Kh-22

Kh-22 (NATO reporting name: AS-4 'Kitchen')
Kh-22 under a Tu-22M2
Type	air-to-surface missile
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1962-2007
Used by	Russia
Production history
Manufacturer	Raduga
Specifications
Weight	5,820 kg (12,800 lb)
Length	11.65 m (38.2 ft)
Diameter	181 cm (71 in)
Warhead	900 kg (1,984 lb) HE shaped charge or 350–1000kT nuclear
Engine	Liquid-fuel rocket
Wingspan	300 cm (120 in)
Propellant	Hydrazine and IRFNA
Operational range	up to 400 km (220 nmi)
Speed	Mach 4
Guidance system	inertial with terminal active seeker
Launch platform	Tu-22M, Тu-22К, Тu-95К22

Kh-22 under a Tu-22M3

The Raduga Kh-22 (Russian: Х-22; AS-4 'Kitchen') is a large, long-range anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union. It was intended for use against US Navy aircraft carriers and carrier battle groups, with either a conventional or nuclear warhead.

Development

Analyzing WW2 naval battles and encounters in the late 40s and early 50s Soviet military thinkers correctly assessed that the times of large seaborne battles were over and that stand-off attacks were the way to neutralize and incapacitate large battle groups without having to field a similar force against them. Substituting cruise missiles for air attacks, VVS and AV-MF commanders set about to convert their heavy bombers as raketonosets, or missile carriers, which could be launched against approaching enemy fleets and task forces from coastal or island airfields. The Kh-22 (Complex 22) weapon was developed by the Raduga design bureau and used to arm the Tupolev Tu-22.

Design

The Kh-22 uses an Isayev liquid-fuel rocket engine, fueled with hydrazine and IRFNA (inhibited red fuming nitric acid), giving it a maximum speed of Mach 4 and a range of up to 400 km (220 nmi). It can be launched in either high-altitude or low-altitude mode. In high-altitude mode, it climbs to an altitude of 27,000 m (89,000 ft) and makes a high-speed dive into the target, with a terminal speed of about Mach 4. In low-altitude mode, it climbs to 12,000 m (39,000 ft) and makes a shallow dive at about Mach 1.2, making the final approach at an altitude under 500 m (1,600 ft). The missile is guided by a gyro-stabilized autopilot in conjunction with a radio altimeter.

Soviet tests revealed that when a shaped charge warhead weighing 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) was used in the missile, the resulting hole measured 5 m (16 ft) in diameter, and was 12 m (40 ft) deep.

Operational history

The first service-ready missiles were ready in 1962.

The main launch platform is the Tu-22M 'Backfire'. Russia has also used it on the Тu-22К 'Blinder-B' and Tupolev Tu-95К22 'Bear-G'.

Variants

Two initial versions were built, the Kh-22A with a large conventional warhead and the Kh-22N, with a 350-1000-kiloton nuclear warhead. In the mid-1960s this was supplemented by the Kh-22P, an anti-radiation missile for the destruction of radar installations. In the 1970s the Kh-22 was upgraded to Kh-22M and Kh-22MA standard, with new attack profiles, somewhat longer range, and a datalink allowing mid-course updates.

• Kh-22E - a conventionally-armed version for export

• Kh-32 - a conventionally-armed deep upgrade variant of Kh-22 for modernised Tu-22M3

The principal weapon of modernised Tu-22M3 will be the Kh-32 supersonic air-to-surface missile developed by NPO Raduga as an upgrade of the familiar Kh-22. It features an improved rocket motor and a new seeker head.

The old Kh-22 anti-shipping missile was severely handicapped by its short range - a few hundred kilometers, that is, within visual range for a high flying aircraft. Over-the-horizon attacks were all but impossible, as the Kh-22's seeker head could not find the target. In a real-life attack scenario against a carrier task force, a Tu-22M3 would have to survive the dash through the heavy fighter cover to launch its missile. This dash would result in a high loss rate of Tu-22M3s.

Raguda's new Kh-32 is the solution. While the Kh-22 climbs to 22000m and accelerates to about 3600 km/h on the way to target, the Kh-32 at first soars up almost to space an altitude of some 44 km/27.3 miles then "looks beyond the horizon", detecting the target at 600 km or even 1000 km range. The warhead/seeker of the new missile is much smarter as it can classify the targets and select the priority target, which is the highest value target in a fleet. Usually, this would be an aircraft carrier or a guided missile cruiser.

Also the Kh-32 closes on the target at much higher speed, which makes it impossible to intercept. In Russia that this missile and the Tu-22M3 modernisation to carry it are considered a serious military deterrent and an effective weapon against the most powerful carrier task force. Test of the Kh-32 were successfully completed back in late 1990 in so doing the long range aviation worked in close co-operation with the Navy,which willing supplied decommisioned warships as target.

Operators

Former Operators

Kh-22 under a Tu-22M3

• Iraq- Launched from Tu-22 during Iran-Iraq War, all retired after the US invasion.
• Russia
• Ukraine - All retired after Ukrainian Tu-22M fleet's decommission.
• Soviet Union

References

• Gordon, Yefim (2004). Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-188-1. 

External links

• http://airwar.ru/weapon/kr/x22.html (Russian)