The Kh-22 inflicts fatal injuries even without the use of a nuclear charge. With an airspeed of 800 m / s, the hole area was 22 square meters. m, and the internal compartments of the ships were burned out by a cumulative jet to a depth of 12 m.
The Kh-22 missile is a weapon of the Tu-22M long-range supersonic bombers, according to the western classification “Backfire” (Backfire).
The shaped charge leaves deep, but small holes in size, while the diameter of the hole left does not depend on the mass of the charge. It is determined by the caliber. In order to leave a "hole" with an area of 22 sq. m, a cumulative warhead with a cross section of tens of meters is required. And such a rocket would have to be launched from Baikonur.
The second remark is that the cumulative jet does not burn anything. The temperature does not play any role there. The SC literally "flushes" the hole like a jet of liquid under high pressure. And after overcoming the obstacle, the explosion products turn into a finely dispersed powder with a temperature several times lower than the melting point of steel.
The internal compartments of the ships were “burned out” not by a cumulative jet, but by a directed high-explosive explosion. As for the size of the hole, there is nothing surprising for a warhead containing 630 kg of explosives.
Of course, all these "burnouts" are minor inaccuracies found in articles about military equipment. This does not change the essence.
The warhead of the Kh-22 missile is capable of sinking any ship. But would anyone be able to launch such a rocket?
Below is the data from the article "Backfire Rockets" from the famous aviation historian, writer Viktor Markovsky. Chronicle of the combat service of the Kh-22 with a detailed description of the episodes of its maintenance and practice of use in parts of long-range missile-carrying aviation. Figures and facts.
Based on this information, it becomes obvious that no Kh-22 cruise missile has ever existed as a weapon. Its components were separately lying in warehouses, and dummies were periodically lifted into the air. But there was no question of the ability to start performing combat missions in accordance with its mission within a given timeframe.
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Task. Deliver a warhead weighing one ton to a distance of 500 km at a speed close to four speeds of sound. The use of tube-jet or ramjet engines is excluded, they will not "stretch" in terms of energy. Only a two-component rocket engine with a consumption of up to 80 kg of fuel and oxidizer per second. And high efficiency - 250 kgf of thrust per 1 kg of own engine weight.
To ensure the specified characteristics, four tons of dimethylhydrazine (TG-2) and concentrated nitric acid (AK-27I) were pumped into the tanks of the rocket. If, during the filling process, a leak occurred, then the spilled acid had to be neutralized with no less caustic alkali. Leaks were common as concentrated nitric acid had an important property - high aggressiveness, leading to rapid corrosive destruction of metals.
As for unsymmetrical demethylhydrazine, this is still the kind of poison that can poison everyone by tens of meters due to its considerable toxicity and volatility.
Unfortunately, the designers did not think to cover the inside of the tanks of each rocket with a layer of gold. Therefore, storing X-22 missiles in a fueled state turned out to be impossible.
In theory, the combat readiness of aviation regiments armed with X-22 missiles was achieved through a continuous cycle of work. Several missiles were brought into a fueled (combat-ready) state, then, after a certain time, fuel and oxidizer were drained from them, the warhead was removed, the tanks were washed with a neutralizing solution, drained and the missiles were handed over to storage, while a new batch of missiles went through the refueling process and took up combat duty.
You don't need to be a rocket technician (in a gas mask and rubber boot covers, a finger thick) or an air regiment commander to understand the absurdity of such a “carousel”.
In practice, everything looked simpler - Tu-22M missile carriers always and everywhere flew with unloaded missiles. The full refueling cycle was worked out only when performing valid starts, which were carried out, at best, 1-2 times a year. When describing such episodes, Markovsky uses the word “extraordinary”.
Further, the laws of survival in the military environment came into force.
The number of stars on the shoulder straps depended on the results of the shooting. Therefore, only the most trained crews who already had such experience were allowed to test launches. While most of the pilots had no experience of using the X-22 at all.
Preparation for the test run took at least a month, with several rehearsals. They always left for the launch in a pair, in which the reserve crew insured the leader in case of failure.
As a result, the battle fiction about three aviation regiments required to destroy one AUG was replaced by a harsh reality - a couple of missiles, which had to be refueled and prepared for launch for a whole month
At the same time, even a fueled rocket had a chance to stay on the ground. The process of inserting 6-ton "blanks" under the bottom and wing of the aircraft and then the suspension in a semi-submerged state in the cargo compartment on the holder BD-45F required certain efforts and skills. Due to the rarity of such events, the technical staff also did not have extensive experience with these weapons.
Therefore, the take-off of three regiments of missile-carrying aviation to attack the carrier group could be a little delayed in time.
Markovsky rightly notes that the American "response" to the threat from Soviet missile carriers had similar shortcomings.
15-inch projectile with a launch weight of half a ton and a launch range of 180 km. With a cruising speed of 5M, a warhead of 60 kg and a Hughes AN / AWG-9 control system, unique for its time, installed on board the fighter. Capable of simultaneously tracking up to 24 targets.
Now, after decades have passed, it turned out that the F-14 could fly out on patrol with full weapons (six Phoenix missiles), but could no longer land back on the deck. Therefore, none of the pilots had any experience in piloting the Tomcat in this configuration.
Is it necessary to clarify the cost of these missiles in comparison with other conventional URVV ("Sparrow", "Sidewinder")? It turned out to be such that most of the US Navy pilots fired them only on paper and simulators.
Let's return to the domestic “wunderwaffe”. In addition to low operational suitability, the Kh-22 cruise missile had a number of other "positive" qualities.
Length - 11.67 meters.
Case diameter - 0.9 m.
The launch weight is 5760 kg.
The size and weight of the missiles limited their number on the carrier, and the external suspension worsened the flight characteristics and increased the missile carrier's signature. If with one KR Tu-22M2 had a range of 2200 km, then the version of the suspension of two or three missiles was already reloading, and the range was reduced to 1500 km.
A target like this is the perfect gift for enemy air defenses. Single, large, flying at an altitude of 20+ km, with enough RCS to notice the rocket already at the moment of its separation from the carrier.
As for the high cruising speed (3, 5-4, 6M) and altitude (22, 5-25 km), it is vulnerable to shipborne air defense systems of the “potential enemy” at all stages of its flight. Modifications of the ship's SAM "Standard-2" had a max. launch range of 100 nautical miles (180) and an interception altitude of over 80 thousand feet (24+ km). At the same time, the anti-aircraft crews had much more experience in practice shooting and the actual use of weapons than the pilots of the missile carriers.
Today's “standards” are even more powerful. For example, the SM-6 with an active seeker strikes air targets at 240 km and reaches 33-34 km. For higher altitude targets, there is the SM-3 transatmospheric interceptor.
conclusions
Weapons shouldn't be intimidating with their complexity and cost. During the RIMPAC-2010 naval exercise, the Americans "planted" at least 10 Harpoon anti-ship missiles into the target ship (formerly the New Orleans helicopter carrier).
Such exercises are regularly conducted by the fleets of various states. Another photo shows the sinking frigate Sarhad of the Pakistani Navy, hit by the anti-ship missile Harpoon, launched by the frigate Alamgir.
Below is a decommissioned destroyer shot by three anti-ship missiles during the RIMPAC-2000 exercise.
Massive subsonic anti-ship missiles are the most realistic and in fact the only anti-ship missile weapon of our time. These missiles are deployed on thousands of carriers: ships, planes, submarines. And military units have experience in handling these weapons. Sufficient experience, which allows us to hope that in a combat situation, the missilemen will be able to launch a missile at the enemy at the right time, not forgetting to turn off all the fuses and designate the correct flight mission.
Finally, group low-flying targets with low RCS and signature (due to the limited size of missiles) pose a greater threat than single targets at high altitudes.
When it comes to monster rockets, decades of development and testing usually end with a vague yet logical outcome. Where is the aviation version of the "three-fly" missile P-800 "Onyx", which has been talked about for the third decade? The only photo is a dummy rocket under the fuselage of the Su-30MKI, taken in the 1990s.
The Indians have been promising to adopt the aircraft "Brahmos-A" for 10 years already. Needless to say that it does not exist? Frankly speaking, among the Indians, even the ship version has not yet reached operational readiness.
The Yankees, taking on the development of a promising anti-ship missile, immediately "abandoned" the supersonic LRASM-B project, switching to a simpler subsonic missile project with a much lower cost and fewer operational problems.
Another rocket-monster RATTLERS did not go beyond the scale of 1: 2.
It is worth noting that the listed systems are babbling against the background of the Cyclopean X-22. You can truly be surprised at the technological and industrial power of the USSR, which was capable of embodying 11-meter monsters “in metal”. Even without achieving real combat readiness in combat aviation regiments.
The story of the Kh-22 missile is closely intertwined with a new sensation - the promising hypersonic anti-ship missile Zircon. Delivery of a warhead (300-400 kg) at a distance of 400 km at a speed of up to 6M. All this - with the use of a ramjet engine and in dimensions that make it possible to place the missile in standard cells of the UKSK "Caliber". Those. with a length of less than 10 m and a rocket launch weight of only about 3 tons.
Unlike the Kh-22, which was launched from the Tu-22M flying in the stratosphere, the fantastic Zircon still has to climb independently and accelerate to a speed at which it will be possible to turn on the sustainer ramjet (obviously, due to the starting solid-propellant booster, which should weigh like half-missiles). Plus a mandatory layer of thermal protection.
The use of a ramjet engine instead of a liquid-propellant jet engine should have a positive effect on the operational suitability of the Zircon. On the other hand, an analysis of the performance characteristics of other missile systems of a similar purpose (having a large mass and dimensions at a much lower flight speed) suggests that the creation of the Zircon anti-ship missile system with the sounded characteristics is impossible.
This is the conclusion from the point of view of existing missile technology. But who said that Russian science cannot make a breakthrough?
