This article concludes a series of four articles on anti-ship cruise missiles. In it, we will talk about anti-ship missiles and complexes that have been and are currently in service with the Russian surface military fleet.
Arrow
By a decree of December 30, 1954, the creation of the first shipborne guided weapon system "Quiver", using Arrow aircraft-projectiles (KSS) with a range of 40 km, was specified. At the same time, it was supposed to make the most of the elements of the aircraft "Comet" already launched into serial production.
Ammunition, which was supposed to be placed on cruisers of the Sverdlov type, pr. 68bis-ZIF, ranged from 24 to 28 KSS, calculated based on the purpose of sinking two cruisers or seven enemy destroyers. In the future, the missile-carrying cruiser retained the designation of Project 67, the variant of the first stage of tests was named Project 67EP, and the variant of the second stage - Project 67SI.
Among other things, a modification of the KSS with an active radar homing head was provided, which provided over-the-horizon application.
The equipment of the "Quiver" system provided the detection and tracking of targets, issued commands to the launcher and the projectile aircraft, and controlled its launch and flight. Aiming at the target was carried out along the equal-signal zone of the ship's radar beam, in the last section a semi-active seeker was triggered, which received the radar radiation reflected from the target.
The first start took place in January 1956. The first stage of testing was completed in April. Of the ten launches carried out at a maximum range of 43 km, 7 were successful. Firing at a minimum distance of 15 km was less successful. Two of the three KSS passed at a considerable distance from the target.
The commission recommended not to wait for the second stage of testing, but to immediately start completing the construction of five cruisers on Project 67 in order to hand over the equipped ships to the fleet in 1959.
Nevertheless, the tests continued. Some shortcomings were also identified. Prelaunch preparation took too long, and the maximum launch range was also insufficient. Therefore, the mass completion and rearmament of the Sverdlov-class cruisers did not take place.
Ship KSShch
In one of the previous articles, it was told about the development of an air-based KSShch. Now let's take a look at the ship modification.
The decree of December 30, 1954 set the development of the KSShch projectile as the basis of the combat power of the last destroyers of pr. 56. It was planned to install 10-14 missiles and two launchers on them. The missile was equipped with an active radar seeker and a detachable warhead taken from the aircraft version. The rocket wings are now foldable.
Tests began in 1956, and in 1958, the rocket was adopted.
Over time, new anti-ship missiles appeared, ships equipped with KSShch were built less and less. However, the KSShch missile became the first example of a guided weapon, which is the main armament of the ship, and the first Soviet missile of this type put into service.
P-35
At the beginning of 1959, the technical appearance of the P-35 missile system was determined. Much has been borrowed from its predecessor, the P-5 missile. There were also differences. For example, the thermonuclear warhead was replaced with a high-explosive penetrating one. Since 1960, it has become possible to use a special warhead for the P-35.
Thanks to the onboard radio equipment, it was possible to receive and execute radio control commands from the ship, as well as an overview of the sea surface in the ± 40 ° sector, broadcast the resulting image to the ship, capture the assigned target, track it and send signals to the answering machine channel. In addition, the Blok onboard equipment was equipped with an autopilot and a radio altimeter.
Rocket guidance to the target was carried out in two versions. The exact coordinates of the target could be indicated. Also, guidance could be carried out according to relative coordinates, provided that a radar sight was used. After locking the target for auto-tracking, the rocket homing only in the horizontal plane. Guidance on both planes was possible only on the final section.
In August 1962, the missile system was put into service. The range was 25-250 km, the flight speed was 1400 km / h at the final stage, and the target detection range using the radar sight was 80-120 km. Auto tracking was possible at a distance of 35-40 km from the target. In the future, the combat qualities of the complex were improved. The new maximum range was 250-300 km.
The construction of ships equipped with P-35 missiles was stopped in 1969.
Progress
Subsequently, the missile-carrying ships underwent modernization to install the Progress ZM44 missiles, which were put into service in 1982. This type of missile is characterized by better noise immunity, a larger area of approach to the target. At a lower altitude.
Since the Progress rocket, after receiving a target from the operator from the ship, stopped radiation and descended, it lost the enemy's air defense surveillance equipment. The seeker was switched on when approaching the target, carried out its search and capture. There was no increase in the range and increase in speed, the ship's equipment and ground facilities were not affected, but significant funds were saved for development. The Progress and P-35 missiles were interchangeable.
The ships, which were armed with Progress missiles, were equipped with the receiving equipment of the Success aircraft target designation system.
P-15 (4K40)
The P-15 rocket was developed in 1955-60. The missile carrier was originally supposed to be torpedo boats, etc. 183. The first launch took place from such a boat in 1957, and three years later the missile system was put into service. At the end of 1965, there were 112 such boats. Some of them were transferred by another state, China even built them under license.
In addition to the boats of the project 183R "Komar", the boats of the project 205M "Osa" and 1241.1, six anti-submarine ships of the project 61M, five of the project 61-ME, which were built for India, as well as three destroyers of the project 56-U were armed with P15 missiles. …
The P-15 missile system has been modernized several times. In 1972, the Termit missile system was adopted, based on the P-15M missile.
Rockets belonging to the P-15 family, produced by the USSR and China, were used in combat conditions in 1971 during the Arab-Israeli war, in the Indo-Pakistani conflict of the same year, as well as in the Iran-Arab war of 1980-88.
Also missiles of the P-15 type were used against the American battleship shelling the coast of Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. One of the two missiles went aside due to electronic countermeasures from the enemy, the second was shot down. For the first time, an anti-ship missile was shot down in a combat situation.
Since 1996, Iran began production of the same type of missiles.
P-500 Basalt (4K80)
Since 1963, the development of the P-500 "Basalt" rocket was carried out, intended for use against powerful enemy ship groupings. Placement was supposed to be both on surface ships and on submarines. The P-500 was intended to replace the P-6 missiles, having approximately the same weight and dimensions. In 1977, the Basalt missiles were installed on the aircraft-carrying cruisers of the project 1143, eight missiles in launchers and the same number of spare ones. In 1982, the cruisers of the project 1164, armed with sixteen missiles, entered service.
The warhead could be used both high-explosive cumulative and nuclear. The flight speed reached 2M. Basalt is the first sea-based cruise missile to reach supersonic speed.
A new control system "Argon" was created for the P-500, which includes an onboard digital computer. SU "Argon", possessing increased noise immunity, made it possible to carry out target distribution of missiles in a salvo, as well as selective defeat of the main targets of the connection of ships. For the first time, an onboard active jamming station was used, which allowed the missile to be invulnerable to enemy air defenses.
The P-500 missiles were intended to combat large groupings of ships and were effective only in a salvo.
A further modification - the 4K80 rocket, was equipped with a powerful launch unit, therefore it had a long flight range.
Yakhont (Onyx)
Work on the creation of the Yakhont anti-ship missile began in the late 1970s. The new missile was designed to combat groupings of surface ships and individual ships in the face of active opposition, both fire and electronic.
The main difference from other missiles is the versatility of the complex, which can be deployed on submarines, surface ships, aircraft and coastal launchers.
We have previously reviewed the Yakhont missile as part of the Bastion SCRC. Launchers of very different designs are suitable for Yakhont missiles, thus, the range of possible carriers is very large. Shelving-type launchers can be used, thanks to which missiles of this type can be equipped with small-tonnage ships of the missile boat-corvette class.
Modular installations make it possible to equip frigates, cruisers and destroyers with Yakhont missiles. The number of missiles that can be installed on a modernized ship is three times the number of old cruise missiles such as the P-15.
X-35 and shipborne missile system Uran-E
In 1984, it was decided to develop the Uranus ship complex based on the Kh-35 cruise missile, designed to equip small boats and medium-displacement ships.
The Kh-35 (3M24) missile is designed to destroy amphibious assault ships, convoy transport ships or single ships. The use of a missile is possible at any time of the day in any weather, even intense interference and fire resistance from the enemy are not an obstacle to launching missiles.
The advantage of the missile is its ability to fly low to the target, making it difficult for enemy air defense systems to detect and destroy the missile. The RCS of the rocket is reduced due to its small size. The carriers, as a rule, are armed with 8-16 missiles, due to which a large number of ships are not required to perform a combat mission. Firing a salvo with a missile launch interval of 3 seconds increases the likelihood of hitting a target. In addition, the rocket has a lot of opportunities for modernization, for example, the use of energy-intensive fuel can greatly increase the range of the rocket.
Among the disadvantages of the missile can be called insufficient flight range, because of which there is a high probability of the carrier entering the enemy's air defense zone, and the relatively low speed of the rocket can cause it to be hit by air defense means. In addition, the missile control system is not designed to defeat coastal and ground targets.
The Uran-E complex is deployed on new frigates, missile boats, corvettes and other ships during their modernization. For example, the power of the new missile boat "Katran", equipped with the "Uran-E" missile system (8 missiles in two launchers), more than triples compared to the project 205ER. On the boat pr. 1241.8 16 missiles are installed. Target designation is carried out by means of the Harpoon-Ball marine radio-electronic complex. Also "Uran-E" is installed on ships pr.11541 "Corsair" and Russian A-1700 corvettes for export.
"Uran-E" fully complies with world standards, and the ratio of cost and efficiency makes the complex the optimal choice when performing a combat mission at sea using tactical missiles.
Compared with foreign counterparts, the cost of the Kh-35 missiles is quite low, and the efficiency is at a good level. Nevertheless, the competition with the American anti-ship missile "Harpoon" and the French anti-ship missile system "Exocet", which have already proved themselves, will be fierce.
