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Kh-59

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Kh-59 Ovod
(NATO reporting name: AS-13 'Kingbolt')
Kh-59M Ovod-M (AS-18 'Kazoo')
Kh-59MK2 at MACS 2009
Type air-to-surface missile
anti-shipping missile
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1991-current
Used by Russia,China, India
Production history
Designer Raduga
Manufacturer Tactical Missiles Corporation
Specifications
Mass 930 kg (2,050 lb)[1]
Length 570 cm (220 in) [1]
Diameter 38.0 cm (15.0 in) [1]
Warhead Cluster or shaped-charge fragmentation[1]
Warhead weight 320 kg (705 lb) [2]
Engine Kh-59 :two-stage rocket
Kh-59ME :rocket then turbofan
Wingspan 130 cm (51.2 in) [1]
Operational
range
 Kh-59ME(export) :115 km (62 nmi)[1]
Kh-59ME : 200 km (110 nmi)
Kh-59MK : 285 km (150 nmi)
Maximum speed Mach 0.72-0.88[1]
Guidance
system
 inertial (then TV-guided), millimeter wave radar seeker (Kh-59MK, Kh-59MK2 land attack version)[3]
Launch
platform
 Kh-59ME :Su-30MK[1]
Kh-59 : Su-24M, MiG-27, Su-17M3/22M4, Su-25 and Su-30[4]

The Kh-59 Ovod (Russian: Х-59 Овод 'Gadfly'; AS-13 'Kingbolt') is a Russian TV-guided cruise missile with a two-stage solid-fuel propulsion system and 115 km range. The Kh-59M Ovod-M (AS-18 'Kazoo') is a variant with a bigger warhead and turbojet engine. It is primarily a land-attack missile but the Kh-59MK variant targets shipping.[3]

Development[]

The initial design was based on the Raduga Kh-58 (AS-11 'Kilter'), but it had to be abandoned[citation needed] because the missile speed was too high for visual target acquisition.

Raduga OKB developed the Kh-59 in the 1970s as a longer ranged version of the Kh-25 (AS-10 'Karen'),[5] as a precision stand-off weapon for the Su-24M and late-model Mig-27's.[4] The electro-optical sensors for this and other weapons such as the Kh-29 (AS-14 'Kedge') and KAB-500 Kr bombs were developed by S A Zverev NPO in Krasnogorsk.[5]

It is believed that development of the Kh-59M started in the 1980s.[3] Details of the Kh-59M were first revealed in the early 1990s.[3]

Design[]

The original Kh-59 is propelled by a solid fuel engine, and incorporates a solid fuel accelerator in the tail. The folding stabilizers are located in the front of the missile, with wings and rudder in the rear. The Kh-59 cruises at an altitude of about 7 meters above water or 100-1,000 meters above ground with the help of a radar altimeter. It can be launched at speeds of 600 to 1,000 km/h at altitudes of 0.2 to 11 kilometers and has a CEP of 2 to 3 meters.[2] It is carried on an AKU-58-1 launch pylon.[4]

The Kh-59ME has an external turbofan engine below the body just forward of the rear wings, but retains the powder-fuel accelerator. It also has a dual guidance system consisting of an inertial guidance system to guide it into the target area and a television system to guide it to the target itself.[1]

The 36MT turbofan engine developed for the Kh-59M class of missiles is manufactured by NPO Saturn of Russia.[6] Target coordinates are fed into the missile before launch, and the initial flight phase is conducted under inertial guidance. At a distance of 10 km from the target the television guidance system is activated. An operator aboard the aircraft visually identifies the target and locks the missile onto it.

Operational history[]

Although the original Kh-59 could be carried by the MiG-27, Su-17M3, Su-22M4, Su-24M, Su-25 and Su-30 family if they carried an APK-9 datalink pod, it was only fielded on the Su-24M in Russian service.[4]

Variants[]

  • Kh-59 (AS-13 'Kingbolt') - original version with dual solid-fuel rocket engines. First shown in 1991; exported as Kh-59 or Kh-59E.[5]
  • Kh-59M (AS-18 'Kazoo') - adds turbojet engine and larger warhead. Range 115 km.[1]
  • Kh-59ME - 200 km-range variant offered for export in 1999.[3]
  • Kh-59MK - 285 km-range anti-shipping variant with turbofan engine and ARGS-59 active radar seeker.[3]
  • Kh-59MK2 - Land attack variant of Kh-59MK (fire-and-forget).[3]
  • Kh-59M2 - Kh-59M/Kh-59MK with new TV/IIR seekers, reported in 2004.[3]
  • Kh-20 - possible name for nuclear-tipped variant carried by Su-27 family.[3]
  • Kh-59L - laser-guided variant that was developed but may not have been deployed. Kh-59T was the parallel name for the TV-guided version that became the basic Kh-59.[4]

Proposed development options for the Kh-59M/ME have included alternative payloads (including cluster munitions) but their current development status is unclear.[4][7]

Operators[]

 Algeria
Algerian Air Force
 Russia
Russian Air Force
 India
Indian Air Force
 Venezuela
Venezuelan Air Force
 China
People's Liberation Army Air Force
 Malaysia
Malaysia Air Force
 Indonesia
Indonesian Air Force[8]
 Vietnam

Vietnam People's Air Force

Former operators[]

 Soviet Union
Soviet Air Force

Similar weapons[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Rosoboronexport Air Force Department and Media & PR Service. "AEROSPACE SYSTEMS export catalogue". Rosoboronexport State Corporation. p. 124. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20110719051914/http://www.rusarm.ru/cataloque/air_craft/aircraft.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Raduga Kh-59 (AS-13 Kingbolt) and Kh-59M (AS-18 Kazoo)". http://personal.inet.fi/cool/foxfour/sovmis/sovmis-as.html. Retrieved 22 December 2008. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 "Kh-59M, Kh-59ME Ovod-M (AS-18 'Kazoo')". 2010-12-03. http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Air-Launched-Weapons/Kh-59M-Kh-59ME-Ovod-M-AS-18-Kazoo-Russian-Federation.html. Retrieved 2011-04-28. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Kh-59 Ovod (AS-13 'Kingbolt')". 2007-10-24. http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Air-Launched-Weapons/Kh-59-Ovod-AS-13-Kingbolt-Russian-Federation.html. Retrieved 2009-02-03. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Kh-59 (AS-13 'Kingbolt'/Ovod)". 2008-09-09. http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Strategic-Weapon-Systems/Kh-59-AS-13-KingboltOvod-Russian-Federation.html. Retrieved 2009-02-03. 
  6. ↑ "Saturn military engines for unmanned aerial vehicles". NPO Saturn website. http://www.npo-saturn.ru/?pid=95. Retrieved 28 April 2011. 
  7. ↑ Wiebe, Virgil; Titus Peachey (2000). "Clusters of Death". The Mennonite Central Committee Global Report on Cluster Bomb Production and Use. Mennonite Central Committee. http://clusterbombs.mcc.org/clusterbombs/resources/research/death/chapter2.html. Retrieved 28 April 2011. "Also known as the Kh-59M Ovod-M, the AS-18 is modernized version of AS-13 Kingbolt ... The warhead can be either a 705-lb high explosive or 617-lb cluster submunitions." 
  8. ↑ 2011 Annual Report of Tactical Missile Corporation, http://bmpd.livejournal.com/290141.html

References[]

  • Gordon, Yefim (2004). "Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two". Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-188-1. 
 
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