Zvezda Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton)
New air defense weapon systems of the American Patriot kind have
raised the requirements which antiradar missiles must meet. These include
first of all higher speed and longer range, then also high interference
immunity and radar turn-off when attacked.
For the special purpose of meeting these requirements, the "Zvezda"
group under the direction of V. Bugayskiy began in 1977 working on the
Kh-31 missile (Article) 77P). The first launchings of this missile took
place in 1982.
The most interesting component of the Kh-31P is its dual propulsion
system designed by the "Soyuz" Design Bureau in Turayevo near Moscow (note:
there are several "Soyuz" engineering groups in Russia). First the missile
is accelerated by its solid-fuel rocket engine to a speed of Mach 1.8,
then the engine is discarded and the interior of the missile is converted
into the combustion chamber of the missile's jet engine. The latter accelerates
the missile to a speed of almost Mach 4.5, while four air intake holes
on the sides of the missile body open up. On the basis of the Kh-31P antiradar
missile were developed the Kh-31A missile (Article 77A) with an active-radar
guidance head and also an M-31 flying target for air defense training
exercises. The Kh-31 was for the first time publicly displayed in November
1991, in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).The State Scientific Production Center Zvezda-Strela has upgraded the air-to-surface supersonic ASM Kh-31A NATO: AS-17 Krypton). Recently a variant of the air-to-air class based
on the Kh-31 was made available, equipped with a hybrid active-passive guidance head for
use against nonmaneuvering airborne targets such as AWACS (passive guidance)
from far distances. The range of this missile is 200 km.
The unofficial designation of this missile is 'mini-Moskit'. The Kh-31A missile has been developed from the technologies of the 1970-80s.
Specifications
|
| Contractor |
|
| Entered Service |
|
| Total length | 5.232 m
|
| Diameter | 0.36 m
|
| Wingspan | 0.779 m
|
| Weight | 600 kg
|
| Warhead Weight | 90 kg
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Maximum Speed | 1000 m/s
|
| Maximum effective range | 70 km (Kh-31P 110 km)
|
| Guidance mode | Active Radarhoming
|
| Carried by |
|
Sources and Methods
- "Survey of Russian Guided Air-to-Ground and Anti-Ship Missiles" by Piotr Butowski,
NOWA TEKHNIKA WOJSKOWA March 1995 No 3, pp 15-19 [JPRS-UMA-95-023: 7 June 1995]
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/as-17.htm
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