU
The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...
:) is a Russian
hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds 5 times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above.
The precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be flying at hypersonic speed varies, since in ...
aero-ballistic air-to-ground
Air-to-ground weaponry is aircraft ordnance used by combat aircraft to attack ground targets. The weapons include bombs, machine guns, autocannons, air-to-surface missiles, rockets, air-launched cruise missiles and grenade launchers.
See also
* ...
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
carried by the
Tupolev Tu-22M
The Tupolev Tu-22M (russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev, Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. According ...
and other
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
s. Originally developed as a
standoff nuclear
air-to-ground 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 ...
similar to the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
's
AGM-69 SRAM
The Boeing AGM-69 SRAM (Short-Range Attack Missile) was a nuclear weapon, nuclear air-to-surface missile. It had a range of up to , and was intended to allow US Air Force strategic bombers to penetrate Soviet airspace by neutralizing surface-t ...
, versions with conventional warheads have been developed.
As of early 2019, it was uncertain whether the Kh-15 was in service, with rumors that it had been retired or placed in storage.
Development
In 1967,
MKB Raduga
MKB Raduga (russian: МКБ Радуга, meaning Raduga Design Bureau (russian: машиностроительное конструкторское бюро «Радуга»), where ''raduga'' literally means "rainbow") is a Russian aerospac ...
started developing the Kh-2000 as a replacement for the
Kh-22
The Kh-22 (russian: Х-22; AS-4 'Kitchen') is a large, long-range anti-ship missile developed by MKB Raduga in the Soviet Union. It was designed for use against aircraft carriers and carrier battle groups, with either a conventional or nuclear wa ...
(
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
AS-4 Kitchen) heavy anti-shipping missile.
Development of the Kh-15 started some time in the early 1970s.
The sophistication of the design made it suitable for other roles, and a nuclear-tipped version was developed in tandem with the conventionally armed variant.
An upgrade under development was cancelled in 1991, but reports in 1998 suggested an upgraded Kh-15 might be fitted to
Su-35
The Sukhoi Su-35 (russian: link=no, Сухой Су-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable aircraft, designed ...
(Flanker-E) tactical aircraft.
Design
The Kh-15 climbs to an altitude of about and then dives in on the target, accelerating to a speed of about Mach 5.
Operational history
It entered service in 1980. It can be carried by the
Su-33
The Sukhoi Su-33 (russian: Сухой Су-33; NATO reporting name: ''Flanker-D'') is an all-weather carrier-based twin-engine air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi and manufactured by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, ...
,
Su-34
The Sukhoi Su-34 (russian: Сухой Су-34; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Sovie ...
,
Tu-95MS-6 'Bear-H',
Tu-22M3 'Backfire C', and
Tu-160 'Blackjack'.
Variants
* Kh-15 (RKV-15) - the original version with nuclear warhead and inertial guidance
* Kh-15P - passive seeker for
anti-radar
An anti-radiation missile (ARM) is a missile designed to detect and home in on an enemy radio emission source. Typically, these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communications can also be t ...
use
* Kh-15S - active radar seeker for
anti-shipping use
Operators
Current
*
Former
*- Passed onto successor states
Similar weapons
*
KSR-5
The Raduga KSR-5 (NATO reporting name AS-6 Kingfish) was a long-range, air-launched cruise missile and anti ship missile developed by the Soviet Union.
It was essentially a scaled down version of the Kh-22 'Kitchen', built to be carried by ...
(AS-6 'Kingfish') - heavy anti-surface missile carried under the wings of Tu-22M
*
Kh-59
The Kh-59 ''Ovod'' (russian: Х-59 Овод ' Gadfly'; AS-13 'Kingbolt') is a Russian TV-guided cruise missile with a two-stage solid-fuel propulsion system and 200 km range. The Kh-59M ''Ovod-M'' (AS-18 'Kazoo') is a variant with a bigger war ...
(AS-13 'Kingbolt') - ASM for tactical aircraft, up to 285 km range
*
Kh-37
The Zvezda Kh-35 (russian: Х-35 , AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti-ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which c ...
(updated version of AS-20 'Kayak') - land attack version of subsonic Kh-35 Anti-Ship missile, 250 km range
*
AGM-69 SRAM
The Boeing AGM-69 SRAM (Short-Range Attack Missile) was a nuclear weapon, nuclear air-to-surface missile. It had a range of up to , and was intended to allow US Air Force strategic bombers to penetrate Soviet airspace by neutralizing surface-t ...
- 1000 kg US missile with up to 170 km range
Photo Gallery
Image:AS-16 Kickback 2008 G2.jpg, Kh-15 from rear
Image:X-15c.gif, Mission profile
Notes
References
*
*
{{Russian and Soviet missiles, ASM
Kh-015
Kh-015
Cold War air-to-surface missiles of the Soviet Union
Cold War anti-ship missiles of the Soviet Union
Air-launched ballistic missiles
Kh-015
Kh-015
Kh-015
MKB Raduga products
Nuclear air-to-surface missiles
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s