Several years ago, the media around the world spread the news about the achievement of the Russian defense industry: the Club-K missile system was announced at the LIMA-2009 salon in Malaysia. The press, military experts and amateurs of military equipment became interested in him because of the original design of the launcher. Unlike other missile systems of the Club family, using missiles of the "Caliber" line, Club-K does not have a self-propelled base. In the stowed position, the launcher looks exactly like a standard 20- or 40-foot container. It is assumed that such a solution will help to significantly increase the combat potential of the complex.
The first reports of work on the Club-K project were accompanied by an animation video, which demonstrated the general principles of operation and the advantages of container-based missiles. However, it was only computer animation. Working samples of the container launcher were demonstrated later, in 2011 at the IMDS-2011 showroom. Then, at the exhibition site, two containers were shown at once, differing from each other in size and, obviously, in the composition of the equipment. However, the samples on display were probably not even prototypes.
On August 22, on the official website of the Morinformsystem-Agat concern, information appeared about the start of testing of the Club-K complex. A short video of one of the first launches was attached to the short press release. As always happens in such cases, the testing of the new complex began with throw tests. It is reported that the Kh-35UE cruise missile was used as a test weapon. The video shows how the rocket turns on the engine and successfully exits the transport and launch container located inside the launch complex. The latter, judging by its dimensions, was mounted in a 20-foot ISO container. In the last frames of the published video, the curvature of the rocket's flight path is noticeable, it goes somewhere up. However, this is not a problem - the essence of the drop tests is to check the operation of the systems at the initial stage of the launch, when the rocket leaves the transport and launch container. Therefore, with regard to the flight path, the main thing is that the rocket fell in the desired area and no one was injured.
For some unknown reason, the press release published in August was not widely circulated until two weeks later. Nevertheless, even this lag did not prevent the discussion on the prospects and characteristics of the Club-K complex from re-developing. The main subject of discussion is the original placement and a kind of camouflage of the launcher. As its positive aspects, it is called the possibility of hidden transfer by any suitable transport at any distance, as well as the possibility of launching almost without any special training. It is argued that the container with missiles can be installed on the platform of a car, train or cargo ship, and the complex will retain all its capabilities. At the same time, some experts have doubts about the advisability of disguising the launcher under a standard cargo container. For example, an argument is made about the difficulty of "introducing" a container launcher into commercial cargo turnover without the risk of its detection or the legal side of the installation of Club-K complexes on merchant ships.
However, all doubts and criticism seem to be of little interest to the developer. At the end of August, the first throw tests of the complex with the Kh-35UE missile were carried out, and in the near future it is planned to carry out the same work with other types of missiles, primarily with the 3M-54E and 3M-14E. The use of these ammunition will provide the complex with the necessary combat characteristics. Thus, the firing range of the 3M-54E and 3M-14E missiles is 220 and 300 kilometers, respectively. At a speed of about 850-900 km / h, the missiles deliver to the target a high-explosive, penetrating high-explosive or cluster warhead weighing 200 and 450 kg, respectively. All missiles of the "Caliber" family are equipped with an inertial guidance system, and the planned 3M-54E and 3M-14E missiles, in addition to it, have a radar guidance system. Such a system allows the missile to relatively easily detect and attack the target: the missile enters the intended area of the latter using inertial navigation, and then the radar seeker is switched on, which detects the required object. It is worth noting that when navigating without using satellite systems, a number of special equipment is required to accurately determine the coordinates of the launcher, programming the rocket electronics, etc. For this purpose, the Club-K complex includes combat control modules (MOBU) and power supply and life support modules (MEZH). As follows from the available data, in the case of a missile system based on a 40-foot container, all modules, including a launcher with missiles, are located in a single structure. At the same time, MOBU and FAME, if necessary, can be mounted in separate ISO containers.
Meanwhile, work on the project is still in the initial stages of testing. The technical details of the first jump launches have not yet been announced - representatives of the Morinformsistema-Agat concern limited themselves to only a short phrase “successfully”. Probably, the positive end of the first test launches will have a beneficial effect on the pace of implementation of the entire program, which means that soon there will be new messages about its progress or even news of the signing of supply contracts.
