Kh-55

Kh-55/65/555
AS-15 Kent
Kh-55 in the Ukrainian Air Force Museum
TypeAir-launched cruise missile
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1983–present
Used bySoviet Union, Russia, China, Iran
WarsSyrian Civil War[1]
Russian invasion of Ukraine[2]
Production history
Designed1971–1981
ManufacturerRaduga OKB, KhAZ (Kharkiv), Novator (MZiK) & NPP Temp (Eka) NPO Strela (Oren), else
Produced1981
Specifications
Mass1,650 kg (3,640 lb) (Kh-65SE)[3]
2,400 kg (5,300 lb) (Kh-101)[4]
Length604 cm (19 ft 10 in) (Kh-65SE)[3]
745 cm (24 ft 5 in) (Kh-101)[4]
Diameter51.4 cm (20.2 in) (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
Wingspan310 cm (122.0 in) (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
WarheadThermonuclear weapon or Conventional warhead
Blast yield200kt Nuclear (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)

EngineR95TP-300 Turbofan[5]/turbofan (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
360-400 kgf (Kh-55/Kh-55SM)
Propellantjet fuel
Operational
range
2,500 km (1,300 nmi) (Kh-55)
3,000 km (1,600 nmi) (Kh-55SM)
600 km (320 nmi) (Kh-65SE)[3]
300 km, later 600 km (Kh-SD)[3]
Flight altitudeunder 110 m/300 ft
Maximum speed Mach 0.75 (KH-SD)[3]
Mach 0.6-0.78 (Kh-101)[4]
Guidance
system
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
Launch
platform
Tu-95MS, Tu-160, Su-34[6]

The Kh-55 (Russian: Х-55[note 1], 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.

  1. ^ "25 Russian long-range strategic bombers in action over Syria for the very first time". Theaviationist.com. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  2. ^ Douglas Barrie (1 April 2022). "Ukraine: Russia's air-launched cruise missiles coming up short". The International Institute for Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference JSWS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c "Air Force Priority Given To Conventional Cruise", Jane's Defence Weekly, 19 August 1995, archived from the original on 4 June 2009
  5. ^ "ОАО "АМНТК "Союз"". www.amntksoyuz.ru. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference JSWS101 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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