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Russians Unveil Two Missiles
A Tl . .
i *he Russians appeared in strength at Abu Dhabi in
ebruary 1993. The Abu Dhabi show had a particu- arly naval flavor because the United Arab Emirates '°f which Abu Dhabi is part) has announced a program to build eight frigates. Virtually every frigate-building C(,rripany in the world turned up, including the Chinese— ^bo listed a variety of previously unannounced systems—and the Koreans.
As in the past, the Russians displayed several weapons '0r the first time. They included an export version of the S-N-14 antisubmarine warfare missile (the 85-RU), and a new ship-to-ship missile, the 3M-80. Brochures de- Scr>bing Russian mines, including a rising mine and a Submarine-launched mobile mine and torpedoes ,Were available, but
'hey lacked urmance figures, rawings suggest- that all the new atltiship torpedoes "'ere wake-followers’ and that they c°uld be set to ig-
per-
Weight | 4,000 kg | Missile Launching Range | to 50 km | |
Missile Length | 7.200 m | Flight Speed | Mach 0.95 | |
Missile Diameter | 0.574 m | Altitude |
| to 400 m |
Full Diameter | 1.350 m | Engine |
| Solid Rocket |
(missile+ammunition) | Prelaunc | Control Time | 15 sec. |
a more or less conventional missile carrying a second body, the latter containing both a homing torpedo and a small antiship warhead. For ASW, the missile is
nore several wakes before picking up their chosen tarn's wake. Torpedoes offered for export included two [TEST-? 1 and TEST-96) with wire guidance; the r<>chure for an export version of the Kilo class (Pro- Rct 877E) noted that two of the six torpedo tubes could accommodate wire-guided weapons. None of the hom- lrig torpedoes on offer (apart from the DT antiship wake- °Hower) had a thermal power plant, even though for Some years it has been reported that the Soviets obtained at1b copied the U.S. Otto engine used in the Mk-48.
Perhaps the most striking Russian naval announcements were a variety of offers of ships, to be built ei- lber in Russia or under license. They included the mod- 1 led Udaloy (with a twin 130-mm. gun forward instead
^ lhe usual pair of _______________________________
PO-mm. mounts " and with antiship missiles instead of S'N-14s) and several versions of te Sovremennyy and the Krivak. be Udaloy was U|>usual in being aruted with an unsPecified antitor- P^do weapon.
At least in the ^ersion shown in ^ Dhabi, SS-N- ^ turns out to be
r#ceedings / June 1993
Basic Specifications
Propulsion system: cruise ramjet engine with built-in solid propellant booster Probability of the missile guidance on any target when firing upon typical ship formations, radio countermeasures being considered: for convoy and landing ship 0.94
for ship strength groups 0.99
for missile boat units 0.99
Warhead effectiveness (the number of missiles needed for combat capability loss): of destroyer 1.2
of transport ships with total displacement to 20,000 tons 1.5
Continuous storage time in a launcher in combat- ready position 1.5
The missile can operate in all environmental conditions, and it is resistant to nuclear weapon destruction effects.
Firing range | 90 km |
Cruising altitude | 7-20 m |
After-launch turn | +60° -60° |
Warhead weight | 300 kg |
Launch weight | 3,950 kg |
Flight speed | 2,800 km/h |
Overall dimensions: | |
length | 9,385 mm |
diameter with | 1,300 mm |
folded wing and fin |
commanded into position to drop the torpedo. The secondary body has a parachute at its after end to separate it, and the torpedo itself has a second parachute. Although the brochure did not specify the torpedo, it is probably a short 21-in. weapon. The missile has a nose seeker for antiship attack. The sketch distributed at the show suggests that the antiship warhead is a shaped charge, tilted down at a shallow angle.
The missile looks awkward. Reportedly, it was developed hurriedly, as the Soviet naval emphasis turned from antiship to pro- SSBN ASW in about 1964. Ships designed
to carry the SS-N-9 antiship missile were redesigned to carry SS-N-14, which is about the same size; SS-N-14 may have been developed from the antiship weapon. Apparently, the Soviets themselves were in the process of abandoning this cumbersome weapon in favor of surface-launched versions of their Subroc/Sea Lance equivalents, SS-N-15 and -16; they are fired into the water, where they stabilize and then fire into the air. This behavior duplicates that of the submarine-armed versions. Neither has yet appeared in public.
SS-N-14 is offered both in shipboard and in coastal-defense versions. Reportedly, the Soviets became interested in such weapons as they became aware of U.S. submarines penetrating areas they had imagined they controlled. They
The Pentagon on 11 April took the wraps off a seagoing F-117A Stealth Fighter. Shown during its first daylight testing off the coast of Southern California, the catamaran is designed to explore advanced technologies for surface vessels—ship control, structures, automation, sea keeping, and signature control.
it is surface launched (a surface-launched Moskit would need a much bigger booster, so the similarity in size is misleading)' This missile probably arms Tarantul-III-class missile boatS' Its developer, the Raduga design bureau, was responsible t°r the earlier Styx; the ultimate versions of Styx (P-20 and P-20M SSN-2C and -2D) are designed to reach much the same rang6 (about 90 kilometers). Unlike Styx, the 3M-80 can turn through
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Proceedings / June
could not duplicate SOSUS (sound surveillance system), but they installed short-range detectors, such as lines of upward- looking hydrophones. In the past, such sensors have been dismissed as bell-ringers, on the theory that the submarine would be long gone by the time aircraft or surface subchasers turned up. A Mach 0.95 missile might be a different proposition. It seems unlikely that missiles were actually deployed this way, but the idea must be attractive to many small navies.
The 3M-80 is clearly part of a series of rocket-ramjets, each of which has four air intake spaces around its body, with a rocket booster in the tail. The members already shown are the AS-17 (Kh-31) tactical missile and the enormous Moskit (Kh- 41), both of which are air-launched only (at Abu Dhabi the Russians were looking for financing to develop a surface-launched version of Moskit). 3M-80 is slightly smaller than Moskit, but 108
as much as 60 degrees after launch; however, unlike currefl1 Western missiles, it probably cannot dog-leg nearer the targel' to achieve concentration of fire. The seeker is active/passive radar; apparently, there is no infrared (IR) option.
The Russians have plenty of surprises in hand. For example apart from a crude placard at the 1992 Moscow Air Show, they have not shown SS-N-22 (the Sovremennyy missile). Promine111 displays of drawings of Sovremennyy variants armed with tb® SS-N-22 at Abu Dhabi suggest strongly that it is to be offeree for export. A vertically launched version seems to beunder d®' | velopment. A sketch was shown at Moscow; at least one Russ' ian at Abu Dhabi said that it would fit U.S. Mk-41 launch®1 cells. Too, at Abu Dhabi the Russians revealed some of theif radar characteristics for the first time; more is surely to come- , Sonar is probably next.
1993