The development of 1983 turned out to be more reliable than the Bulava
British newspaper The Daily Telegraph broke out in a panicky article about military
capabilities of the Russian missile system "Turquoise" (export name Club-K), which was recently demonstrated at the Asian Defense Systems Exhibition in Malaysia. Representatives of the US defense department, quoted by the publication, assure that the new Russian weapon can completely change the global military balance.
"This system enables ballistic missile proliferation on a scale never seen before," Pentagon defense consultant Ruben Johnson assesses Club-K's capabilities. - Through careful camouflage, you can no longer easily determine that an object is being used as a launcher. First, a harmless cargo ship appears at your shores, and the next minute your military facilities have already been destroyed by explosions."
Another military expert Robert Hewson said, commenting on the novelty: “This Club-K completely changes the game. The threat is simply enormous, because no one will be able to say where the blow will come from. As Robert Hewson told the newspaper, Club-K will allow the destruction of even aircraft carriers. According to Hewson, the developer of Turquoise, the Russian design bureau Novator, advertises its product mainly as a means of defense against US aggression. But aircraft carrier groups are one of the foundations of the American armed forces.
The US military is particularly concerned that Russia is openly offering Club-K to anyone under threat of US attack. According to The Daily Telegraph, Club-K will allow even the poorest countries to receive powerful weapons, giving them the ability to strike unexpectedly at the most protected targets of the enemy, even with a military superiority. Once in the hands of "rogue countries" like Venezuela or Iran, The Daily Telegraph notes, Club-K can seriously increase their defenses in the event of aggression from the United States and its allies.
The Israeli newspaper DEBKA. Com also expresses concern: if the missiles are sold to Syria or Iran, they could easily end up in the hands of anti-Israeli terrorist organizations like the Lebanese Hezbollah. This could completely change the balance of power in the Middle East.
What is this missile system that scared the Americans so much?
- Missile system "Club" (Russian name "Turquoise"), according to NATO codification: SS-N-27 "Sizzler" (translated as "incinerator") - developed and produced in the OKB "Novator" (Yekaterinburg), - Colonel Yuri Matushkin, an expert of the information center "Weapons of the XXI century", told the "SP" correspondent. - It includes anti-ship missiles 3M-54E and 3M-54E1, anti-submarine missiles 91RE1 and 91RE2 and high-precision missiles for attacking ground targets 3M-14E. They can be equipped with airplanes, surface ships (launch from the 3C-14 universal vertical launcher), submarines (launch from torpedo
devices), coastal missile systems Caliber-M (Club-M), any floating craft, trucks and railway platforms (Club-K). In the latter case, the missile system is disguised as a standard cargo container, which cannot be recognized by conventional reconnaissance means. Its standard ammunition is four missiles of various modifications designed to destroy ground and surface targets. Particularly dangerous for the enemy is the variant of the 3M54E1 rocket, capable of sending a penetrating high-explosive warhead weighing 400 kg over a distance of up to 300 km. In cruising mode, the 3M54E1 flies at a speed of 0.8 times the speed of sound, which is usual for missiles of this class. In the final segment of the flight, the rocket descends, throws off the main engine and picks up a speed that exceeds the speed of sound three times. In this mode, it is extremely difficult to shoot it down with standard air defense weapons.
This magnificent missile system has a Soviet ancestry. Its development began in 1983. The first main element of the complex is the Alfa universal rocket, which was demonstrated in 1993 (10 years after the start of its development) at the arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi and at the MAKS-93 international aerospace show in Zhukovsky. In the same year, she was put into service.
The first test launch of an anti-ship missile of this complex, according to media reports, took place from a nuclear submarine in the Northern Fleet in March 2000, the second in June of the same year from a diesel submarine of Project 877 of the Baltic Fleet. Both launches were considered successful.
Today Russia is selling this complex to a number of countries. India became the first foreign customer of the Club system. Surface and underwater missile systems are installed on Project 11356 frigates (Talwar type) and Project 877EKM diesel submarines of the Indian Navy, built by Russian enterprises. On previously purchased submarines, Club is installed during repair and modernization work on them. According to media reports, the ZM-54E and ZM-54TE missiles are installed on Indian submarines and frigates, respectively. The Club missile system is supplied to China.
At present, other countries are also showing great interest in the missile system.
From the dossier:
The complex "Club" can be equipped with coastal positions, surface ships and vessels of various classes, railway and automobile platforms. The Club-K complex is housed in a standard 40-foot sea container.
The price of the kit, which, in addition to the universal launch module (USM), includes a combat control module and a power supply and life support module, is, according to data published in the press, only 15 million dollars.
Tactical and technical characteristics:
Missiles 3M54E, 3M54E1, 3M14E, 91RE1, 91RTE2 have a length of 6 to 8 m, a diameter of 533 mm, a launch mass of 1200 to 2300 kg.
Warhead penetrating high-explosive, high-explosive fragmentation or cluster up to 450 kg.
The firing range is up to 300 km.
