Kh-55
The Kh-55 (Russian: Х-55, also known as RKV-500; NATO reporting name: AS-15 "Kent") is a Soviet/Russian subsonic air-launched cruise missile, designed by MKB Raduga in the 1970s. It has a range of up to 2,500 km (1,350 nmi) and can carry nuclear warheads. Kh-55 is launched exclusively from bomber aircraft and has spawned a number of conventionally armed variants mainly for tactical use, such as the Kh-65SE and Kh-SD, but only the Kh-101 and Kh-555 appear to have been put into service. The Kh-55 was not the basis of the submarine and ground-launched S-10 Granat or RK-55 Relief (SS-N-21 "Sampson" and SSC-X-4 "Slingshot") designed by NPO Novator. The RK-55 is very similar to the air-launched Kh-55 (AS-15 "Kent") but the Kh-55 has a drop-down turbofan engine and was designed by MKB Raduga.
| Kh-55/65/101/102/555 AS-15 Kent | |
|---|---|
Kh-55 in the Ukrainian Air Force Museum | |
| Type | Air-launched cruise missile |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1983–present |
| Used by | Soviet Union, Russia, China, Iran |
| Wars | Syrian Civil War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1971–1981 |
| Manufacturer | Raduga OKB, KhAZ (Kharkiv), Novator (MZiK) & NPP Temp (Eka) NPO Strela (Oren), else |
| Produced | 1981 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1,650 kg (3,640 lb) (Kh-65SE) 2,400 kg (5,300 lb) (Kh-101) |
| Length | 604 cm (19 ft 10 in) (Kh-65SE) 745 cm (24 ft 5 in) (Kh-101) |
| Diameter | 51.4 cm (20.2 in) (Kh-55/Kh-55SM) |
| Wingspan | 310 cm (122.0 in) (Kh-55/Kh-55SM) |
| Warhead | Thermonuclear weapon or Conventional warhead |
| Blast yield | 200kt Nuclear (Kh-55/Kh-55SM) |
| Engine | R95TP-300 Turbofan/turbofan (Kh-55/Kh-55SM) 360-400 kgf (Kh-55/Kh-55SM) |
| Propellant | jet fuel |
Operational range | 2,500 km (1,300 nmi) (Kh-55) 3,000 km (1,600 nmi) (Kh-55SM) 600 km (320 nmi) (Kh-65SE) 300 km, later 600 km (Kh-SD) |
| Flight altitude | under 110 m/300 ft |
| Maximum speed | Mach 0.75 (KH-SD) Mach 0.6-0.78 (Kh-101) |
Guidance system | inertial guidance with Doppler radar/terrain map updates; Kh-SD had a TC/IIR terminal guidance system, and an alternative active radar homing seeker was proposed |
Launch platform | Tu-95MS, Tu-160, Su-34 |