The RPK-1 Vikhr
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 ...
SUW-N-1 (russian: РПК-1 «Вихрь» - meaning Whirlwind) was a Soviet nuclear
anti submarine missile system. FRAS-1 was the NATO code for the missile round itself.
The development of the missile was ordered in 1960 in order to combat the new American nuclear submarines. The requirement was for an all weather weapon capable of reaching out to 20 km at speed. The first test was in 1964 and the system was installed on the
Moskva class helicopter cruisers in 1967. The system was also installed on the
Kiev class aircraft carriers. The systems were decommissioned in the 1990s.
Launchers
There were two models of launcher:
* MS-18 used in the Moskva class - a two arm launcher with a rotary magazine holding 8 missiles
* MS-32 used in the Kiev class - a two arm launcher with two rotary magazines holding 16 missiles
A prototype launcher was mounted on the
Petya class frigate
The Petya class was the NATO reporting name for a class of light frigates designed in the 1950s and built for the Soviet Navy in the 1960s. The Soviet designation was "Storozhevoi Korabl`" (Сторожевой Корабль - Sentry Ship) '' ...
SKR-1 for testing in 1964
Page from Military Russia
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Missile
The missile was a two-stage rocket with inertial guidance, which could not be corrected after launch. The missile carried a nuclear depth bomb
A nuclear depth bomb is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional depth charge, and can be used in anti-submarine warfare for attacking submerged submarines. The Royal Navy, Soviet Navy, and United States Navy had nuclear depth bombs in their ...
warhead of up to 10 kilotons in yield. The warhead could detonate at a depth of up to 200 m and had a lethal radius of 1.2 to 1.5 km against a submarine target.
Fire Control
The ships fitted with the RPK-1 had the Sprut fire control system (PUSTB-1123), which was developed by CDB-209 and included:
* A central control unit, (TSPUS)
* The Tiphon fire control computer
* Gyro stabilisers
* Link to the sonar system
* Remote power control of the launcher
See also
* RUR-5 ASROC
The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...
- American equivalent
References
{{Reflist
* ''This page is translated from the Russian Language Wikipedia''
External links
- Page in Russian Language from Encyclopedia of Ships
Naval weapons of the Cold War
Anti-submarine missiles
Cold War missiles of the Soviet Union