| Kh-22 (NATO reporting name: AS-4 'Kitchen') |
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|---|---|
Kh-22 under a Tu-22M2 |
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| Type | air-to-surface missile |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1962-2007 |
| Used by | Russia |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Raduga |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 5,820 kg (12,800 lb) |
| Length | 11.65 m (38.2 ft) |
| Diameter | 181 cm (71 in) |
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| Warhead | 900 kg (1,984 lb) HE shaped charge or 350–1000kT nuclear |
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| Engine | Liquid-fuel rocket |
| Wingspan | 300 cm (120 in) |
| Propellant | Hydrazine and IRFNA |
| Operational range |
up to 400 km (220 nmi) |
| 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, with either a conventional or nuclear warhead.
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Analyzing WW2 naval battles and encounters in the late 40s and early 50s Soviet military thinkers correctly assessed that the times of large seaborne battles were over and that stand-off attacks were the way to neutralize and incapacitate large battle groups without having to field similar force against them. Substituting cruise missiles for air attacks, VVS and AV-MF commanders set about to convert their heavy bombers as raketonosets, missile carriers, which could be launched against approaching enemy fleets and task forces from coastal or island airfields. The Kh-22 (Complex 22) weapon was developed by the Raduga design bureau and used to arm the Tupolev Tu-22.
The Kh-22 uses 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 can be launched in either high-altitude or low-altitude mode. In high-altitude mode, it climbs to an altitude of 27,000 m (89,000 ft) and makes a high-speed dive into the target, with a terminal speed of about Mach 4. In low-altitude mode, it climbs to 12,000 m (39,000 ft) and makes a shallow dive at about Mach 1.2, making the final approach at an altitude under 500 m (1,600 ft). The missile is guided by a gyro-stabilized autopilot in conjunction with a radio altimeter.
Soviet tests revealed that when a shaped charge warhead weighing 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) was used in the missile, the resulting hole measured 5 m (16 ft) in diameter, and was 12 m (40 ft) deep.[1][2]
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'.
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.
The principal weapon of modernised 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.
The old Kh-22 anti-shipping missile was severely handicapped by its short range - a few hundred kilometers, that is, within visual range for a high flying aircraft. Over-the-horizon attacks were all but impossible, as the Kh-22's seeker head could not find the target. In a real-life attack scenario against a carrier task force, a Tu-22M3 would have to survive the dash through the heavy fighter cover to launch its missile. This dash would result in an extremely high loss rate of Tu-22M3s.
Raguda's new Kh-32 is the solution. While the Kh-22 climbs to 22000m and accelerates to about 3600 km/h on the way to target, the Kh-32 at first soars up almost to 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 as it can classify the targets and select the priority target, which is the highest value target in a fleet. Usually, this would be an aircraft carrier or a guided missile 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 modernisation 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 co-operation with the Navy,which willing supplied decommisioned warships as target.[6]
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