Kh-58
Kh-58 ( 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine[3] | |
---|---|
Production history | |
Designed | 1970s |
Manufacturer | Raduga NPO |
Specifications | |
Mass | 650 kg (1,430 lb)[4] |
Length | 480 cm (15 ft 9 in)[4] |
Diameter | 38 cm (15.0 in)[4] |
Wingspan | 117 cm (46.1 in)[4] |
Warhead | High Explosive[1] |
Warhead weight | 149 kg (328 lb)[4] |
Engine | Solid rocket[1] |
Operational range | Kh-58: up to 120 km (65 nmi) Kh-58U :250 km (130 nmi)[1] Kh-58E: 46–200 km (25–110 nmi)[4] |
Maximum speed | Mach 3.6 |
Guidance system | Inertial with passive radar seeker[1] |
Launch platform | Su-24M,[1] Mig-25BM,[1] Su-22M4,[4] Su-25TK,[4] Su-30MK[5] |
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2004[update] the Kh-58U variant was still the primary anti-radiation missile of Russia and its allies.[1] It is being superseded by the Kh-31.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".
Development
The Bereznyak design bureau had developed the liquid-fuelled Kh-28 (AS-9 ‘Kyle’) and the KSR-5P (AS-6) anti-radiation missiles.[5] 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.[5] Consequently, the project was initially designated the Kh-24, before becoming the Kh-58.[citation needed]
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.[5]
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
Operational history
The Kh-58 was deployed in 1982 on the
Kh-58U missiles were first used in combat in November 1987 by Iraqi MiG-25BMs during the Iran-Iraq war against Iranian MIM-23B Hawk batteries, disabling at least one radar. In July 1988, Iraqi forces used upgraded Kh-58Us and Kh-31Ps against Iranian Westinghouse ADS-4 low-band and long-range early-warning radars, succeeding in destroying a radar site in Subashi with two missiles.[2]
In August 2007, a Russian Kh-58 missile was fired at a Georgian radar site near the town of Tsitelubani, but it missed and failed to explode.
The Kh-58 have also seen use during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to senior sources of the Ukrainian Air Force, some
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 of Kh-58U,[1] first offered in 1991.[5]
- Kh-58EM - another version offered for export in the 1990s.[5]
- Kh-58UShE (Uluchshennaya Shirokopolosnaya Exportnaya meaning 'Improved, Wideband, Export') - new wideband seeker in new radome, intended for Su-30MK.[5]
- Kh-58UShKE - version with folding fins for internal carriage in the Sukhoi Su-57, first unveiled at MAKS 2007.[8][9]
- Kh-58UShKE(TP) - version with added imaging infrared UV seeker, first unveiled at MAKS 2015.[10]
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.
Operators
Current operators
Former operators
See also
- Martel missile- Anglo-French collaboration with 60 km range
- AGM-88 HARM - Current US Air Force anti-radar weapon, range of 150 km
References
- ^ ISBN 9781580538985
- ^ ISBN 978-1-78200-761-6. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5381-7067-0. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i X-58E, Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC, 2004, archived from the original on 28 September 2007, retrieved 10 February 2009
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kh-58 (AS-11 'Kilter')", Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, 24 October 2007
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58487-491-1. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Experts invited by Georgia say plane from Russia". Reuters. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Airshow China 2014: PAK-FA's new anti-radiation missile set for 2015 series production", Jane's Defence Weekly, 13 November 2014
- ^ "Kh-58UShKE Anti-Radiation Missile". Rosoboronexport.
- ^ MAKS 2015: KRTV adds IR seeker to Kh-58UShK anti-radiation missile
- ^ Mladenov 2013, pp. 41–42
- ^ ISBN 978-1032508955.
- ISBN 978-1-914377-18-1.
- ISBN 978-1032508955.
Further reading
- Gordon, Yefim (2004), Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two, Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, ISBN 1-85780-188-1
- Mladenov, Alexander (2013). Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-359-5.
External links
- Tuomas Närväinen's Homepage - useful details