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Cruise & anti-ship missiles1983–presentProfile in progress
Air-launched cruise missile
Kh-55 is a air-launched cruise missile originating in Soviet Union. It was built by Raduga OKB , KhAZ ( Kharkiv ), Novator (MZiK) & NPP Temp (Eka) NPO Strela (Oren), else. Reported operators include Soviet Union, Russia, China, Iran.
Technical data
True scale
Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.
Air-launched cruise missile
Soviet Union
1983–present
Soviet Union, Russia, China, Iran
Syrian Civil War Russo-Ukrainian war
1971–1981
Raduga OKB , KhAZ ( Kharkiv ), Novator (MZiK) & NPP Temp (Eka) NPO Strela (Oren), else
1981
1,650 kg (3,640 lb) (Kh-65SE) 2,400 kg (5,300 lb) (Kh-101)
604 cm (19 ft 10 in) (Kh-65SE) 745 cm (24 ft 5 in) (Kh-101)
51.4 cm (20.2 in) (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
310 cm (122.0 in) (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
Thermonuclear weapon or Conventional warhead
200kt Nuclear (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
R95TP-300 Turbofan /turbofan (Kh-55/Kh-55SM) 360-400 kgf (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
jet fuel
2,500 km (1,300 nmi) (Kh-55) 3,000 km (1,600 nmi) (Kh-55SM) 600 km (320 nmi) (Kh-65SE) 300 km, later 600 km (Kh-SD)
under 110 m/300 ft
Mach 0.75 (KH-SD) Mach 0.6-0.78 (Kh-101)
inertial guidance with Doppler radar / terrain map updates; Kh-SD had a TC / IIR terminal guidance system, and an alternative active radar homing seeker was proposed
Tu-95MS , Tu-160 , Su-34
Iran : acquired 12 from Ukraine.
China : acquired 6 from Ukraine.
Russia : the Russian Air Force uses the Kh-55SM and Kh-555.
Soviet Union : the Soviet Air Force deployed the Kh-55 as its original operator, passed to successor states after the dissolution of the Soviet Union .
Belarus
Ukraine : ~487 scrapped, ~587 transferred to Russia
The Kh-55 ( Russian : Х -55 , also known as RKV-500 ; NATO reporting name : AS-15 "Kent" ) is a Soviet /Russian subsonic air-launched cruise missile , designed by MKB Raduga in the 1970s.
The Kh-55 ( Russian : Х -55 , also known as RKV-500 ; NATO reporting name : AS-15 "Kent" ) is a Soviet /Russian subsonic air-launched cruise missile , designed by MKB Raduga in the 1970s. It has a range of up to 2,500 km (1,350 nmi) and can carry nuclear warheads. Kh-55 is launched exclusively from bomber aircraft and has spawned a number of conventionally armed variants mainly for tactical use, such as the Kh-65SE and Kh-SD , but only the Kh-555 appears to have been put into service. The Kh-55 was not the basis of the submarine and ground-launched S-10 Granat or RK-55 Relief (SS-N-21 "Sampson" and SSC-X-4 "Slingshot") designed by NPO Novator . The RK-55 is very similar to the air-launched Kh-55 (AS-15 "Kent") but the Kh-55 has a drop-down turbofan engine and was designed by MKB Raduga.
After the end of the Cold War and anti-proliferation treaties restricting the deployment of long-range nuclear missiles, the Russians made efforts to develop tactical versions of the Kh-55 with conventional warheads. First came the 600 km-range Kh-65SE (derived from the Kh-55) announced in 1992, then the 300 km-range Kh-SD tactical version of the Kh-101 for export, and finally the Kh-555. In 2001 the Russian Air Force are believed to have selected the Kh-101 and Kh-555 for development.
A 1995 Russian document suggested that a complete production facility had been transferred to Shanghai, for the development of a nuclear-armed cruise missile. Originally it was thought that this was based on the 300 km-range Raduga Kh-15 (AS-16 "Kickback"), but it appears that it was the Kh-55 that was transferred to China.
The missile can be launched from both high and low altitudes, and flies at subsonic speeds at low levels (under 110 m/300 ft altitude). After launch, the missile's folded wings, tail surfaces and engine deploy. It is guided through a combination of an inertial guidance system plus a terrain contour-matching guidance system which uses radar and images stored in the memory of an onboard computer to find its target. This allows the missile to guide itself to the target with a high degree of accuracy.
In the nuclear role, Kh-55 carries a 200 kilotonnes of TNT (840 TJ) warhead designated TK66, with a warhead weight of 130 kilograms (290 lb). The mass-size simulator for the warhead is designated KTS-120-12.
The Kh-55 can be carried by the Tu-95MS (NATO "Bear-H") and Tu-142M (NATO "Bear-F"), and the Kh-55SM is carried by the Tupolev Tu-160 "White Swan" (NATO "Blackjack"). Sixteen Kh-55s can be carried by the Tu-95MS16 variant, ten on underwing hardpoints and six on an MKU-5-6 rotary launcher. The missile was also tested on the Tu-22M (NATO "Backfire") bombers.
A Kh-55 missile with a ballast warhead, launched over Belarus on 16 December 2022, diverted course and fell in Poland, in a forest in Zamość, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship 15 km west of Bydgoszcz after having crossed around 500 km of Polish territory. According to Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki , it was detected by Polish and allied radars, however the missile was accidentally found only on 22 April 2023 and the incident was revealed a couple of days later. It is not clear, if its fall in Poland, near aviation repair works in Bydgoszcz, engaged in military aid for Ukraine, was caused by a technical failure of an old missile, or was a provocation.
Kh-55 (NATO "Kent-A" , RKV-500A, Izdeliye 120) - original model with 2,500 km range.
Kh-55SM (NATO "Kent-B" , RKV-500B, Izdeliye 121) - with extra fuel tanks to extend range to 3000 km.
Kh-65SE - tactical version announced in 1992 with 410 kg conventional warhead and restricted to the 600 km range limit (expired on 2.8.2019) of the INF treaty.
Kh-55/65SD (средней дальности Srednei Dalnosti - "Medium Range") - 300 km range conventional version announced in 1995, possibly for export. Shared components with the Kh-101, range reportedly increased to 600 km with a high-altitude approach, but the Kh-SD was apparently shelved in 2001. An alternative active radar seeker was proposed for anti-shipping use.
Kh-BD conventional and nuclear armed version with said range up to 3000 km or greater, near or more than 5000 km range. The missile entered service in September 2023 on Tu-160 (12 missiles each). Its range was reported to be over 6,500 km (4,000 miles). and is believed to be an evolutionary development of the Kh-101/102 missiles . The Kh-BD is designed for low observability and is likely to utilize inertial guidance with Doppler radar and terrain map updates for navigation.
Kh-50 or Kh-SD new stealthy short to medium (300 to 1500–1900 km) ranges and conventional (or also nuclear) variant (somewhat analogue of AGM-158 JASSM ). Length: 6m, uses inertial/ GLONASS / DSMAC guidance.
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Kh-55 equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
China
Iran
Russia