The Raduga Kh-55 Granat (NATO reporting name AS-15 'Kent') is a Soviet/CIS subsonic long-range cruise missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. It was designed by MKB Raduga, partially in response to U.S. cruise missiles in the same class (particularly the BGM-109 Tomahawk and AGM-86 missiles). Designed to be launched either from bomber aircraft or from submarines, it was built to carry a conventional or nuclear warhead of up to a 200 kiloton yield over a range of up to 3,000 km (1,860 miles).

The Kh-55, also known by the design bureau designation RKV-500, first flew in 1978, entering production in 1981, with service entry of the original model (NATO 'Kent-A') in 1983. It is powered by a single R95-300 turbofan engine, with pop-out wings for cruising efficiency. It flies at subsonic speeds at low levels (under 110 m/300 ft altitude). Guidance is by inertial navigation.

An upgrade version, Kh-55SM (NATO 'Kent-B'), entered production in 1986. It has TERCOM (Terrain Comparison) navigation, with periodic position updates by comparing terrain images taken by onboard Doppler radar against maps stored in the onboard computer. The Kh-55Sm has additional fuel tanks, extending range from 2,500 km to 3,000 km.

A naval version of the Kh-55, 3K-10 Granat, was developed in parallel, apparently for submarine use.

The Kh-55 is carried by the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-160

Features

The small, winged Kh-55 missile is powered by a turbofan jet engine that propels it at sustained subsonic speeds and can be launched from both high and low altitudes. After launch, the missile's folded wings, tail surfaces and engine inlet deploy. It is guided through a combination of an inertial guidance system plus a terrain contour-matching guidance system which uses radar and images stored in the memory of an onboard computer to find its target. This allows the missile to guide itself to the target with a high degree of accuracy, with a reported CEP of 150 m.

Variants

Three air-launched versions of the missile exist (Kh-55, Kh-55-OK and Kh-55SM), launched from Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-160 bomber aircraft. In addition, the Soviet Navy was equipped with a sea-launched variant, known by NATO as SS-N-21 Sampson, which was installed on submarines of the Akula, Victor III, Yankee Notch and Sierra classes. A land-launched variant, the RK-55 (NATO: SSC-X-4), was also developed.

Background

The Kh-55 was developed in the 1970s as a direct counterpart to the US AGM-86, with a very similar design and capabilities. Prototypes were tested in 1978 before the weapon was accepted into service in 1984.

Stockpiles of the land-based RK-55 variant were destroyed at the end of the 1980s following the signature of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left several of the USSR's successor states, notably Russia and Ukraine, with significant stockpiles of Kh-55 missiles. In 1992, Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced that his country would no longer manufacture such weapons. However, in March 2000 it was reported that the Russian Federation Air Force had tested a new cruise missile, the Kh-555, which (as its name suggests) was based on the Kh-55 and had similar characteristics.

In 2005, Ukraine's arsenal of Kh-55s became the subject of an international controversy after it emerged that 18 of the missiles—out of a reported stockpile of 1,612 left over from the collapse of the USSR—had been illegally smuggled to Iran and the People's Republic of China. Fears were expressed that Iran could adapt its Su-24 strike aircraft to launch the missiles, and that China might use them to threaten other Asian countries or pass them onto the possibly nuclear-armed regime in North Korea. Ukraine was supposed to return 575 of the missiles to Russia and scrap the rest under a U.S.-funded disarmament programme. The affair only came to light after Ukrainian parliamentarian Hrihory Omelchenko publicly alleged that a Russian arms dealer and corrupt officials in the government of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma were behind the deal.

A subsequent investigation by the Ukrainian government confirmed that the missiles had indeed been sold illegally, but denied that any government officials had been involved. In addition, it was claimed that the missiles were effectively useless, as they were ten years past the end of their service life and were not in an operational condition.

Sources

• GlobalSecurity.org - Kh-55 Granat information
• AS-15 KENT
• "Ukraine admits delivering cruise missiles to Iran, China", ITAR-TASS, 18 March 2005

General characteristics

Primary function: Strategic cruise missile, air/land/sea launched

Contractor: Raduga OKB / M. I. Kalinin Machine Building Plant

Length: 8.09 m (26.54 ft)

Weight: 1,700 kg (3,750 lb)

Diameter: Kh-55: 0.514 m (1.68 ft), Kh-55SM: 0.77 m (2.52 ft)

Wingspan: 3.1 m (10.17 ft)

Range: Kh-55: 2,500 km (1,550 miles), Kh-55SM: 3,000 km (1,860 miles)

Speed: Mach 0.48-0.77 / 355 to 570 mph / 571 to 917 km/h

Guidance System: Inertial navigation element with terrain contour-matching system

Warheads: 200 kt nuclear

Date deployed: 1984

Specifications (Kh-55SM)

• Length: 6.0 m (19 ft 7 in)
• Diameter: 514 mm (20.24 in)
• Wingspan: 3.10 m (10 ft 1 in)
• Launch weight: 1,500 kg (3,300 lb)
• Warhead: 200 kt nuclear
• Guidance: inertial with Doppler radar/terrain map updates
• Maximum speed: approximately Mach 0.77
• Range: 3,000 km (1,860 mi)
• Accuracy (CEP): unknown