Raduga Kh-22 Storm (AS-4 Kitchen) - Design
The high flight characteristics of the rocket were "bought" at a very high price. The Kh-22 has a liquid-propellant rocket engine, for which the rocket's tanks must be filled with three thousand liters of extremely toxic fuel, the main components of which are asymmetric heptyl and concentrated nitric acid. Refueling of these missiles is an extremely difficult and dangerous operation that requires strict adherence to safety precautions (refueling is carried out by personnel only in chemical protection suits) and is carried out immediately before the bomber takes off. It is impossible to store rockets fueled with actively "floating" oxidizer and no less toxic fuel for a long time. If the fuel is drained, the rocket tanks must be rinsed with a special neutralizing solution and dried. In addition, the rocket itself weighs about 6 tons, has a length of almost 12 meters, a diameter of 0.9 meters and a wingspan of over 3 meters.
This does not allow placing the X-22 inside the bomb bay of the Tu-22M3 bomber, so the Long-Range Aviation missile carriers can only carry it on an external sling. And this, in turn, significantly increases air resistance during flight and limits the maximum speed of the Tu-22M3 - when placing a combat load inside the aircraft, it can reach a speed of 2M, while flying with 2 X-22 - no more than 1.8M. However, these shortcomings have to be put up with, in exchange for the highest flight characteristics of the rocket. Suspension of a fueled rocket weighing 6 tons under the wing of a bomber is also extremely difficult. To transport one missile (for example, to another airfield), a transport aircraft with dimensions and carrying capacity of at least An-12 or a railway platform is required.
Thus, the preparation of the combat use of Tu-22M3 bombers is an extremely difficult and difficult task, requiring at least several hours of time and is possible only in the conditions of the largest airfields with all the necessary infrastructure.
The flight characteristics of these missiles at that time were truly fantastic. The Kh-22 rocket had a flight speed above 3M (M is the Mach number equal to the speed of sound at a given altitude). The rocket was launched at an altitude of 10-12 kilometers, after which the starting engine accelerated it and "raised" it to an altitude of over 20 kilometers, at which the missiles performed most of the flight, then the main engine was launched, which ensured the rocket's flight to the target, and a few tens of kilometers before the target began to dive towards it at an angle of 30 degrees.
In the missile launch area, the target is taken for automatic tracking by homing heads and, at the signal “Rocket ready”, the navigator cuts it off. 3 s after the uncoupling (drawdown 500–700 m), the engines are started on the rocket, the lower keel is unfolded, the warhead fuse is cocked, and the rocket's software mechanism is turned on. After 11 s, the rocket is switched to climb mode. When M=3.44 is reached, the climb angle decreases and the starting engine is turned off. At an altitude of 22500 m, horizontal flight begins. When the angle of sight between the axis of the missile and the direction to the target reaches 30°, and the distance from the target is 60 km, the radio control along the course, the altitude channel and the engine are turned off, and the missile is transferred to a dive on the target. On the dive site, control switches to radar homing using the direct guidance method. During experimental tests conducted from the late nineteen fifties to the early nineteen sixties the Kh-22B version had reached a speed of Mach 6 and an altitude of about 70 km.
The most powerful high-explosive-cumulative warhead weighing 900 kg burned a huge hole in the enemy's ship to a depth of 12 meters, which left no chance for any non-aeronautical ship and made it possible to inflict extremely heavy damage on an aircraft carrier. The KSR-5 cruise missile (AS-6 "Kingfish" according to NATO classification) for Tu-16 bombers had comparable characteristics.
The X-22 had a glider designed according to the normal aircraft layout with a medium wing and stabilizer. The missile was developed in two versions: to destroy radar-contrast point targets (i.e., individual ships) and area targets (aircraft carrier warrants, convoys, ground targets). In the pinpoint version, an active radar homing head was installed on the missiles, which ensured the capture of the target while still on the suspension of the carrier before launch. In the areal version, an autonomous autonomous pathfinder (PSI) was installed on the rocket, consisting of a Doppler frequency meter, a computing device and a gyroscopic device. To stabilize the rocket around the center of gravity, program flight and trajectory, execution by the rocket of commands but the course and pitch on the rocket, an electric autopilot APK-22A with a hydraulic steering machine is installed. In the point version, the rocket can carry two types of charges H and M (normal and special), in the areal version - only M.
X-22 was equipped with a 2-chamber multi-mode liquid-propellant jet engine R201-300 (C5.33). The starting thrust of the engine was 83 kN, the main thrust was 5.9 kN, the fuel weight was about 3 tons. The flight speed on the march was 3600-3000 km / h. After detachment from the aircraft, self-ignition of the propellant components occurred and the rocket began to accelerate with a simultaneous climb (depending on the selected program that determines the nature of the rocket's flight trajectory set before the detachment). After reaching the set speed, the rocket engine was transferred to the cruising mode of operation. When firing at point targets, the homing head monitors the target in two planes and issues control signals to the autopilot. When, during tracking, the antenna angle in the vertical plane reaches a predetermined value, a signal is given to transfer the missile into a dive on the target at an angle of 30 ° to the horizon. On the dive site, control is carried out in the vertical and horizontal planes according to signals from the homing system equipment. Undermining the charge H is carried out upon contact with the target, and the charge M - by a signal from the equipment of the homing system.
The missile was equipped with an advanced target acquisition system at that time, the essence of which is to direct the missile to the most radio-contrast target. That is, to the largest within the range of the missile in the last part of the trajectory. Considering that the missile was to be used for naval targets, this logic seems impeccable: in a relatively dense sea formation of enemy ships, you need to find the largest ship (and it will definitely be a priority target) and break through to it with your ton of explosives. A mass launch of such missiles on the order of an enemy aircraft carrier can be fatal for a huge aircraft carrier, which, in fact, and forced the enemy to keep a respectful distance from Soviet shores.
The detection range of a cruiser-type target by a carrier aircraft is up to 340 km. The range of capture and tracking of the same target is 250-270 km. The X-22 missile proved to be a very effective anti-ship weapon even without the use of a nuclear charge. Tests showed that in the event of a naval target being hit, hitting the X-22 on board the target ship caused damage that could disable an aircraft carrier or cruiser. At an approach speed of 800 m / s, the holes were 22 m 2 , and the internal compartments were burned out by a cumulative jet to a depth of 12 m! The weight of the high-explosive-cumulative warhead (H charge) is about 900 kg, of which the weight of the explosive is about 600 kg. This amount of explosive was quite enough to destroy a typical factory workshop or a railway bridge. When undermined, the axis of the cumulative jet is directed downward (at an angle with the axis of the rocket).
When firing at area targets, the carrier aircraft in flight determines the position of the target using radar and other navigation aids on board the carrier. The on-board equipment of the rocket emits electromagnetic waves of a certain frequency in the direction of the target and receives them in the reflected form from the “running” sections of the earth, continuously determines the vector of the true velocity of the rocket, which is then integrated over time, the remaining range of the rocket to the target is continuously determined and the course is held, set from the host bot. At a given distance, the autopilot puts the missile into a dive at the target at an angle of 30°. Undermining the charge H occurs at a given height or when it encounters an obstacle.
The X-22 missile proved to be a very effective anti-ship weapon even without the use of a nuclear charge. Tests showed that in the event of a naval target being hit, hitting the X-22 on board the target ship caused damage that could disable an aircraft carrier or cruiser. At an approach speed of 800 m / s, the holes were 22 m 2 , and the internal compartments were burned out by a cumulative jet to a depth of 12 m! The weight of the high-explosive-cumulative warhead (H charge) is about 900 kg, of which the weight of the explosive is about 600 kg. This amount of explosive was quite enough to destroy a typical factory workshop or a railway bridge. When undermined, the axis of the cumulative jet is directed downward (at an angle with the axis of the rocket).
Technically, preparing a rocket for use is time consuming and extremely dangerous due to the use of highly toxic components of rocket fuel. The equipment of rocket technicians includes a protective special suit made of thick rubber and an insulating gas mask. Serious precautions are taken during refueling - the emergency team was on standby. The military tried to avoid refueling missiles even during exercises, if no real launches are expected. Therefore, the simulator of the X-22 - I-098 missile was developed and mass-produced to train flight crews. However, there was also a critical shortage of imitators. Therefore, the regiments practiced the use of combat missiles with the keel removed . They were marked with a red inscription Training and were not used for real launches.
These missiles also had extremely significant drawbacks limiting their combat effectiveness, the main of which was actually the lack of jamming immunity of the homing head (GOS) of the missile, which operated at only one frequency. It was almost impossible to shoot down these missiles by means of air defense of the 70s, only by the mid-1980s, when shipborne air defense systems of a new generation appeared, and the Ticonderoga-class cruisers equipped with the Aegis multifunctional weapon control system began to enter service in the US Navy. there was a possibility of their defeat.
The X-22 had two advantages. First, the missiles exchanged information with each other during the flight, it was enough to launch them, indicating the minimum set of target parameters. The second is high survivability in front of air defense systems. According to calculations, one Kh-22 with constructive protection withstood the burst of the 20-mm Vulcan-Phalanx anti-aircraft artillery system, the hit of one AIM-7 Sparrow missile or two or three AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
It is worth noting that targets with the same characteristics as the Kh-22 are still extremely difficult even for modern air defense systems. The main means of dealing with X-22 missiles from the side of the potential enemy were shipborne electronic warfare systems. The first modifications of the Kh-22 missiles had a seeker with a detection range of a large surface ship of the order of 300 kilometers. To use these missiles, it was required that their seeker captured the enemy ship while still on the carrier. And in the conditions of counteraction of high-power jamming ship stations, target acquisition on the carrier was extremely difficult. The low noise immunity of the rocket made it possible to suppress its seeker, and also made it extremely "susceptible" to passive interference.
For this reason, one of the many developed schemes for the combat use of missiles included a preliminary strike "on areas" with X-22 missiles with a nuclear warhead, in the area where the enemy's AUG was located in order to disable the electronic warfare means, after which the main group was to strike missiles with a conventional warhead. It is worth noting that this option was one of dozens of developed AUG attack schemes by naval missile-carrying aviation, in addition, it is more characteristic of the very first modifications of the X-22. However, this attack scheme is firmly entrenched in the "popular consciousness" and is very often cited in various articles on the possibility of fighting AUG, as "proof" of the impossibility of destroying an enemy aircraft carrier without the use of nuclear weapons.
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