Kh-35

Soviet anti ship missile

The Zvezda Kh 35 ([[Kha (Cyrillic), AS 20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which case it is known as Uran ('Uranus', SS N 25 'Switchblade', GRAU 3M24) or Bal (SSC 6 'Sennight', GRAU 3K60). It is designed to attack vessels up to 5,000 tonnes. The initial development started in Zvezda Strela State Scientific Industrial Center (GNPTs) group in 1972 or 1977, depending on the sources. Zvezda received the official go ahead to begin work on the Kh 35 in 1983 1984 by a decree of the USSR Council of Ministers and the USSR CPSU Central Committee to arm ships of medium tonnage. Test launches began in 1985, but there were several problems and failures with the miniaturized active radar system. It was first displayed in 1992 and listed as only being intended for export, when it was, in fact, not yet for production. In 1994 India ordered Uran missiles (the Kh 35E export variant). This led to the full development, and deliveries started to the Indian Navy in 1996. Russia adopted it only in 2003 (for ships), and 2004 (Bal, coastal system). The air launched variant (originally made for Indian Il 38SD patrol aircraft) was completed in 2005 and later deployed on Russian Federation aircraft. The KH 35 can be considered the successor to the SS N 2 Styx missile, albeit much smaller and more modern. It boasts greater range than legacy missile systems, and is much cheaper than other contemporary anti ship missiles like Kalibr or Oniks, costing an estimated $500,000 USD per missile.

The Kh 35 missile entered service with Russian Navy only in 2003. In July 2003, the system created by the "Tactical Missiles Corporation" passed the state tests and began to come into service of ships of the Russian Navy. Today it is generally accepted that in the criterion of "cost effectiveness", "Uran E" is one of the best systems in the world. It has also been acquired by India. The Bal coastal missile system showed excellent results in state tests in the fall of 2004, and entered service in 2008. The tests of the upgraded Kh 35UE missile were completed as of June 2021. A Bal system has four self propelled launcher vehicles each carrying eight missiles for a total of 32 missiles in a salvo, plus reloads for another wave. The launchers can be up to 10 km from the coast and hit targets at ranges up to Currently, the Bal system is equipped with an upgraded version of the Kh 35E increasing the range to At IMDS 2019, a new version of the Russian Bal E coastal defence system was presented for the first time. The four tube Rubezh ME, dedicated to the export market, is based on a Kamaz 63501 8x8 chassis which is more compact than the MZKT 7930 of the original Bal E. As reported on October 19, 2021 by the TASS news agency, a new missile of the Bal coastal missile complex developed and manufactured by Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV) will allow hitting targets at a distance of over 500 km. The new capabilities of the complex made it comparable in range and the possibility of firing on the ground with the Bastion missile system using the Onyx supersonic missile, a source in the defense industry said.