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 | |
| Mass | 5,820 kg (12,800 lb) |
| Length | 11.65 m (38.2 ft) |
| Diameter | 181 cm (71 in) |
| Wingspan | 300 cm (120 in) |
| Warhead | 900 kg (1,984 lb) HE shaped charge or 350–1000kT nuclear |
| Engine | Liquid-fuel rocket |
| Propellant | Hydrazine and IRFNA |
Operational range | up to 400 km (220 nmi) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 4 |
Guidance system | inertial with terminal active seeker |
Launch platform | Tu-22M, Тu-22К, Тu-95К22 |
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, typically with a nuclear warhead. The missile is considered a very powerful weapon, even when armed with a conventional warhead.
Development
The Kh-22 was developed from the late 1950s out of the official Soviet view that missiles were the wave of the future, and that manned bombers were obsolete. Faced with the threat that their bomber forces would be dismantled, Soviet VVS and AV-MF commanders set about to convert their heavy bombers as raketonosets, missile carriers. 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 used 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 could be used in either high-altitude or low-altitude modes. In high-altitude mode it climbed to an altitude of 27,000 m (89,000 ft) and made a high-speed dive into the target, with a terminal speed of about Mach 4. In low-altitude mode, it climbed to 12,000 m (39,000 ft) and made a shallow dive at about Mach 1.2, making the final approach at an altitude under 500 m (1,600 ft). Guidance was by gyro-stabilized autopilot, with a radio altimeter.
It is claimed that when using a shaped charge 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) warhead, it blew a hole 5 m (16 ft) in diameter and penetrated 12 m (40 ft) deep during Soviet tests.[1][2]
Operational history
The first service-ready missiles were ready in 1962.
The main launch platform is the Tu-22M 'Backfire'.[3][4] 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.[5] 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 [6]
The principal weapon of modernized 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.
While Kh-22 climbs to 22000m and accelerates to about 3600 km/h on the way to target, the newer Kh-32 at first soars up almost to the outer 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 - it can classify the targets and select the priority target an aircraft carrier or 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 modernization 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 cooperation with the Navy, which supplied decommissioned warships as targets.
Operators
Former Operators
Iraq- all retired after the US invasion.
Russia
Soviet Union- Passed onto successor states
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Notes and references
- ^ http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Regional-PGM.html#Raduga_Kh-22M_Burya
- ^ http://vs.milrf.ru/armament/marine/krm_x22.htm
- ^ Rosoboronexport Air Force Department and Media & PR Service, AEROSPACE SYSTEMS export catalogue (PDF), Rosoboronexport State Corporation, p. 122
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=GYGV3VOUgxoC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147
- ^ http://fly.hausnet.ru/spravochnik/5/05r/h-22/index.html
- ^ Russian Strategic Aviation Today - Yefim Gordon & Dmitriy Komissarov