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Raduga Kh-59 Ovod (AS-13 Kingbolt)

Testing of the Kh-59 Ovod [RU = Gadfly] tactical missile began on the Su-17M4 supersonic fighter-bomber in 1982. This experience was of great importance for assessing the combat capabilities and operational features of the newest ammunition at that time. The X-59 is one of the first high-precision cruise missiles in the arsenal of the Russian Air Force. Subsequently, the Kh-59 was radically modernized in order to increase range, stealth and noise immunity. The modern modification of the Kh-59MK2 allows you to destroy targets at a distance of several hundred kilometers. According to experts, the experience of improving these weapons made it possible to create a conceptually new long-range missile, the X-69. A gadfly is a two-winged insect which stings painfully and whose larvae parasitize the body of animals. Every fly that preys on livestock is called a gadfly. but the true gadfly is smaller and blacker than a horsefly. The gadfly does not bite, but lays its eggs in the wool or sores of animals. The horse itself licks the eggs from the shoulders and neck, the larvae grow in the food passage, and in time they themselves fall out, larvae from which the gadfly flies out again. The horsefly is a simpleton, and the gadfly is a cunning one . The hero of the novel Ethel Lilian Voynich "Gadfly" (1897) so called for his sharp, merciless anti-clerical pamphlets. The novel is dedicated to the activities of the Italian underground organization “Young Italy” in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century. Under the pseudonym of Gadfly he joins the revolutionaries and leads an armed struggle in Italy and terrifies the Austrian invaders. The Gadfly was one of the most prominent revolutionary heroes in world literature, and th book became a real sensation behind the Iron Curtain. The Gadfly inspired seven musical and five theatrical productions, including an opera by Prokofiev and a play written by Bernard Shaw, as well as five film adaptations, one of which was composed by Shostakovich. The the "real" Gadfly was said to be Sidney Reilly, whom biographers called "the most outstanding spy in history... It was rumored that he had eleven passports and a wife for each." Reilly, who was a British secret agent and apparently the inspiration for James Bond, went to Russia, where he tried to kill Lenin and was killed in 1925, allegedly on the orders of Stalin himself. The Gadfly was a man who is the creator of his own life. There is no place for tragic predestination, chance or fate. What happens to him, even the most terrible events, is his own choice, including the moment of death. The nickname “Gadfly” is a reference to Socrates , who denounced the vices of the Athenians , whom Plato compared to a gadfly who stings a leisurely horse, and thereby encourages action. The Gadfly was repeatedly recognized as the most popular literary character in the USSR, and the first cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova noted that they were inspired by “The Gadfly.” As military expert Alexey Leonkov explained, the tests helped to reveal the combat potential of both the ammunition and the aircraft itself. According to him, the Su-17M4 was chosen as a promising carrier due to its compatibility with the Kh-59 . “The X-59 is one of the first Soviet air-launched high-precision missiles. Its carrier, the Su-17M4, was the most modern in the Su-17 family, which was widely used by the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War. This type of aircraft regularly received new ammunition. Therefore, the military made a logical decision to test Kh-59 on the Su-17M4,” Leonkov said. Tests of the X-59 on this aircraft were successfully completed in 1984. Based on their results, the Kh-59 was recommended for equipping fighter-bombers of the USSR Air Force. In the same year, the developers - specialists from the Rainbow MKB named after. AND I. Bereznyaka (Dubna, Moscow Region) - received a state prize for creating a rocket. As the founder of the Military Russia portal Dmitry Kornev said, the tests that started on September 28, 1983 were important for assessing the combat capabilities and operational features of the X-59. Development of the X-59 began in the 1970s. This project was carried out with the aim of expanding the line of high-precision aviation ammunition. The reason for the accelerated modernization of the models in service was the rapid development of air defense and missile defense systems and electronic warfare (EW) systems of Western states. As Kornev noted, the latest Patriot-type anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs), developed in the 1970s, made it possible to hit Soviet aircraft and provided a high level of protection against many types of missile weapons. “The development of the X-59 was designed to prevent the dominance of NATO air defense systems. Engineers of the Raduga IKB took a sober approach to assessing existing aircraft missiles in order to improve indicators such as range, stealth, accuracy and noise immunity. The main task of the designers of the X-59 was to find the ideal balance between the speed of the rocket, its stealth and accuracy,” Kornev emphasized. Initially, the project was led by the famous Soviet designer Alexander Bereznyak. After his death, the project passed to Igor Seleznyov . The X-59 sketch was prepared in 1972. According to the creators, the Kh-59 was supposed to hit ground targets, as well as small ships covered by enemy air defense systems. The development of the X-59 was carried out using the technological backlog obtained as a result of the creation of the X-29T aviation missile with a television guidance system and the X-58 medium-range anti-radar missile. In particular, the Kh-59 borrowed a television guidance system from the Kh-29T. It was located in the APK-9 hardware hanging container, which included antenna units in the front and rear hemispheres. This allowed the navigator to adjust the course of the rocket even after the carrier aircraft turned in the opposite direction from the target. Guidance of the X-59 was carried out in two stages. In the first - autonomous - the missile used the target coordinates loaded into it. Based on them, most of the way the rocket followed a given trajectory. The Kh-59 moved to the second stage of guidance when 5-10 km remained to the target. The final flight path was controlled by the Tubus-2 television homing head (GOS). With its help, the pilot received an image of the terrain via a video channel, manually specified the location of the target and accompanied the missile almost until it hit, using the command radio channel. According to open data, the launch weight of the X-59 was 760-790 kg, length - 5.368 m, wingspan - 1.26 m, warhead weight - 148 kg, range - up to 40 km. The Kh-59 was equipped with two engines: a starter engine, which served as an accelerator, and a sustainer engine, which provided the necessary speed and flight range. The missile entered service in 1985. Serial production of the Kh-59 began at the Smolensk Aviation Plant . As Kornev explained, due to the complex tasks, work on the X-59 took more than ten years. However, the efforts of the Raduga designers were fully justified. As of the early 1980s, the Soviet Air Force received an effective means of destroying ground and surface targets at medium range. “Research activities on Ovod continued until the end of the 1970s, and in 1980 the final phase of development work began. Then tests were carried out that confirmed the high accuracy of the rocket - the circular probable deviation (CPD) did not exceed 1.5 m,” said Kornev. According to the expert, the high lethality of the Kh-59 compensated for the rather modest firing range. “The range of application now seems small, but at that time it was a breakthrough. In addition, by studying various sources, it can be assumed that with a high degree of probability the X-59 became the first tactical aircraft missile for which a nuclear warhead was created. In the conditions of the Cold War, this was an important advantage of our Air Force,” noted Kornev. At the same time, the objective disadvantage of the X-59 was the restrictions on launches in the dark due to the specifics of the guidance mechanism. To successfully defeat enemy targets, good visibility and visibility of the target against the background of its surroundings were required. It was supposed to use contrasting extended objects such as railways, rivers and roads as a reference point. The second improved modification of the Kh-59 , the Kh-59MK, appeared in the arsenal of the Russian Air Force in the 2000s. Its main difference from previous models was the integration of the GLONASS/GPS navigation system. The developers also installed an active radar homing head on the missile, which made it easier for the navigator to accompany the missile. As Alexey Leonkov noted, Raduga specialists carefully monitored trends in the development of aviation weapons and air defense systems of NATO member countries and made the necessary changes to the missile design. “The development of any weapon actually involves its continuous evolution due to the development of electronic warfare and air defense systems of a potential enemy. In addition, the Air Force has always sought to launch missiles outside the air defense zone, that is, from a safe distance. For this reason, the X-59 increased its range and noise immunity, and simplified the navigator’s work in terms of its guidance,” explained Leonkov. According to the expert, the pinnacle of the Kh-59 ’s evolution is the Kh-59MK2. This modification is equipped with an inertial guidance system integrated with an optical-electronic seeker and a GLONASS navigation receiver. New guidance means allow the missile to be used at night and in almost any weather. Along with this, the final stage of guidance is automated in the modernized ammunition - unlike previous models, the Kh-59MK2 independently compares environmental objects with the image of the target stored in memory and adjusts its course. The aerodynamic shape of the updated Kh-59 received a square outline. The missile is made using technologies to reduce radar signature and is structurally adapted for placement in the internal compartments of fifth-generation aircraft. For the first time, the Kh-59MK2 was presented to the general public at the MAKS- 2015 air show. According to information published at the exhibition, the missile’s mass is 770 kg, length is 4.2 m, flight speed is 750-1000 km/h, flight altitude is 50-300 m. The ammunition can be equipped with penetrating high-explosive and cluster warheads weighing 310 kg. “The declared range for MAX is 290 km. This figure corresponds to export restrictions on the range of Russian missile weapons. But experts agree that the actual range of the Kh-59MK2 confidently exceeds 300 km and can reach 500 km,” noted Dmitry Kornev. According to the expert, the Kh-59MK2 is adapted for placement in the intra-fuselage space of the fifth generation Su-57 aircraft. Each such combat vehicle can carry up to four missiles. The combat debut of the Kh-59MK2, according to experts, took place in 2018 with the Su-57 during the Syrian operation. In addition to the fifth-generation aircraft, the carriers of the modern modification of the Kh-59 can be the Su-34 fighter-bomber and long-range aviation aircraft of the VKS. Alexey Leonkov called the Kh-59MK2 one of the most formidable high-precision long-range weapons in the arsenal of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Also, as the expert said, the experience of creating and combat use of the updated Kh-59 allowed the specialists of the Raduga IKB to develop an even more effective cruise missile, called the X-69. Both missiles have similar aerodynamic shape and weight and size characteristics. The Kh-69 can be used with the Su-57, Su-35, Su-30MK, Su-34, MiG-35, MiG-29K and other domestic combat aircraft. According to Leonkov, the X-69 is a conceptually new product, although it has its roots in the Kh-59 family. “First of all, the X-69 meets the military’s request to reduce radar signature and increase the range of hitting targets. With the deployment of mass production of this missile, the Gadflies will become history. However, the Kh-59MK2 will most likely continue to be produced and used at Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities,” Leonkov concluded. https://news.rambler.ru/weapon/51501944/?utm_content=news_media&utm_medium=read_more&utm_source=copylink