Kh-58

Kh-58
(NATO reporting name: AS-11 'Kilter')
Kh-58 ; (NATO reporting name: AS-11 'Kilter')
	Kh-58U in the Ukrainian Air Force Museum
Type	air-launched anti-radiation missile
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1982-current
Used by	USSR, Russia, India, FSU, Warsaw Pact
Wars	Russo-Georgian War; Iran-Iraq War
Production history
Designed	1970s
Manufacturer	Raduga NPO
Specifications
Mass	650 kg (1,430 lb)
Length	480 cm (15 ft 9 in)
Diameter	38 cm (15.0 in)
Wingspan	117 cm (46.1 in)
Warhead	High Explosive
Warhead weight	149 kg (328 lb)
Engine	Solid rocket
Operational; range	Kh-58 : up to 120 km (65 nmi); Kh-58U :250 km (130 nmi); Kh-58E :46–200 km (25–110 nmi)
Maximum speed	Mach 3.6
Guidance; system	Inertial with passive radar seeker
Launch; platform	Su-24M, Mig-25BM, Su-22M4, Su-25TK, Su-30MK

The Kh-58 (Russian: Х-58; NATO:AS-11 'Kilter') is a Soviet anti-radiation missile with a range of 120 km. As of 2004^[update] the Kh-58U variant was still the primary anti-radiation missile of Russia and its allies.^[1] It is being superseded by the Kh-31. The NATO reporting name is "Kilter", after a pixie in the 1902 book The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum.^{[citation needed]}

Development

The Bereznyak design bureau had developed the liquid-fuelled Kh-28 (AS-9 'Kyle) and the KSR-5P anti-radiation missiles.^[3] They merged with Raduga in 1967, so Raduga was given the contract in the early 1970s to develop a solid-fuel successor to the Kh-28 to equip the new Su-24M 'Fencer-D' attack aircraft.^[3] Consequently the project was initially designated the Kh-24, before becoming the Kh-58.

During the 1980s a longer-range variant was developed, the Kh-58U, with lock-on-after-launch capability. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Raduga have offered several versions for export.^[3]

Design

It was designed to be used in conjunction with the Su-24's L-086A "Fantasmagoria A" or L-086B "Fantasmagoria B" target acquisition system.^[1] The range achieved depends heavily on the launch altitude, thus the original Kh-58 has a range of 36 km from low level, 120 km from 10,000 m (32,800 ft), and 160 km from 15,000 m (49,200 ft).^[1]

Like other Soviet missiles of the time, the Kh-58 could be fitted with a range of seeker heads designed to target specific air defence radars such as MIM-14 Nike-Hercules or MIM-104 Patriot.^[3]

Operational history

The Kh-58 was deployed in 1982 on the Su-24M 'Fencer D' in Soviet service.^[1] The Kh-58U entered service in 1991 on the Su-24M and Mig-25BM 'Foxbat-F'.^[1] The Kh-58E version can be carried on the Su-22M4 and Su-25TK as well,^[2] whilst the Kh-58UshE appears to be intended for Chinese Su-30MKK's.^[3]

Variants

Kh-58 (Izdeliye 112) - original version for the Su-24M
Kh-58U - improved version with longer range and lock-on-after-launch
Kh-58E - export version first offered in 1991,^[3] a downgraded Kh-58U^[1]
Kh-58EM - another version offered for export in the 1990s^[3]
Kh-58UShE (Uluchshennaya Shirokopolosnaya Exportnaya : 'improved, wideband, export') - new wideband seeker in new radome, intended for Su-30MK.^[3]
Kh-58UShKE - version shown at MAKS 2007 with folding fins for internal carriage in the Sukhoi PAK FA.^[4]
Kh-58UShKE(TP) - version shown at MAKS 2015 with an added IIR UV seeker.^[5]

Some Western sources have referred to a Kh-58A that is either optimised for naval radars or has an active seeker head for use as an anti-shipping missile - it probably represents another name for the Kh-58U.