The P-70 ''Ametist'' (
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 man ...
SS-N-7 Starbright,
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 4K66; russian: П-70 «Аметист» '
Amethyst
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that ...
') was an
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 goo ...
carried by Soviet and Indian
Project 670 submarines, as well as the Soviet
Project 661 Anchar. It was soon succeeded by the
P-120 Malakhit ''(SS-N-9 'Siren')''.
Fielded on June 3,1968, it was the first missile system in the world to be launched from a submerged submarine. From 1968 to 1987, a total of 631 missiles were built.
Development
The
P-5 Pyatyorka ''(SS-N-3 Shaddock)'' missile required the
Project 659 submarines carrying them to spend 30 minutes or more on the surface when firing. This made submarines very vulnerable to enemy attack, so in the 1960s the Soviets started work on a new missile that could be fired whilst submerged, and a submarine to carry it. These became the
P-120 Malakhit and
Project 670 submarine.
However, problems with the engines of the P-120 Malakhit forced the Soviets to design a sub-launched missile based on the
P-15M Termit ''(SS-N-2C 'Styx')'' as a stopgap measure for the first batch of Charlie submarines. This became the P-20L, later renamed the P-70 Ametist.
Design
The P-15M was fitted with an
L band 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 ...
sensor and a new
radar altimeter both developed for the P-120, but there was no room for a datalink in the smaller P-15M. Folding wings were added to reduce the size of the missile, and the missile can be launched at a maximum depth of .
The short range of the P-70 meant it did not need mid-course updates from a radar on the submarine, so it could be fired submerged. This more than made up for its lack of range compared to the P-5.
Operational history
The P-70 went into service with the Soviet Navy on the first Project 670, on June 3, 1968.
About 200 were produced.
India leased the ''Chakra'', a Soviet Project 670 submarine from January 1988 to 1992, to gain experience of operating a nuclear submarine.
Operators
;
;
;
;
References
External links
MARITIME STRIKE The Soviet Perspectivewww.dtig.org
Russian/Sovjet Sea-based Anti-Ship Missiles (pdf)
{{Russian and Soviet missiles, SSM
P-070
Cold War anti-ship cruise missiles of the Soviet Union
P-070
Cruise missiles of the Cold War
Nuclear missiles of the Cold War
P-070
P-070
Cruise missiles of Russia
Submarine-launched cruise missiles of Russia
NPO Mashinostroyeniya products
Military equipment introduced in the 1960s