The Raduga Kh-55 (AS-15 'Kent') is a long-range cruise missile, which is presently in the arsenal of the Russian Air Force since 1983. Specially designed to hit targets on land, it uses the Tupolev Tu-160M and the Tu-95MSM bombers as its two launching platforms. China and Iran also employ this lethal and precise missile. It would eventually be developed into the Kh-101 and Kh-102 after the Cold War.
The Kh-55 had been developed by the Soviet, State-run Raduga Design Bureau in the 1970s. Although it can be armed with a nuclear tip, it is usually fitted with a conventional, 350-kg, anti-bunker, HE warhead. It has a maximum range of 3,000 km, with an accuracy within 10-20 m CEP. It is boosted by a turbofan engine, using jet fuel.
The Raduga Kh-55 features an electro-optical system for correcting the flight trajectory. It is also fitted with a TV guidance system for terminal guidance. This cruise missile has a low radar cross-section and it was specially designed to be exclusively launched from an aircraft. The Kh-55 has a round nose, straight wings and three fin tails.
Specifications
Type: stand-off/cruise missile
Length: 6.04 m (19 ft, 10 in)
Diameter: 51.4 cm (20.2 ft)
Weight: 1,650 kg (3,640 lb)
Powerplant: one R95TP-300 turbofan engine.
Maximum Speed: 800 km/h
Range: 3,000 km
Trajectory Correction: terrain following GLONASS inertial navigation system.
Below, a Kh-55 missile is about to be fixed on a hardpoint of the Tu-95MS
