The new Kh-32 Antiship Missile

The new missiles announced by President Vladimir Putin draw a major attention. However, they are either non-operational yet or undergoing test operations or trials. In 2016 the aniship Kh-32 missile for Tu-22M3 bombers became operational. Its high characteristics considerably changed the balance on oceanic and sea theaters of warfare, expert Konstantin Sivkov writes in the Military-Industrial Courier.

The missile is equipped with an inertial navigation system (an autonomous system not affected by electronic warfare) and heat-seeking warheads with a radar homing head. This solution will greatly improve the accuracy of its guidance, making it independent of GPS/Glonass navigation satellite systems.

Unlike other missiles, the Kh-32 rises into the stratosphere to the height of aerospace probes, where there are no potential adversary fighters or missiles. Then it flies a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before swooping down on a target.

According to an RBTH source in the defense industry, no Russian or foreign missile defense system today is able to detect the Kh-32 approaching the target: neither the domestic S-400 Triumph system nor the American MIM-104 Patriot.

The Raduga Maritime Design Bureau has been developing the missile since 1998. It is a deep modernization of the well-known Kh-22 which made the maiden flight in 1963, was accepted into service in 1968 and is still operational. It has the hull of the predecessor. The size and weight of Kh-32 are the same. It weighs close to 5800 kg, is 12 meters long with a one-meter diameter and a three-meter wingspan. It is carried on the same suspensions as Kh-22. Open sources said the warhead is lighter. On Kh-22 it weighs 900 kg and the new one weighs 500 kg. The empty space is used to carry additional fuel.

Kh-32 has a more effective and powerful engine. It is distinguished by a new radar targeting system with radio command adjustment according to terrain relief by altimeter. Kh-22 homing warhead operates by a set of fixed frequencies. The problems of electromagnetic compatibility limit the number of missiles in a salvo, and the missile is extremely vulnerable to modern electronic warfare means. Kh-32 controls are free of the drawbacks. Experts said the weapon is highly protected from jamming by the latest emission sources.

The trajectory has three sections: the launch one to reach the cruising altitude, the cruising one when Kh-32 flies at the 40-km ceiling, and the final one when it nosedives to attack.

Experts believe Kh-32 can lock on the target from under the aircraft wing which allows the operator to select the target. However, the range of 600-1000 km does not provide such a possibility as the distance is too big for the warhead to detect and track the target. The radars of the carrier, reconnaissance or AEW aircraft cannot do it.

The range of the homing warhead is 200-300 km. The operator selects the target after detecting a group of adversary warships (radar-contrast ground targets) and sends a radio command. Vulkan missiles and their predecessors Basalt operate by the same principle on project 1164 cruisers.

It is clear the fire range in the technical assignment should allow to strike without entering the air defense of the aircraft-carrying formation. The longest interception range of seaborne US aircraft on duty in the air is 700 kilometers from the carrier when aimed by AWACS (E-2S Hawkai and E-3 various modifications). It means Kh-32 range should be 800 km (experts say 600 to 1000 km). It is quite possible as Kh-22 flew for over 350 km yet in early 1960s. A more powerful engine and two times higher ceiling will boost the speed. Experts estimate the cruising speed at 5400 km/h.

As a result, it is an antiship missile launched from an altitude of 1 to 13 thousand meters and flying at an altitude of some 40 km at a speed of 1500 meters per second. The missile does not meet modern stealth requirements.

Let us analyze the capabilities of the latest and most powerful air defense of the US Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers and Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers with Aegis information-control system and the latest Standard-6 antiaircraft guided missiles. The missile (RIM-174 SM-6 ERAM) became operational in the US Navy in 2013. It is distinguished by an active radar homing warhead which allows to fire and forget the missile. It increases the effectiveness of engagement against low flying targets also beyond the horizon and allows destroying targets by outside aiming data, e.g. from an AWACS aircraft.

The Standard-6 launch weight is 1500 kg, the range is 240 km and the maximum altitude is 33 km. The speed is Mach 3.5 or nearly a thousand meters per second.

Maximum maneuvering overload is 50g. The warhead is kinetic (for ballistic targets) or fragmentation (for aerodynamic targets), weighs 125 kg which is twice as much as the previous missiles of the family.

Maximum speed of the attacked aerodynamic target is estimated at 800 meters per second. The hit probability by one missile at an aerodynamic target is 0.95.

The comparison of Kh-32 and Standard-6 shows the flying section of Kh-32 is seven kilometers above the top destruction level of the US missile and nearly two times surpasses its maximum speed for aerodynamic targets: 1500 against 800 meters per second.

But that does not mean the United States will not fire at hypersonic missiles. The Aegis system can detect them and provide aiming information as it is capable of missile and even satellite defense. Therefore, Standard-6 will be engaged, but it remains to see how effectively.

The hit probability characteristics are usually provided for ranges where the target does not maneuver and flies at the best speed for its destruction. In real combat the hit probability is usually lower due to aiming specifics which are limited by the speed of the maneuvering target and its altitude. The hit capability of Standard-6 will be affected also by the detection range of the active homing warhead, the precision of the approach to target lock-on area, admissible maneuvering overload and atmosphere density, as well as errors in determining the movement specifics of the target by radars and information-control systems. All the factors determine the main thing - whether the missile can contact and select the miss distance to a level which will guarantee the warhead hitting the maneuvering target.

"The airspeed of the Kh-32 is five times higher than its predecessor, which has been deployed since the late 1960s," the source said. "Air and missile defense systems today cannot detect a diving warhead, which moves down at a speed of over 5,400 km/h."

According to the source, the Kh-32 does not violate the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 as it is not launched into orbit. It also does not violate the provisions of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty – the agreement does not prohibit either Russia or the United States from developing air-to-surface missiles, the RBTH source explained.

The Kh-32, which is comparable with a front-line fighter aircraft in size, is an upgrade of a missile from the late 1960s. Its predecessor could also be fitted with a 500-kg nuclear or conventional warhead. However, its operational range was only 90 kilometers (55 miles), and its accuracy left much to be desired.

But today, designers have created a new engine, which allows the missile to hit targets at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers, and a new control system, which coordinates with other munitions fired in a volley.