The P-500 ''Bazalt'' (russian: П-500 «Базальт»; en,
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
) is a
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
-powered, supersonic
cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
used by the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
navies. Its
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 ...
designation is 4K80 and its
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 ...
is SS-N-12 ''Sandbox'', its upgraded version being the P-1000 Vulkan AShM SLCM.
History
Developed by OKB-52 MAP (later
NPO Mashinostroyeniye
NPO Mashinostroyeniya (russian: НПО машиностроения, lit=RDA of machine manufacturing) is a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, Russia. During the Cold War it was responsible for several major weapons systems, including the UR-1 ...
), it entered service to replace the
SS-N-3
The P-5 ''"Pyatyorka"'' (russian: П-5 «Пятёрка»; "Pyatyorka", "fiver" in English), also known by the NATO codename SS-N-3C Shaddock, is a Cold War era turbojet-powered cruise missile of the Soviet Union, designed by the Chelomey desig ...
Shaddock. The P-500 Bazalt was first deployed in 1975 on the , and was later added to both the and the s. A version of the P-500 Bazalt with improved guidance and engines is used on the s. The sixteen launchers dominate the decks of the class.
Description
The P-500 Bazalt has a 550 km range and a payload of 1,000 kg, which allows it to carry a 350 kt nuclear or a 950 kg semi-armor-piercing high-explosive warhead. The P-500 Bazalt uses
active radar homing
Active radar homing (ARH) is a missile guidance method in which a missile contains a radar transceiver (in contrast to semi-active radar homing, which uses only a receiver) and the electronics necessary for it to find and track its target aut ...
for terminal guidance, and can receive mid-course correction from the
Tupolev Tu-95RTs Bear D, the
Kamov Ka-25K Hormone B and the
Kamov Ka-31.
The missiles were intended to be used in salvos – a submarine could launch eight in rapid succession, maintaining control of each through a separate datalink. In flight the group could co-ordinate their actions. One would fly to a higher altitude and use its active radar to search for targets, forwarding this data to the other missiles which remained at low altitude.
The missiles were programmed so that half of a salvo would head for a
carrier target, with the rest dividing between other ships. If the high-flying missile was shot down, another from the salvo would automatically pop up to take its place. All of the missiles would switch to active radar for the terminal phase of the attack.
P-1000 Vulkan
An improved version of the P-500 was installed on three Echo II submarines towards the end of the Cold War.
The P-1000 Vulkan (GRAU 3M70) presumably has the same firing range and maximum speed with the P-500 Bazalt (range 800 km). The missile weight was increased by 1–2 tons. The missile has a turbojet engine and a starting powder accelerator. High-altitude flight regimes are presumably the same as that of the P-500.
The P-1000 was ordered on 15 May 1979
from
NPO Mashinostroyeniya
NPO Mashinostroyeniya (russian: НПО машиностроения, lit=RDA of machine manufacturing) is a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, Russia. During the Cold War it was responsible for several major weapons systems, including the UR- ...
Chelomey.
It first flew in July 1982
and was accepted for service on 18 December 1987.
It was installed on three Echo II submarines of the Northern Fleet between 1987 and 1993. The conversion of two units of the Pacific Fleet, the K-10 and K-34, was abandoned due to lack of funds.
Of the submarines that did receive the P-1000, the K-1 was decommissioned after a reactor accident in 1989, the K-35 was stricken in 1993 and the K-22 in 1995.
The P-1000 has been installed on the ''Slava''-class cruiser
''Varyag'', and some sources reported P-1000 missiles on her sister ship
''Moskva''.
Related developments
The
P-700 Granit
The P-700 ''Granit'' (russian: П-700 "Гранит"; en, granite) is a Soviet and Russian naval anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M45, its NATO reporting name SS-N-19 ''Shipwreck''. It comes in surface-to-surface and subma ...
(
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 ...
SS-N-19 ''Shipwreck'') was partially based on the SS-N-12, but with a significantly modified airframe. The
avionics
Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
, however, are very similar.
Operators
Current
;
*
Russian Navy
Former
;
*
Soviet Navy
See also
*
Operation Ivy Bells
Operation Ivy Bells was a joint United States Navy, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Security Agency (NSA) mission whose objective was to place wire taps on Soviet underwater communication lines during the Cold War.
Background
D ...
References
External links
MARITIME STRIKE The Soviet PerspectiveRussian/Sovjet Sea-based Anti-Ship Missiles
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Weapons of Russia
P-500
P-500
Cruise missiles of the Cold War
Nuclear missiles of the Cold War
P-500
Surface-to-surface missiles
Nuclear cruise missiles of Russia
Cruise missiles of Russia
Submarine-launched cruise missiles of Russia
NPO Mashinostroyeniya products
Military equipment introduced in the 1970s