After analyzing :Category:Naval battles and operations of World War II|World War II naval battles and encounters in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Soviet military thinkers concluded that the era of large seaborne battles was over, and that stand-off attacks would be the way to neutralize and incapacitate large battle groups without having to field a similar force against them. Substituting cruise missiles for air attacks, Soviet Air Forces and Soviet Naval Aviation commanders set about to convert their heavy bombers to raketonosets, or missile carriers, which could be launched against approaching enemy fleets from coastal or island airfields. The Kh-22 weapon was developed by the Raduga design bureau and used to arm the Tupolev Tu-22M.
Design
The Kh-22 uses an Tumanski liquid-fuel rocket engine, fueled with TG-02 and IRFNA, giving it a maximum speed of Mach 4.6 and a range of up to. It can be launched in either high-altitude or low-altitude mode. In high-altitude mode, it climbs to an altitude of and makes a high-speed dive into the target, with a terminal speed of about Mach 4.6. In low-altitude mode, it climbs to and makes a shallow dive at about Mach 3.5, making the final approach at an altitude under. The missile is guided by a gyroscope-stabilized autopilot in conjunction with a radio altimeter. Soviet tests revealed that when a shaped charge warhead weighing was used in the missile, the resulting hole measured in diameter, and was deep. By August 2016, Russia was finalizing the trials of the Kh-32 cruise missile, a derivative of the Kh-22. Designed for use by the Tu-22M3 bomber, the missile is designed to climb to to the stratosphere after launch, transition to level flight, then perform a steep dive to the target. The cruise missile version is also designed to target enemy ships, as well as radars, and "radio-contrast targets" like bridges, military bases, electric power plants, and others. The Kh-32 has an inertial navigation system and radar homing head, making it independent of GPS/GLONASS navigation satellites. Presumably, it has a range of and a speed of at least. Apparently the missile entered service in the same year. 32 Kh-22 missiles will be modernized to the Kh-32 level in 2018–2020.
Operational history
The first service-ready missiles were ready in 1962. The main launch platform is the Tu-22M 'Backfire'. It was also used by Soviet and then Russian air forces on the Тu-22К and Tu-95К22.
Variants
Two initial versions were built, the Kh-22 with a large conventional warhead and the Kh-22N with a 350–1000-kiloton nuclear warhead. In the mid-1970s this was supplemented by the Kh-22P, an anti-radiation missile for the destruction of radar installations. In the 1970s the Kh-22 was upgraded to Kh-22M and Kh-22MA standard, with new attack profiles, somewhat longer range, and a datalink allowing mid-course updates.
Kh-22E — a conventional variant for export.
Kh-22M/MA — upgraded variants with Mach 3.3 speed and range. Weighs, contains of RDX.
Kh-32 — a radically upgraded conventional/nuclear variant of Kh-22 with Mach 5 speed and range. It features an improved rocket motor and a new seeker head. Currently produced for the Tu-22M3 launch platform. Warhead weight has been reduced to to improve range.
