X-35 anti-ship missile: specifications and application

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

One of the main trends in recent military affairs is the unification of weapons and equipment. Through the use of common components, it is possible to simplify the production of systems and reduce their costs of operation. One example of this approach is the Kh-35 anti-ship missile. Depending on the version, it can be used by aircraft, helicopters, ships and coastal complexes. Versatility in use greatly increases the potential of the missile on the battlefield.

X-35 missile: history of creation

To begin with, let's figure out what the rocket had to go through before becoming the property of the Russian Navy. Initially, it was assumed that the Kh-35 missile would be installed on boats and ships with an average displacement. It was to be used as part of the missile system (RK) "Uranus". Development began in April 1984. The project manager was G. I. Khokhlov. The main part of the design work was entrusted to the Zvezda Design Bureau. It was assumed that the X-35 "Uranus" missile would be used to destroy ships with a displacement of not more than 5,000 tons. The terms of reference required that she had the possibility of both a single launch and salvo fire. The Kh-35 missile should have been equallywork successfully in any weather conditions, at any time of the day, and even when the enemy uses air defense and electronic warfare systems.

General characteristics

In terms of aerodynamics, the rocket is made according to the usual scheme: X-shaped wing and tail. The outer surface of the housing is formed by several cylinders. The middle and tail sections are asymmetrical: there is a gondola below, in front of which an air intake is installed. The rocket has a solid-propellant launch booster, which is made in the form of a cylinder and has a plumage that unfolds at launch.

The total length of the rocket is 3.85 m. If you install an accelerator on it, this figure increases to 4.44 m. The body diameter does not exceed 0.42 m. The wingspan in the unfolded state is 1.33 m. the basic configuration with the accelerator, the X-35 rocket weighs 600 kg.

Layout

A similar arrangement can be found on other products of this class. In the head part is the equipment of the homing head. It is followed by the combat component. In the middle part is the air intake channel, "dressed" in the fuel tank. At the tail of the rocket is a turbojet engine. Additional equipment is located in the free parts of the case. The starting accelerator has a completely simple design. Only a solid rocket motor can be placed inside its cylindrical body.

Guidance system

The architecture of guidance systems was affected by the need forguaranteed capture and defeat of the target in any jamming environment. The missile was equipped with a combined guidance system. During the march flight, she had to use an inertial navigation system and a radio altimeter. And when the missile enters the target area, the active radar system of the GOS should be activated, the task of which was to search for and destroy the target.

The ARGS-35, an active radar homing head, was used in the missile project. It allows you to detect and pursue a target with a high degree of reliability. The antenna system is located in the head of the rocket. She was dressed in a radio transparent fairing. The review of the horizontal sector had a width of 90 degrees (45 degrees to the right and left of the rocket axis). The vertical view was not as wide: from -10 to +20 degrees. The first versions of the missile had a target detection range of up to 20 km.

Combat unit

The penetrating warhead, weighing 145 kilograms, was installed behind the homing head. Due to the high-explosive-incendiary action, the warhead should hit ships with a displacement of up to 5000 tons. It has a strong hull with thick walls, which allows you to break through the side of an enemy ship and carry out an undermining inside. Thus it is possible to obtain the maximum destructive effect.

Engine

As already mentioned, the turbojet engine is located in the tail section of the hull. Its thrust reaches 450 kgf. The motor is started with a squib and runs onaviation kerosene. A power plant of this type allows the rocket to reach speeds of up to 280 m/s and fly from 7 to 130 km. As for the solid-propellant booster, it is needed when using a rocket as part of the Uranus rocket launcher. With its help, the X-35 missile, the characteristics of which we are considering today, leaves the transport and launch container. When the projectile is launched, this motor is reset and the main main engine is activated.

Management

The Kh-35 cruise missile received a very successful control system, which allows achieving high performance in combat. On the marching section, the rocket flies at a height of no more than 15 meters above the water level. When the search for a target and aiming at it begins, this indicator drops to 4 m. Due to the low flight altitude and small scattering area, the probability of timely detection, tracking and attack by enemy air defense systems decreases.

The operation of Kh-35 missiles is to some extent facilitated by automating the pre-launch preparation process. The state of the combat unit and the introduction of a flight mission are controlled automatically. In total, the preparation takes no more than 1 minute. The X-35 missile, which is intended for use by ships and ground-based missile systems, was delivered in a cylindrical transport and launch container. Air-based versions are supplied in the same way, but are launched from standard aircraft or helicopter armament.

Development delay

During the consideration of the sketch, which the employees of the Design Bureau "Zvezda"done in a few months, some shortcomings were identified. In particular, the non-compliance of the active radar system with the requirements assigned to it. Additional time was spent on finalizing and improving the project. The pilot launch from a ground installation took place in November 1985. This and several subsequent launches failed.

The first successful launch took place in January 1987. However, the development of on-board systems was still ongoing. Until 1992, Zvezda Design Bureau with related enterprises conducted 13 more launches. Due to the lack of a full-fledged sample of an active radar system, the tested missiles were equipped with its imitation.

Due to the collapse of the USSR and a number of economic problems, work on the X-35 project has practically ceased. In the period from 1992 to 1997, only four prototypes were built and tested. Defense spending was also cut, so the first order for the Uran complex with the X-35 missile was made by a foreign customer.

Uran-E

In 1994, the Indian Navy ordered the Russian Uran-E systems. The letter "E" means that this is an export modification. The ship-based missile complex includes: a missile, a launcher, a control system and equipment for testing ammunition. It can be installed on all kinds of ships and boats. The launcher consists of a metal frame equipped with mounts for containers. The design assumes that the Kh-35 missile will launch at an angle of 35 degrees.

The automated control system, which is entrusted with the functions of checking missiles, entering tasks and other operations, is performed in the form of a pair of containers. This allows you to mount the equipment on any suitable ships and boats. One container occupies 15 and the other 5 m2.

Thanks to the Indian order, the development was nevertheless completed, and the serial production of missiles began. In 1996, the first components of the complex were handed over to the customer, at the end of the same year, work was completed on arming the destroyer INS Delhi with X-35 missiles. In the future, several more Indian ships received similar weapons.

In the early 2000s, the situation with the financing of the Armed Forces changed for the better. As a result, by 2003, the Uran complex with the X-35 missile was finally finalized and adopted by Russia.

Ball

About the same time that the Uran entered service with the Naval Forces, the development of the Bal coastal missile system, which also worked with the X-35 missile, was completed. The tasks of the coastal complex included monitoring territorial waters and defending all kinds of naval facilities. Thanks to a wide range of capabilities, the Bal complex detects and attacks enemy ships in a timely manner. The high mobility of the complex is due to the fact that its main components are made in the form of self-propelled vehicles built on the basis of the MAZ-7930. The complex can be deployed at a distance of up to 10 kilometers from the coast. Its total ammunition load is 64 missiles.

Aviation version

In the mid-2000s, the development of an aviation version of the Kh-35 missile was completed. For helicopters, a separate modification with the index "B" was proposed. Its main difference was the presence of a starting accelerator. It was designed to take into account the low speed of the helicopter. A rocket launched from an airplane does not need a booster at all.

Compact version

In 2011, a launcher for the X-35 missile was developed, disguised as a 20-foot container. Four transport and launch containers with missiles and the entire set of equipment necessary for control were installed inside. What prospects this project has is still unknown.

X-35U

The development of the X-35 rocket was the version of the X-35U, which, thanks to the introduction of new equipment, has twice the speed. In addition, it can successfully hit the enemy from a distance of 260 km. All this was achieved thanks to a new engine and a redesigned air intake duct, which allows you to increase fuel capacity.

In 2009, a modernized version of the X-35U was born, which received an additional index "E". It was intended for sale abroad. The main difference of the project was the new guidance systems, which increased the target detection range to 50 kilometers.

Users

At the moment, the Kh-35 missile, the technical characteristics of which we reviewed today, is used mainly in the troops of Russia, India and Vietnam. To the presenttime, several hundred such missiles have already been built. As for foreign customers, they are most interested in ship-based complexes. The Uranus aviation missile system with the X-35 missile is not yet in demand among exporting countries. According to some foreign sources, the Russian missile was copied by North Korean designers. If this is true, then it is quite possible that the DPRK is also making missiles for sale, which means that more states may be armed with them than is known from official data.